Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

750 ml cork and caged 2008 bottle. Okay we all now about the carbonation issues that Lost Abbey has had some I’m simply going to say this one was totally and completely flat and leave it at that. Aroma was great with the brandy up front but not in an overpowering way. Lots of sweet malt flavors, toffee, raisin, dark fruits, melted caramel, barrel and alcohol make up the remainder. Despite the lack of visible carbonation there is still a slight tingling in your mouth, probably from the 12.5% ABV, along with a medium body and a slightly syrupy mouthfeel. The flavor starts off lots of brandy and alcohol and finishes that way as well. In between however there are some grainy bread notes, caramel and toffee, raisin and oak. This is one good beer despite the carbonation issues and what a way to ring in my 1,500th rating just minutes before the Vikings/Panthers Sunday night game.

Bouteille de 750 ml chez David et Catherine. Édition inconnue, mais la bière était définitivement carbonée. Arômes très intenses de chocolat, de caramel décadent, de bourbon et de vanille. Robe brune et trouble, pas très belle, effervescence de moyenne à faible, légère mousse. Très maltée et sucrée en bouche, on retrouve beaucoup de caramel brûlé, du chocolat, des touches d’alcool fort et de fruits mûrs. Très complexe. Finale sucrée et assez douce, où l’alcool fait une présence discrète. À la fois intense et bien équilibré.

2008 bottle. Pours a deep rich blackish brown with very little to no carbonation. the smell is rich and deep chocolate with some malt. The taste is intensely vanilla. Alcohol is fairly present in the aroma along with the taste but not nearly as much as you would think for the ABV. Richly vanilla with definite hints of the bourbon barrel. Awesome fucking beer Thanks kegbear

375ml bottle from secret santa. Pours deep murky brown with very small tan head. Aroma is loaded with oak, vanilla, booze, sweet malt, and some dark fruits. Flavor is booze, sweet malt, caramel, dark fruits, oak, and vanilla. This beer packs a shit load of flavor, but unfortunately this beer has major carbonation issues and is rather flat. It has no signs of infection. Based on aroma and flavor this beer could be absolutely epic it there was proper carbonation. Hopefully Tomme can figure the next batch out.

2008 750ml bottle. pours a dark brown with a light copper ring around the glass. no head. aroma of chocolate, brandy, caramel, medicine, booze. flavor is much the same with some light alcohol burn on the old throat. this could use a bit more carbonation, but the aroma is pretty tight regardless.

2008 vintage. Very dark brown with small ruby edges, basically opaque. Absolutely no head, no lacings, nothing happens when I swirl the glass. A decent amount of boozy brandy aromas. Fudge, caramel, vanilla, wood and brandy. You can really tell that the beer suffers from the lack of carbonation, it’s like the aromas are stuck without the ability to hijack the carbonation and escape the liquid. Too bad, but still a good smell. The taste is better with more things going on. It’s very sweet with lots of brandy notes. Vanilla, fudge, dark caramel and nice oak barrel flavors. Some fruit aromas and raisins. The finish is really boozy with a brandy-like character. Quite an intense flavor, that’s just slightly too boozy. Full-bodied, sticky texture. Absolutely no carbonation, completely flat. Although it obviously suffers from the lack of carbonation, it’s still a really good beer. Perhaps it could have been slightly less boozy, but the brandy flavors give it a rather rich character. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review) NOTE: I’ve tried two more bottles of the same batch, both during late fall/winter in 2009 and in both of them there seem to have developed a strange tartness that I did not pick up when I tried it the first time. So it seems like some infection might be going on in this batch.

Bottle, 2008 vintage. Dark brown, reddish colour with virtually no head. A bit pungent, alcoholic and very sweet aroma with a lot of raisins and oak. Taste is quite sour, with some sweetness and a lot of oak barrel. A bit of alcohol, but mostly sourness and notes of unripe grapes. Not quite how I remembered this.

Pours deep brown with a thin head and no lace. Alcohol is heavy in the aroma along with chocolate and raisin. The taste is bourbon, brandy, raisin, chocolate, vanilla with an intense warming ability. Yum.