I opened a bottle of The Abyss that I bought two weeks ago from Goldhill. I was highly impressed, and wrote the following notes.
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4
Overall: 4.6 of 5 (A+).
The Bottle is stately, simple, with a wax sealed cap. The label declares its vintage (2007). The Wax is a bit tricky to cut off at first, but soon comes off from around the cap. The beer pours slowly, with a viscosity befitting to its molasses heritage. The result in my glass is a deep brown opaque beer, with a brown head that clings nicely to the side of the glass. The smell of dark chocolate, and the mild molasses is countered by a woody and smoky odour.
The flavour is strong, muscling through anything, with a tastes of baker's chocolate, liquorice, with a mild to moderate hint of coffee. The woody, smoky flavour really comes through pleasantly, with just enough presence to add additional direction to this beer. The beer drinks smoothly, with moderate carbonation that doesn't sting, and a oily finish that clings to the mouth. This is really a beer to have with a desert such as a cheese cake, or perhaps as a desert in its own right. The ethanol remains hidden under the malts and tastes of roast throughout, making it very easy to drink more than you intended. An amazing beer from a quality brewery. Deschutes has really outdone themselves with this offering.
If you're into stouts, this is one to try. Goldhill Liquor has some for sale, still.
2 comments:
Hello, fellow researcher overseas. I should be writing a journal paper rather than writing this, but as i found "Belgian beers" in your list of interests, i couldn't resist to come here, see who you are and stick "i'm from Belgium" ;)
Cama-i! I'm sorry I didn't respond to this sooner, I didn't see it until now! I'll wave vaguely at my profile as a sort of `who I am,` since there isn't much to say beyond that. :) I'm very envious of your current location. I adore a number of the Belgian beer styles, especially the strong, dark abbey ales. They're so much better than the usual, disgusting `American` macro-lager!
Feel free to hang around! I try to mix up my blogging so it's not all politics, or Alaska. I try to keep a good dose of science and beer in here - the important things in life! Sadly, I don't think any of your blogs are in languages I can read - I've a smattering of Eskimo languages, and some German, but no French. Sorry!
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