Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

Bottled, special thanks to JohnC. Poured a lovely shade of damn near black with a nice cap of deep beige head. Aroma picked up very deep, roasted caramel and milder chocolates with intricate accents from the brandy barrel... vanilla, vinous notes, and toasted oak are very well-intertwined... deep and seductive.. damn near a 10.

Flavor was equally magnificent.. superb caramelization and some semi-sweet chocolate at the core.. layers of sweet vanilla beans and deep vinous notes slightly over that.. sweet toasted oak and warm alcohol pick up through the finish... just a lovely balance to it, and the warmth is presented without being scathing. Heavy-bodied on the palate and remarkably well-balanced.. drier on the tail-end. Well-done! Thanks John!

Bottle. [ Courtesy of drewbeerme ] Dark brown / black color with a average frothy good lacing mostly lasting beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, rasin, plum, port, tawny, soy sauce, licorice, burnt sugar, bourbon, oak, chocolate. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet with a long duration. Body is full, texture is oily, syrupy, carbonation is soft to flat, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. Very very nice ;o)) Hopefully I will be lucky enough some day to have another bottle of this fine beer.

Sampled from 750 ml bottle in Montreal on Glouglouburp’s roof at the tiggmtl-returns/MartinT leaves for Japan party, June 17 2007. Pours very dark, near black with a molasses-like appearance, dark tan head dies away quickly leaving a small ring....huge, rich, rum-soaked fruitcake aroma, vanill and marzipan sauce covering gingerbread for a double-cake delight, as decadent as you could possibly imagine and just wonderfully inviting and enthralling...the body is just as luscious, sinfully, velvety thick, lightly oily with licorice and molasses-maple sugars dominating the experience....faint resinous hops kick in just enough to keep this from being too sticky and sweet to be drinkable, though it is on the edge sugar-overload....the brandy-bourbon qualities are strong but for me not overdone; I would have liked to see a slightly higher carbonation level as this becomes a bit difficult to drink, but on the whole this is masterful and delightful, close to Thomas Hardys in intent and worthy of the comparison.

(750ml bottle, courtesy of Walt) Pours a deep amber-brown body with a spare beige head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, and chocolate. Flavor of dark fruits, caramel, oak, and chocolate.

750mL bottle, courtesy of Schutzenliesel. Thanks, Tom!! Pours a very dark cola brown color; light tan head with decent lacing (why did everyone else’s look better than mine?). Pleasant, bourbony and buttery vanilla notes in the aroma; a touch of alcohol. Very dense, oily mouthfeel: viscous, chewy dried fruits and toasty bourbon; very pleasant, non-abrasive barrel presence with creamy, buttery notes; concentrated, generous barrel-aged beer. Excellent. Lengthy, toasty bourbon and vanilla finish.

Sampled on Glouglou’s roof at our summer BBQ blowout

Very dark for the style, but that’s not a problem for me. It looked almost like a porter, with a cream, tan head.
Started off with prunes and the first alcoholic effluves were spicy like a fruitcake, then as it warmed the fusels came out a bit more, giving it a powerful aroma that oscillated between a fine Kirschwasser and a cask strenght whiskey. Whoh.
Quite rich but never going overboard, the barrel-aging is just at the right level where Brandy and Rhum flavors are present but without draining out the body. The booze flavor is there but without the burning or harshness you can find sometimes, only a nice warm feeling in the throat at the very end. The body is quite malty and easy to drink, even at near room temp. Surprising how it can seem so simple in one sip, then throw you for a loop the next. It just evolved and flowed, and deserves all the hype and then some.

750 ml bottle shared by BBB63
Pours dark brown/mahogany with a brown head. Heavy dark friut aroma with lots of oak. Rich, and very malty with lots of fruity goodness up front.
This was the last beer of a long night of sampling for me and Mike. Hopefully I will be lucky enough some day to have another bottle of this fine beer.

Tasted at woodshop tasting, shared Generously by cquiroga. Dark brown pour, Heavy fruit nose,nice lacing throughout, lots of dark fruits, wood, some vanilla, quite quaffable! Enjoyed very much!