Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

Serve in Snifter

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May 19, 2013 - 2010 bottle from Everetts. Dark brown pour with almost no head that stained the glass. Aroma was a rich brandy, caramel, vanilla, spice and wood. Taste was woody, caramel, wine and mild tartness in the finish.

Very enjoyable. Pours dark brown with no head at all, pretty flat looking. Smell is burnt sugar, oak, very earthy. Taste is big brown sugar, oak, and toffee notes with a touch of vanilla aftertaste and some heat. Much better than sleeping with shaggy by not having such an overpowered burning brown sugar taste. Great stuff.

Deep dark brown with no head. Aroma of oak and dark fruit. Taste of alcohol raisins and brandy. Medium-bodied.

375ml c&c bottle. Should have drank fresh. Tart, lactic, flavor of citrus. Dissapointment. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pours a murky dark brown, almost black. Aroma of oak and vanilla. Taste is tart, dark fruit, prunes, dates and bitter chocolate. Not very good, I would not age this in the future.

October 28th, 2011 - I have a vague memory of enjoying Angel’s Share long, long ago, before I put any of my reviews and scribbling onto Ratebeer. It was introduced as an example of the paragon of brewing. I tasted it, and immediately recognized it for what it was: a foil. Lost Abbey’s Angel’s Share is everything that everyday beer isn’t. If this is one path of evolution for beer, it begs the question of what other evolutionary branches might exist. The Angel’s Share drinker becomes a craft beer drinker at the instant of the taste. That’s a profound beer. In October, 2011 I had the opportunity to shake hands with this old friend again. The aroma is thick and almost oily, intensely perfumed with fig and concentrated raisin. The caramelized, bubbling sugar of a roasted sweet potato is also present, and laced (or barbed) with the sharpness of copious booze. The taste re-affirms the oiliness of this brew, cut nicely by the assertive alcohol level, like a shark’s fin across the ocean’s surface. Intense, dry, and like a barley wine, I’m drunk on both the flavor and beer after only half a glass. The dry character is contrasted against a caramel bourbon burn and residual sweetness, verifying Lost Abbey’s proud barrel aging process. One danger present with these kinds of beers is a cloying intensity. I appreciate heavy flavored beers, but even heavy-weights can be too heavy. The beauty of the craft is to nuzzle that line as closely as possible without overstepping it, and I would argue that the Angel’s Share does that with a certain ballet-like grace. Where most beers strain to straddle that line, Angel’s Share dances up to it, balancing intensity and balance - a true craft brewing feat. Now, I wonder what this would taste like after a little aging...

Bottle. Infected. Fuck. Just terrible. I was really looking forward to this, never again.

Uploading old ratings that were missing comments. Unfortunately received a bottle that was completely flat as many others did. Flavor was still fantastic. Boozy and rich. Would love to try it again with a better bottle. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

200th rate! Thought this great beer was appropriate. On draft @ Mohawk Bend in LA. Very dark brown pour w/ minimal carbonation. Everything I want in a big beer- bourbon, dark fruit, vanilla, caramel, some slight bitterness. A wonderful beer!

On tap at Memphis Taproom, 2010 Vintage. Pours very deep dark brown color with a light toffee colored ring that laces down the glass. Big rich aroma of figs, dark toasted chocolate malt, bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The taste is sweet and a little cloying from the dark roasted malt and bourbon. Blended nicely with dark fruit, dark chocolate, vanilla, roasted caramel, oak, and bourbon that is very dominating on the palette. Taste is complex, deep, and overall very rich. Mouthfeel is thick and somewhat syrupy, nice gentle velvetycarbonation.