Lost Abbey The Angels Share

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Barley Wine
San Marcos, California USA

(375 ml bottle (2008) via trade with WeeHeavySD, thanks Jon!) Hot, sweet and flat as a pancake...Cork comes out with barely a pop. Pours murky dark brown with a slight amber hue. Only hint of a head is a slight ring around the edges. Appears flat. Aroma of raisin, brandy, wood and caramel. Palate is flat, thin and lifeless. The beer has pretty much collapsed on itself with just a shell left. Flavor is a complete mess with the lack of any body to support it. Lots of alcohol with some sweet, sticky remnants of brandy, wood, raisin and candy. Hard to rate a beer in this condition. Bummer. I loved the bourbon barrel version.

2008 with craftycarl21. Dark brown pour with almost no carbonation- a small ring of beige foam graces he perimeter of my snifter, welcoming me to sniff. Aroma has an extremely powerful caramel and dark fruit profile that is complemented by some burnt dark sugars. Molasses, toffee, brown sugar, maple syrup, and tons of vanilla further push the envelope of this massive aroma. Vinous notes come as the brew warms, trailing off with raisin, fig, and an alcohol warming. Flavor is riddled with caramel, toffee, creamy dark sugar, and tons of vanilla. Very sweet and very alcoholic. Some vinous notes round out the fruit character of the brew, along with a decidedly pronounced dark fruit aspect. Palate is syrupy, thick, rich, and almost creamy. Very minimal carbonation, but enough to conclude that this particular beer didn’t yet fall victim to recent bottling issues. Aroma is intense, flavors come in from every angle, and the mouthfeel is supple- not too much to criticize.

2008 vintage, 750 ml bottle, thanks to oteyj. Pours an extremely dark brown, no head, with some bubbles around the edge. Aroma is awesome; tons of caramel, vanilla, molasses, vinous notes, plum, raisin, and maple syrup- an absolute sweet bomb. Flavor is fantastic as well; starts with a lot of caramel,vanilla, and dark fruit, but as it progresses towards the finish, both the flavors and the palate intensify. The palate gets much richer, and notes of cream, chocolate, and brown sugar come to the surface. Also increasing as the flavor develops is the alcohol presence, which builds to a very strong but oh so welcome singe on the tongue by the finish. I really enjoy the way this builds to a flavor climax with each sip. Amazing barleywine, a real treat.

[’07 bottle, thanks Philsner!] Pours hazy reddish-brown with a light tan head. The aroma has raisin, port, chocolate, some alcohol, plum, vinous notes and vanilla. The taste is sweet, then tart, but not a typical sourness that I have seen with infections, more like fruit skin, as Guerde said. Vanilla, chocolate, oak, various dark fruits and malt at the end. Medium-thick mouthfeel, smooth and had a long, dry finish. Didn’t gush when I opened it, had just about the right level of carbonation, and the tartness that was there worked quite well for it. If this was infected then it is one of the stranger infections I have seen, but regardless it really was quite nice. A very nice barley wine.

(bottle 2007 vintage, big thanks to Philsner for sharing!) Pours a dark muddy brown with a beige colored head that sticks around and leaves decent lacing on the glass. The aroma smells of booze soaked fruit, with aromas of strawberry, plums, raisin, and brown sugar as well. There’s just a bit of oxidation here also. Further warming reveals the scent of fruit snacks, and the yeast pour produces a scent of stale bread. The taste is similar to the aroma in many ways, and is composed of three stages. The beginning stage is sweet with brown sugar and some caramel. These sweet flavors quickly give way to a slightly tart and salty mid-palate, that has the character of wine, salt, oak, and blueberry and plum skins. Further warming really made the blueberry and vinous tones more dominant. The third stage is the finish of vanilla and chocolate, with a slight bit of oak lingering as well. The mouthfeel was full and the carbonation was smooth. There was a bit of tartness in the mid-palate, but I do not believe this bottle was heavily infected. All in all this was a pretty enjoyable beer. Thanks for sharing Phil!

375 bottle from hophead22. 2008 on the label.. Popped the cork and poured into a snifter. No head... Dark brown in color...Strong aroma that reminds me of a cognac... Taste is sugary and malty... The alcohol stands out... Lots of brandy, vanilla, dark fruits and oak notes... Texture is oily and flat...This beer has great potential but ended down my sink...Huge thanks to Tim for sending this one as a "gift".. I owe you buddy

Bottle courtesy of LooseCannon at Immy’s Backyard Throwdown. 2008 vintage - corked and caged. Pours an opaque dark brown with ruby tinges throughout. Short tan head. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar, sweet malts, vanilla, and dark fruit. Taste is oak, vanilla, soft alcohol, chocolate, cherries, caramel, and molasses. Some brown sugar here as well and soft brandy notes. Body is warming and alcoholic with a slickness about it and subtle carbonation. Ends with more dark fruit, light spice, caramel, vanilla, molasses, alcohol and oak. Very tasty and one of the best of the day.

750 mL into snifter. Wow- finally I get to try something that has become a fabled presence in the beerophile world. Pours a deep brown almost black (very cloudy and dark once the yeast is tossed in) with no head but a few white bubbles around the edge. 2008 version (yes, the flat batch). Aroma is almost all whiskey with hints of vanilla extract, oak, brandy, sherry. Taste is lots of brandy, rum soaked cherries, oak, molasses, chocolate pound cake, amaretto, toffee, spicy alcohol. Just very boozy in general. Big warming alcohol in the finish. Not too intense and I can see this being very awesome if it was mellowed out a bit by carbonation. An excellent dessert beer- looks like a true barleyWINE. Not sure if being carbonated would really change this beer fundamentally but I’m glad I tried it and will be looking forward to the 2009 release.