Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

On Tap at FOBAB - 2006 Vintage: This was full-bodied and concentrated with tons of caramel malt showing through. It was sticky and semi-sweet but really well-balanced. This will continue to age well but why bother.

Thanks to Logan for a taste of this at the Pizza Port Carlsbad last month. I’m not sure of the vintage but given the aged flavor profile I’d say 2006. Pours a dark chestnut brown with a very thin, fine off-white head. Lots of molasses and golden raisins in the aroma with a touch of caramel and spicy hops in the background. Brandy, and barrel-aged characteristics are present and well-integrated into the overall aroma, occassionally offering a peak of boozeyness or woodiness. The flavor has lots of acidity, surprisingly, that gives this beer an amazing vibrancy and regulates thick, earthy flavor profile that isn’t overly sweet or malty for a barley wine of this size (and is what leads me to guess that this is the 2006 batch). All this gives the impression of dark plum fruitiness--with some aspect of the skins as well. There’s plenty of alcohol and a lot of structure in the body that creates a multi-dimensional mouth feel that highlights and delivers various aspects of the flavor in different ways across the palate. A very interesting, alternative take on barleywine.

<i>A Mes rate: 2007 bottle, thanks to the absolute LEGEND that is MikeTD.</i>
You all know this is good. I knew it was good too but I really didn’t know quite how good. Stright out of the bottle it looks pretty close to perfection. Almost black mahogany with a good tan head and attractive spotty lacing. The nose is sublime. So rich and full and certainly one of the most complex smelling beers I have experienced. Incredible, i n c r e d i b l e malt, amazing herbs, red wine of immense quality, chocolate and liquorice are pretty much a given but they are stunning, in fact the chocolate is more like fresh cocoa. The tart barrelly notes are beyond compare and coupled with a perfect level of sweetness, this is just an incredibly noseable beer. It may have been a hard act to follow but the flavour is equally stunning. To me it’s the finish that really sets it apart. The longer it stays in the mouth (and believe me it stays for what seems like a week) the more the tart and barrel notes increase. It’s simply a very high quality experience. All the beautiful rich malt from the aroma is there but it is balanced by some intense tartness, a little acidity and a finish crafted by angels. It’s one hell of a ride. A feeling of being beaten to a pulp by Anderson Silva yet at the same time being caressed by a goddess. There is just so much to love about this beer. It’s been said before, but it’s worth saying again, Mike you seriously kick arse.

On cask at the Lost Abbey barrel tasting. Pours a nice brown color with virtuall no head. Aroma is caramel, brandy, wood, vanilla, brown sugar, fruits. Flavor is caramel, vanilla, molasses, fruits, all coming together in a very balanced harmony of balance and flavor to form an amazing brew. I liked this one much better than the bourbon barrel version. Curious to see how the non cask version compares with the cask. Had the non-cask 2008 version at the AZ strong beer fest. It was an entirely different beer. Maybe a 3.9 score. Not nearly as pristine as the original batch on cask.

Pours a very dark brown in color. Some ruby highlights that give the sense of reddish/purple highlights. Smell is very dark, ripe fruits. Plus a lot more brandy than I was expecting. This is incredibly boozy. Taste reaffirms the nose. I can’t get over how much brandy flavor is in this beer. You can barely taste the underlying barleywine. This is a brandy bomb! Still some dark fruits trying to make their presence known, but the brandy barrel just won’t let that happen. This is a huge, very big beer. I’ve yet to have anything even close to this experience.

Rating # 600. Sampled at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival. 2006 Vintage...the Original! I can’t believe the Abbey broke out the predecessor batch of one of my favorite barley wines. Brandy Barrel version. I enjoyed multiple samples of this on each evening of the Festival. Fantastic, mature aroma of sweet vanilla, brandy, molasses and brown sugar. A slight hint of dark fruits, with nuances of raisin and cherry. Incredibly smooth flavor of liqueur-saturated oak wood, toasted cinnamon-bread and fruitcake. The palate is nothing short of perfect with the extra age on it. Extremely easy to drink, with the brandy and oak finish lingering between each sip. Hats off on this one. I hear the post ’06 batch was not as impressive, but this was straight-up killer!

courtesy of ibrew2or3. One amazing offering, thanks Dave. ’07 bottle. Pours black, brownish head. Aroma had clearly something more of a brandy barrel, oak and dark fruity(cherry) nose that the latest Angel Share doesn’t have. Taste is as good as always. You really can’t go wrong with this amazing beer. Great use of brandy barrel, dark fruits and good caramel mats. Side by side, the bourbon barrel remains my favorite. Drinkable, well balanced, and a taste that is unique.

GABF 2008. 2006 vintage offering. Solid. Utterly solid. Super sweet oak and dark pitted fruit aroma that’s incredibly balanced. Indeed, it’s somewhat a relief to try an oak aged beer that hasn’t been contaminated by the now dreaded flavor of bourbon. A sweet body that’s just shy of cloying with a distinct brandy characteristic.