Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

Serve in Snifter

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Deep dark brown with no head. Aroma of oak and dark fruit. Taste of alcohol raisins and brandy. Medium-bodied.

375ml c&c bottle. Should have drank fresh. Tart, lactic, flavor of citrus. Dissapointment. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pours a murky dark brown, almost black. Aroma of oak and vanilla. Taste is tart, dark fruit, prunes, dates and bitter chocolate. Not very good, I would not age this in the future.

October 28th, 2011 - I have a vague memory of enjoying Angel’s Share long, long ago, before I put any of my reviews and scribbling onto Ratebeer. It was introduced as an example of the paragon of brewing. I tasted it, and immediately recognized it for what it was: a foil. Lost Abbey’s Angel’s Share is everything that everyday beer isn’t. If this is one path of evolution for beer, it begs the question of what other evolutionary branches might exist. The Angel’s Share drinker becomes a craft beer drinker at the instant of the taste. That’s a profound beer. In October, 2011 I had the opportunity to shake hands with this old friend again. The aroma is thick and almost oily, intensely perfumed with fig and concentrated raisin. The caramelized, bubbling sugar of a roasted sweet potato is also present, and laced (or barbed) with the sharpness of copious booze. The taste re-affirms the oiliness of this brew, cut nicely by the assertive alcohol level, like a shark’s fin across the ocean’s surface. Intense, dry, and like a barley wine, I’m drunk on both the flavor and beer after only half a glass. The dry character is contrasted against a caramel bourbon burn and residual sweetness, verifying Lost Abbey’s proud barrel aging process. One danger present with these kinds of beers is a cloying intensity. I appreciate heavy flavored beers, but even heavy-weights can be too heavy. The beauty of the craft is to nuzzle that line as closely as possible without overstepping it, and I would argue that the Angel’s Share does that with a certain ballet-like grace. Where most beers strain to straddle that line, Angel’s Share dances up to it, balancing intensity and balance - a true craft brewing feat. Now, I wonder what this would taste like after a little aging...

Bottle. Infected. Fuck. Just terrible. I was really looking forward to this, never again.

Uploading old ratings that were missing comments. Unfortunately received a bottle that was completely flat as many others did. Flavor was still fantastic. Boozy and rich. Would love to try it again with a better bottle. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

200th rate! Thought this great beer was appropriate. On draft @ Mohawk Bend in LA. Very dark brown pour w/ minimal carbonation. Everything I want in a big beer- bourbon, dark fruit, vanilla, caramel, some slight bitterness. A wonderful beer!

On tap at Memphis Taproom, 2010 Vintage. Pours very deep dark brown color with a light toffee colored ring that laces down the glass. Big rich aroma of figs, dark toasted chocolate malt, bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The taste is sweet and a little cloying from the dark roasted malt and bourbon. Blended nicely with dark fruit, dark chocolate, vanilla, roasted caramel, oak, and bourbon that is very dominating on the palette. Taste is complex, deep, and overall very rich. Mouthfeel is thick and somewhat syrupy, nice gentle velvetycarbonation.

Rating #3800, a special beer here. Deep dark brown coloured body with absolutely no head or movement at all - soy sauce coloured, interesting. Aroma of alcohol, figs, pit fruits, raisins, nuts, complex spices and a bit of sour grapes, but not much - definitely some meat smells as well. Medium-bodied; Strong soy and Worcestershire sauce flavour at first with some apples, pit fruits and roasted malt flavour taste behind, but this is definitely strong, pungent and unflattering. Aftertaste shows a little fruits, a lot of earth and even more soy sauce flavour with meat added. Overall, not a very good beer - there is no carbonation, a bit of oaky and liqour flavours, but the Worcestershire and soy sauce notes are a bit too potent for me. Add this to the price and you can definitely pass this one up. A bad rating for #3800, I wish I would have had something a bit better in my stash. I sampled this 37,5 cL ’split’ bottle purchased from Healthy Spirits in San Francisco, California on 05-March-2012 for US$15.99 sampled at home in Washington on 11-February-2013.

As a whiskey lover, i was excited to try this. You can smell the whiskey as soon as it's poured. Has a strong whiskey flavor with toasted coconut, cocoa, and vanilla flavors. Feels very alcoholic. Definitely a long whiskey finish. I loved it, but I probably couldn't drink much.