Abstrakt AB:05
BrewDog

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle purchased from Slowbeer for me by @epiclurk. Shared with @tobeerornottobe.

Pours a lovely deep, rich and thick black colour, with a very minor, but fine head of mocha-brown. In essence, it's only a ring of very faint bubbles, but it suits this murky and heavy beer. Body is fluid but very thick. Because of the lack of head, there's no lace, but you kind of forgive it that. It's a very pleasant looking brew.

Nose is rich and roasty, with a deep, underlying sweetness. Certainly there's some coconut and cocoa character, melded with a deep vanilla, stacks of chocolate and coffee and a hint of sharpness that reminds me of Patrón Café. Perhaps it's the booziness, which is prominent, but which works itself into the overall picture really nicely. Lovely stuff.

Taste is just as good. Deep liqueur suppleness cradles a deep sweetness and a fragrant coffee and roast bite. Big chocolate characters meld with the slick and clear mouthfeel to make it feel a little like molten cocoa. Bitterness makes itself felt in the pure crazy depth of the beer, but really it's about the sweet rounded, caressing characters of the chocolate and malt sweetness. Gorgeous stuff.

This is a really, really lovely brew, almost certainly the best of the Abstrakt beers I've yet had. This is rich, supple, delicious and put together white purpose and foresight. I just love it.

 

 

 

Served in a Dogfish Head snifter.

Bottle #532/3600, bottled on 2/20/11. I haven't had the greatest success with "Belgian stouts", but maybe the toasted coconut and cacao will help...? Let's see: It pours, following a protracted battle with the synthetic cork, a very dark black-brown topped by a finger of relatively short-lived sienna foam (all fizzy and whatnot, possibly from the cork battle). The nose comprises roasted malts, molasses, toasted coconut (holy shit, I can smell it, all up-front and personal-like...never experienced that before...), and light cocoa powder. The taste brings in more of the same, with the coconut really coming through from the get-go and hanging on through the finish. A touch of coffee finds its way in there as well. The body is a straight medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a smooth feel. Overall, a nice stout, though I don't get much Belgian-ness out of it, and the coconut is a bit too brazen for my tastes.

 

 

 

Drank from my Duvel tulip

Bottle 3445 of 3600

A - Pours the classic dark ebony colour with a two fingered tanned head that retains well.

S - Very malty aromas with somew hiskey booze, toffee and caramel.

T - Plenty of different flavours and dominated by molassis. Heaps of toffee and caramel with plenty of residual sweetness. The booze is well hidden.

M - Full body and minimal carbonation. makes for a very smooth stout.

O - Too dominant in molassis with not enough balance. A massive stout nonetheless.

Thanks to Jason for sharing this one. Figured no one else in our tasting group would mind if we drank it. Served in a Drie Fonteinen tulip.

A - A thin dark tan foam settles to concentric wisps, leaving behind spotty lace. Black body, with the faintest glint of brown at the fringes.

S - Roasted malts, cocoa nibs, chocolate cake, mild Belgian yeast character, vanilla, and a bit of alcohol peeking through. Doesn't smell at all like the more available Brewdog stouts I've tried, which is a good thing in my opinion.

T - Tastes more like dark bread, slightly doughy - that's the Belgian yeast at work I guess. Not as good as the aroma, with more of an umami character and less of the delicious chocolate. Again, no coconut present, so I'm guessing they didn't use much? Alcohol is well-hidden.

M - Slightly zesty carbonation, and a bit undersized for 12.5%. Medium-bodied, with a sticky and chewy texture. Mouth-coating stickiness that reminds me of chocolate milk.

D - Not as good as the AB:04, but still an enjoyable Imperial Stout. Why don't all Brewdog beers taste like the ones in the Abstrakt series - they'd be a much better brewery for it. Would have this again, but wouldn't try super hard to acquire it.

Big thanks to Crosamich for this one. This beer hits you with a strong scent of really minty dark chocolate. It also has a really interesting fruity characteristic from the yeast which takes over the beer. As for the taste, it hits hards with really fruity coconut, mint, and dark chocolate; but honestly it is almost like a faint dark chocolate covered raspberry. For having toasted coconut in the beer, it definitely is not coming through. Unfortunately, for me, I do not care for this beer. I think the yeast adds way too much of a minty green apple, in which I dont particularly care for. I am really displeased with this beer, I expected more from Brewdog because they have brewed way better beers. I do think the dark chocolate by itself would of been amazing, but in general I think I am not partial to Belgian yeasts because they tend to add tart, fruity characteristics, but in a Stout I dont think they fit. But the dark chocolate character is great.

Thanks to Paxton1978 for this one

Popped the cork that did not "Pop" and Poured pitch black with little head turning to film rather quickly.

Aromas of dark malty goodness, toasted coconut, roast nuts, fruit cake, anise, sweet spices and alcohol

SWEET TALLAHASSEE ! ! ! (as my friend Arty says) It's like a dessert in a glass. Burnt Sugars, brown sugar, chocolate, coconut, syrup, dark fruits, cake and then more sweetness. There is a bit of bitterness but it is no match for all the sweetness and throws the balance off completely.

Carbonation was lighter than expected which was not a bad thing but the body could have been much fuller and richer especially for what I expected from such a sweet decadent beer.

I have really loved the AB series and am a Brewdog Fan. I had high expectations and was not impressed. Well made and I love what they do but not this time so much.

A: To quote Comic-book-guy (from the Simpsons); could it be any darker? Pitch black pour with a thick brown creamy head that leaves nice lacings.

S: Rich roasted dark malts, dried dark fruits. Lots of chocolate (bitter dark) and lots of strong black coffee. Very faint vanilla - has this one been in a whisky cask?

T: Rich and full sweetness; roasted malts. Dark dried fruits and loads of strong black coffee and bitter dar chocolate. Faint coconut. Complex!

M: Full, smooth body and moderate carbonation. Aftertaste holds the bitter chocolate for a long time.

O: This is my favourite of the Abstrakts yet (I have had the first five).

A thick syrupy pour, dead black.

Nose comes in with high quality chocolate, some soy sauce, mollasses, dark fruits, and roasted malt. The toasted coconut was a little hard to find.

Syrupy sweetnes but not to the point of being cloying. Mouthfeel is surprisingly thin. The nose directly represented the taste. Sweet chocolate aftertaste. I wish the coconut was more noticeable. This was like 04 where an ingredient could've been pushed more to the limit. If this is the same base stout they should really think about packaging this up and sending it over here, damn. This bottle had a little more soy sauce present than 04 though.