Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

2007 edition drank at footbalms awesome holiday party, thanks Eric. Pours out a really dark near brown color with lots of reddish tints. A nice thick white head. The aroma is mostly a initial dark fruit, some sweet oak and nutty notes also. Some vanilla and something funky also. The flavor was great, tons of barrel here, dark fruits, burnt caramel, a bit of warmth, but very drinkable. Smooth and very different, unlike any BW I have had for sure. The woody flavors dominate, but there is a ton of complexity here. Very nice.

Bottle batch 1 thanks to brian K for the share. Pours a mahogany body boasting a malt sweetness with dark fruits plum, raisin and fig etc. A light oak body with vanilla compliments the dark fruit with light alcohol and a light bourbon esk character. This beer is incredible, i love it. So dam good why age something so powerful and awesome. 4.5 Bottle 2008 thanks Vtafro for the share. Pours a burne body with a thin bubbly head (not really carbonated). Salty malty brandy and woody maple oak notes. Chocolate with a hint of licorice and more maple salty chocolate apple warming. Nice. 4.1 Still delicious though. 4.5 + 4.1 / 2 --> 4.3 Average.

Poured into my glass a very nice black color, very nice carbonation, nice one-finger plus foamyfizzy tannish head, which left a big island in the middle of my glass, with some sticky lacing around the edges. The nose is malty, good touch of bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The taste is malty, a healthy note of bourbon, with some oak, and vanilla. Starts of sweet, then the big malts kick in. Full body. The alcohol is present, but not too much. Very drinkable, Ive waited a long time to try this one out, finally, the wait is over.

Bottle: Brown color, I did not see the burgundy color. It has a light brown head. Oak abounds in the aroma along with vanilla, brandy and brown sugar. Smooth, smooth, smooth like a dessert liquour. You can taste the alcohol burn, not just feel it. WOW. What a treat. Thanks Jordan or Jake, I cant remember who brought it!

750mL bottle courtesy of KingG poured into a snifter. Been looking for this for quite a while and couldnt wait to pop the cork. It pours dark, dark brown with hints of mahogany showing through the edges. The head was bubbly and short lived and left only traces of lacing. The aroma is huge and complex, and it really opened up as the beer warmed a little. There are tons of dark fruits in there with figs and raisins on top of a brown sugar sweetness. There is some vanilla and brandy as well. The sweetness of the aroma carries over to the taste with the caramel malts and brown sugar underpinning everything else. Dark fruits, vanilla and a slightly more noticeable brandy presence than the aroma suggests. The mouthfeel is slick and almost syrupy with little carbonation. This is a great beer, though i definitely prefer the bourbon version. Very drinkable for the ABV and I look forward to the newest version coming soon.

After drinking the 2008 bottled flat version, I have to score this beer poorly, because it sucks.

[Bottle] acquired in a trade with ygtbsm94. Pours a clear deep brown with a smallish tan head. Aroma is fairly subdued, but oak, vanilla, brandy come through mostly. As I taste it, I realize that it is in fact soured. It has a bit of tartness that, as I drink it, develops into a rotten eggy type of sulfurous flavor. Mouthfeel is extremely thin and the only flavors I can pick up are a little bit of raisin and caramel. If anyone wants to hit me up with a not sour bottle of this, it would be much appreciated!!! ---& another bad bottle, same type of sourness, but much more potent. Drain poured after I forced myself to drink 1/4 oz. It looked really nice coming out of the bottle, though, which it can earn some credit for. Not much head though.

20080329 Blind tasting notes and score from Cornboy 2nd annual Barleywine Extravaganza 2007 bottle. Toasty and toffee, raisin and prune, hot alcohol notes, salty with some soy hints. Decent stuff. Ends bitter.