Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

Flaske 0,75l spandert av – og delt med Skinnyviking under hyggelig besøk hos ham 19 Feb 10. 0 skum. Sort på farge. Aroma av rosiner. Vinøs konsistens. Sammensatt smak med plommer & svisker i forgrunnen. Langvarig syrlig og svakt bitter ettersmak.

Bottle, 2009 vintage. So I had heard much about the carbonation issues with this year’s AS, but given how much I enjoyed the Bourbon AS, I figured what the heck. Well, opening without so much as a “pop”, my AS experience didn’t go all that well. Pours murky brown with no head whatsoever. Aroma of HUGE plum, dates, sherry, caramel and brown sugar. Flavor matches aroma in intensity, then throws some alcohol on the finish to heat things up. I’ll say it: for this beer, with the weight of the flavors and the boozy sweetness, the lack of CO2 became a huge distraction. It made an ordinarily powerful and delicious brew cloying, and ultimately difficult to drink more than a few ounces. I will eventually give this brew another shot, but this won’t be forgotten.

375ml bottle of the 2008 flat edition. No pop upon removing the cork. Pours dark brown with no head at all even with a very hard pour. Aroma of brandy, toffee, alcohol dark fruit and wood. Flavor of alcohol, bitter dark roasted malt, chocolate and prune juice. Mouth feel is oily and muddy, the lack of carbonation really hurts it. Overall this is a good beer that needs to have some carbonation, but we’ve all heard that.

Draft at Teresa’s Next Door, Wayne, PA on 03/06/10. Arrived at the table a deep mahogany color with absolutely no head. A strong aroma of soy sauce, roasted coffee, dark chocolate, caramel, and oak. Full-bodied and quite syrupy. The flavor starts with plenty of caramel and dark chocolate and progresses to some licorice, roasted coffee, and a hint of soy sauce. Molasses, plums, and raisins in the mix too. A cloying, bittering finish with lots of oak and vanilla extract. Very warming and heavy on the booze throughout. Good stuff, but I’d have to be in the right mood to drink another.

2009 bottle, thanks Ryan! Pours a deep brown, looks like flat cola. Aroma us super complex! Oak, dark fruits, plums, figs, dates, vanilla, mollasses, brown sugar and booze. Flavour is very rich, the alcohol warms and actually tingled. The carb is super low but works well. Super complex but so enjoyable. There is a great sweet brown sugar vanilla finish that sticks and us wonderful. Amazing stuff!

So I opened a 2007 bottle a couple months ago and it was sour. Horrible scene really until Eric sends me this 2009 bottle. It was shared with a friend. Pours opaque dark brown with a nice thin light tan head. It lingers a little bit. Aroma is dense and rich. Dark fruits dominate. Prune, fig, plum, booze, brown sugar. I am smelling perfection in a glass. Medium mouthfeel with the perfect amount of carbonation. I have now had Angel Share beers that were overcarbonated. Not carbonated. This bottle is just right. A little amount of carbonation makes this a near perfect creation. Flavors follow the nose and finishes semi-sweet that is not cloying in any way. Easily one of favorite beers of all time. Thanks Eric again for sharing this gem.

2009 Bottle - Thanks JohnGalt!! - Pours almost still with practically no head, clear, dark garnet colored...aroma is amazing, vinous oak, sticky sweet old fruit, vanilla and raisin...flavour is more dry than the nose suggests, more dried fruit, toffee, some cocoa, terrific barrel presence, warming with the slightest carbonation...this was a tasty treat...

2009. Pours so deep a red as to be nearly black. No head... life goes on. Nose is oak and fruit, something like bourbon. W/ only the tiniest twinge of carbonation, this comes off very much like port wine and, indeed, those lovely oxidative nutty port notes are strongly present. Sticky sweet, thick and heavy on booze w/ load of vanilla. This is a special beer for special occasions. Well worth the price of admission.