Lost Abbey Barrel Aged Serpents Stout with Cacao Nibs and Coffee

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Imperial Stout
San Marcos, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Sampled at FoBAB 10 - 2012 (Chicago, IL). Pours a rich deep opaque blackish pour, with cocoa and coffee, rich brownish head atop. Frothy and opaque. Aromas are coffee, roast, and toast. Vanilla, creamy toast and roast. Initial is big and acrid, a bit of a richer overdone roast. Toasty, toffee, rich flavors. Mocha and espresso. Middle is dark and rich, flavorful big cocoa, gentle oak, spirit and coffee. Backend is a bit more acrid, roasty, and dry, the sweet elements return into the finish a bit. Rich big coffee flavors overwhelm the palate at some point, the cocoa giving it a fun dark Bakers Chocolate slant. Overall, a very nice beer. Rich and flavorful, a bit acrid in flashes. But this works very well with some gentle spirit and rich big coffee flavors. Nice. I’d give the edge to Rye Abraxas as far as my favorite big brooding barrel aged stout of the day though with this in a close 2nd.

Enjoyed on tap at FOBAB. Served in my FOBAB taster. A: Pours a dark black color with a very dark tan head forming on the pour. It recedes slowly to a thick ring that leaves some splotchy lace. S: Huge notes of fresh coffee bean, chocolate, roasted malts and espresso. There is a faint barrel smell in the background, but this is heavily dominated by the coffee and chocolate. T: The taste follows the nose with a more roasted malt presence and touch more barrel. Vanilla espresso, freshly ground coffee beans, milk chocolate and roasted malts. Some light oak with just a kiss of bourbon. Booze is hidden extremely well. M: Medium low carbonation with a heavy mouthfeel. Decadent and creamy. O: While this beer was lacking the in your face bourbon barrel we’ve all come to love I think this limited barrel actually worked with this beer. It made the coffee and cocoa flavors the stars of the show. I’d love to try this again. Serving type: on-tap

Sampled from the tap at FOBAB 2012. Pours black with a dark brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has lots of roasted malts with coffee and bitter chocolate backed by a sweet bourbon note. Flavor is much more bourbon forward with sweet dark grains and bitter coffee.

This one poured a darker brown color with a small brown head. Aroma was of mainly coffee and roasted malts. Not muh chcolate with light barrel. Flavor is very roasted and burnt coffee with light barrel to keep it form being too bitter, but the chocolate really isnt there much at all either.

They pretty much nailed this one. Waves of coffee and cocoa and then some bourbon on top, awesome..

On tap: The aroma consists of moderate roasted coffee and milk chocolate with a hint of vanilla. It’s a dark brown with no transparency and a small beige head. The flavor starts with a quick dose of chocolate and caramel. The finish has moderate-heavy roasted coffee with some light vanilla. It’s medium-full bodied with soft carbonation and mouthfeel. Overall, the coffee addition comes through more than the barrel aging.

Sampled as a bottle of Track 10 at the brewery. Pours to a pitch black body with a tan head. There were aromas of deep black malt and licorice. Chocolate and oaky bourbon. The flavor is a sweet chocolate, light bourbon, easy drinking coffee, and a light licorice. Very much like a chocolate coffee cake. Rich and sweet. Very smooth beer even though it is a very high ABV.

release at brewery . pours deep black , mild Thick tan head, huge aromas of coffee , Taste a Great Complexity of coffee beans , small choco taste. i absolutely dislike Black coffee . but i wish i had a cup of this every morning...

Track 10 bottle at the brewery. Oily pitch black pour, small brown head. Lots of coffee in the aroma. Sweet chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, strong espresso beans, light roasted malt, bourbon, and hints of raisin. A very nice rich imperial stout. Nothing too "out of the box" by today’s standards, but still huge vanilla, fresh coffee, and rich chocolate flavors. Tasty.

On tap at the tasting room. Aroma of toffee, caramel, chocolate and sweet coffee. Pours black and thick with sediment floating on top. Taste is super sweet with heath bar and cappuccino dominating the senses and slight prunes. Fantastic beer.