Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

Courtesy of JimboWood. Poured a cloudy dark brown with a foamy, tan head. The aroma is big dark fruits with toffee, toasted and roasted malts, chocolate, and bourbon. Flavors are sweet carmel, big cinnamon and brown sugar, choclate, vanilla, raisins, plums, with some bitter hops and bourbon coming through in the finish. Surprisingly smooth.

375 ml bottle from brewery. rating number 700. Pours a nearly opaque black color with no head and no lacing. The aroma was rich and complex with dark fruits--raisins, dates, prunes and plums. Also on the nose there is a bit wood and some brandy. The flavor is similarly ripe with those same dark fruits as in the aroma, plus brandy(almost a Remy-Martin Cognac type of presence), oak, vanilla and some molasses. The mouthfeel is silky smooth with very soft carbonation. The finish was long and dry with lingering molasses and brandy. Overall: A superb BA Barley-wine, but it really could have used a bit more time to develop a better carbonation profile.

375ml bottle, 2008 vintage, scored via a few trades. After all the controversy about this beer I was interested and excited to try this. Took the cage off and hoped I would hear a hiss or pop or something from the cork... no such luck. Pours a deep brown, mahogany with zero head. Legs line a scotch. No carbonation period. Sorry Tomme, this ain’t under carbonated, this is flat. Still, I’m willing to give this the benefit of the doubt. The aroms is really nice.The brandy comes through really well, apples, peaches, cookie dough, caramel, candy. Flavor is really great, it tastes like a caramel apple. The sweetness of the malts teams really well with the fruitiness from the brandy barrel. Tons of caramel, some coconut, vanilla, sort of a sour mash thing, slight orange. Slightly oily on the tongue, sweet finish with a gentle warmth provided by the alcohol. Man, I wish this was carbonated because this was really good, but the absence of CO2 really hurts the look, nose, flavor and mouthfeel. Was it worth the $15 for the split? Maybe, maybe not. Would I like to try next years version, hell yes.

2007 vintage, an official bad day at work beer. Bottle pours, a murky mahogany with a medium tan head. Very evil looking. Strong and complex aroma of red wine, oak, vanilla, brandy, and green raisins. Wow, nice red grape, raisin, spiced apple, and brandy finish with vanilla and oak notes that are very dry on the tongue like a good red wine. Very nice and suprising. This is like a glass of brandy, a glass of red wine, and a sweet british barley wine all in one. I love it.

750ml bottle, 2008 vintage shared at Immy’s Backyard Throwdown. Pours cloudy copper in color with no head at all and no carbonation. Aroma sweet, toffee and spicy. Taste caramal, alcohol and spicy with bitter finish.

Much thanks to TomDecapolis for this... Appears a dark, russett brown with red edges and a mild tan cap with a thick collar. Spotty lacing is left all over the glass. Smell is rummy with oak & bourbon notes. These aromas are followed up with complex brown sugar, raisins, fruit cake, black grapes, caramel, and toffee. Taste is of the mentioned aromas with a beautiful, sticky mix of caramel, oak, and mollasses. Mouthfeel is sugary, & medium bodied with a vivacious lingering of raisins, sugar, oaky vanilla, and mollasses. Well done brew! I felt bad about taking so much for myself but it was in love with this beer and the bourbon complexities that it melded together with.

750ml caged and corked bottle (2008 vintage) served in a snifter. Still, ruddy brown pour with no head. Yeah, this isn’t low carbonation, this is totally flat. The aroma had strong brandy, caramel, vinous red grapes, woody vanilla, some molasses, and also some alcohol. The flavor consisted of burnt caramel, brandy, raisins, vanilla, some underlying chocolate notes, and warming alcohol. The mouthfeel was full-bodied and had no carbonation. Almost like drinking the remenants of something that had been left out overnight. Hard to finish a whole glass. I had been looking forward to having this for quite some time, but the lack of carbonation kind of killed it for me. Even some "low" carbonation would have greatly improved this beer.

Tap at the brewery. WOW this is special. Pours a deep brown red. Pure brandy barrel nose. Flavors of roasted oak, sweet brandy, chocolate, raisin, fine port. Very smooth, full mouth, mild carbonation. Amazing!