Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

12.7 fl oz corked and caged bottle. 2008 Vintage, from the Sinners Club. Cork pulls out with pretty much no sound. Pour is murky mahogany with only a few soapy bubbles on top. Aroma of raisins and plums, cooking brown sugar and vanilla. Behind that is Brandy, oak wood barrel and a clear blast of alcohol. Starts nice, but turns a little harsh towards the back. Taste is syrupy Brandy, a bit of the raisin brown sugar vanilla sweetness, then all kinds of alcohol heat. There is also some soy and saltiness. Palate is medium, coating and dead flat. Aftertaste of pure booze. I have had straight Brandy that was about as smooth as this. Syrupy sweet and boozy. Not my bottle of beer, and I’m also not entirely sure this bottle was 100 percent good.

pours a dark plum with a thin beige head that dissapate quickly, and not much lacing, smell is of red grapes, sweet, some cocoa, and dark fruits. taste is of cocoa, some sour malt, dark fruits, and some wood, ends of alcohol and and little bitter.

On tap! This dark brown murky body came with a frothy, creamy tan head that slowly thinned out and left tons of lacing on the glass. Smells of rich caramel, plums, candied yams and boozey brandy. The alcohol soak is strong and the burn is real but the heavy sugar and dark malts really hold up well on the tongue and provide a lively thick mouthfeel. Flavors of molasses and tabacco burst out with other dark fruits, candied sugar and some woody notes. Really, truly an awesome beer and one of the best I have ever had.

2008 12.7oz. bottle from mashmaster. Aroma has notes of raisins, caramel, dark dried fruits, brandy, and vanilla. Dark murky brown that has no head. Flavor is sweet and boozey with brandy showing more at the finish. Palate is medium full bodied and watery flat. An absolute disgrace. No fucking way this Barley Wine should still be getting a rating above 3.8. Aroma is good but this beer is a mess. Looks and feels horrible. Lost Abbey == overrated.

22oz bottle. Pours almost black. Flat as a pancake no head. Very disappointing. Nose is full on caramel, brown sugar, some spiced apples, tons of raisin and huge amounts of vanilla. Taste once again is hurt by the lack of carbonation it makes the alcohol very apparent. Tons of toffee and caramel with a candi sugar sweetness. Caramel apples, huge amounts of woody vanilla and brandy like dark fruit and alcohol notes finish this off. This could have been amazing. Shame on Lost Abbey for releasing a beer that wasn’t ready. And it should be noted I let this beer alone for almost 2 months. No excuse for it not to have carbonated. A great beer worth trying but not for the price because this is not what this beer should be.

Purchased 3/16/09 (before I was informed of the quality control issues) consumed 4/17/09. No pop when the cork was removed. Pours a thick muddy brown. Absolutely no carbonation. Has the appearance of prune juice. Aroma of brandy, vanilla, oak, dried figs. Flavors mostly dominated by alcohol, then sweet vanilla, caramel candy, charred wood, and the bitter taste of wasting $30. Heavy, sweet, high alcohol dark beers tend to be my favorites, but this is the type of beer that needs carbonation. Without the carbonation, it leaves you greatly unsatisfied. Think of drinking a concoction of prune juice with a heavy dose of brandy. I don’t see this improving or ever carbonating with time. I have to say I lost some respect for Lost Abbey. In my opinion, if you know you have a product that is not up to par, you either don’t release it and take the loss, or you release it at a greatly deflated value. Lost Abbey chumped me on this one.

Poured at Blue Palms in Hollywood with forced carbonation!!! Aroma: Sweet boozy goodness with notes of vanilla and toffee. Poured dark brown with a modest white head. Flavor: More sweet boozy goodness with a noticeable layer of spicy hops. Almost sticky and definitely thick. Overall awesomeness.

The beer pours with absolutely no head, and appeared slightly thicker and more brown than a glass of red wine. The aroma is complex with sweet notes of vanilla and a huge malt smell in the initial smell. The aroma is complex but the smells don’t really pop. The flavor and initial taste of the beer is the hotness of the bourbon mixed with a silky mouthfeel. Unfortunately, to me, that’s all the beer really is. I don’t get a strong vanilla flavor nor do I really get an interesting range of flavors.