Abstrakt AB:06
BrewDog

Bottle 6498 of 8973 16/05/2011.
Dark petrol color with no head.
Delicious aroma with bold notes of dark cocoa, licorice, oak and mint.
Flavor with notes of charcoal, cocoa, licorice, oak, faint mint or pine, something vinous and roasted malt. Dry aftertaste with lingering roasted note and a tamed bitterness.
Oily body with no carbonation whatsoever. Alcohol of 11.2% abv is fully hidden.
Imperial Black IPA with bold charcoal and cocoa notes. After over 10 years hops grew tire leaving a faint pine nuance. Mouth didn’t deliver exactly what nose expected, partially given it was fully flat changing part of the experience.

Had in December 2014, 3.5years old, was told this needed some time but hoping this wasn't too long. Appearance is oil black, nothing in the way of lacing or film.
A- burnt black malt, dark charry roastiness, some fiery spice and dank citrus, quite a spice load on this with cardomon, raw cocoa, dried chili, ginger. The aroma starts to liven up as it warms with allspice, toast ginger, Rosemary.
T- starts with some strong coffee notes then a really powerful medicinal hoppiness comes in, a clean roasty dark malt, chocolate liquer, oily with citrus essence, ruby grapefruit, spiced orange and mild herbally pine, tending toward a dry earthy finish, with a lot of drying medicinal hoppiness.
M- thick big body, minimal carbonation if any, creamy feel with a counteract to the hop bitterness. Satisfying sipping feel with a pleasant hop medicinal character.
I had fears the hops would be gone by now, and not having this fresh, I couldn't offer an objective opinion. However this was a rel treat, certainly an offering out in left field, and it carried a lot of the richer dark malt and earthy hop character, peppery and herbal, with an oily mouthfeel and some residual aged citrus, really dank hop notes along with a really well balanced body by this age and. Nice warming finish. Surprisingly little alcohol, there is some which blends nicely into the profile. An interesting and enjoyable beer to be sure, has come together really well, a smoothly drinkable slightly oily feel, great aroma and a nice coffee and bitter earthy character.

 

Bottled on 16.05.11, so yeah, it's pretty old.
Pours pitch black, almost entirely flat, with just a minimum of froth on the margins.
Smell of plum jam, fig, dark cherry jam, cold black coffee, soy sauce, citrus peel, light chocolate, licorice, vanilla, burnt sugar, herbs, roast.
Mouth fills with fruity goodness, lots of sweet fermented dark fruit (plum, fig, raisin, cherry) with a splash of orange liqueur. Dark bread, rough and spicy, like Russian rye bread, extra toasted. Coffee with a bit of chocolate thrown in there, a bit of cream too and cinnamon. Clove, peppercorn, a herbal note underneath it all, with a minty note in the finish. Some burnt wood and bread crust, lingering caramel, surprisingly, just a bit more than mild bitterness in the end. Probably because of the age of the bottle.
It's understandably flat, pretty light, almost watery. It goes down dangerously easy. Especially considering the subtleness of the booze. Aftertaste has a bit of hop, dry dark fruit, roasted coffee bean.
Not sure how it was 3 years ago, but i enjoyed it either way. A lack of hops (especially considering the triple dry hopping) compensated by nice rich flavours and great hidden abv saves this one. Cool!

 

 

 

 

 

A: Poured into a pint glass (since I am woefully lacking in glassware for beer in Italy), the beer pours pitch black with some reddish and coppery hues. There is minimal head, as is to be expected with a beer characterized by this high of an ABV (11.2%, to be exact). Slight lacing is present throughout the drinking session. But over all, rather average looking beer.

S: Alright, time to take a plunge into this abyss of a brew. First whiffs are very much of dark chocolate and dark bread. After swirling the glass there is something else coming into the scent, something like chocolate covered cherries and maybe an olive like smell? A strong black coffee like scent is also very much present in this brew.

T: First taste is definitely of something like a dark rye bread, very intense but tasty. On the swallow there arises a coffee like taste that I originally got from the smell... but now there is something else- like pepper. After the swallow, the taste that lingers is akin to a very strong mocha like taste mixed with a hoppy bitter backbone. Later in the session, a black licorice, almost jagermeister like taste emerges. However, it is very slight and not overwhelming as to offset the other flavors. Towards the end of the session, pumpernickel becomes the dominant taste to shine through, but it is still backed up by all of the other flavors in the background. It’s a very intriguing flavor profile, indeed.

M: Dry, but oily and smooth. A very pleasant mouth feel that caresses the tongue throughout the drinking session. There is minimal carbonation, which is good since the caramel like texture of this beer does wonders for it. I also love how the strange dry, but oily like texture of this beer leaves a warming sensation on the tongue. It’s a very good mouthfeel, and one of the best that I have yet experienced in a beer.

For my first foray into BrewDog’s beers, I would say that this is a very good and promising start. I am excited to work my way through the rest of their catalogue.

 

 

Bottled on 16.05.2011.
Bottle 5329 of 8973

Appearance: Black, but not fully opaque. Pours almost no head, wine-like. Visible sediment in the bottle.

Aroma: Alcohol, caramel, aromatic hops. Molasses, hint of cardamom. Intriguing!

Taste: Licorice and spices. Hops are not overwhelming, but introduce a herb-like flavour. Alcohol is obviously present, but very much in the background. Warming, but goes down easy.

Mouthfeel: Soupy but smooth, almost no carbonation. The body is lighter than you might expect though, especially for this type of beer.

Overall: The beer takes the high alcohol content extremely well, a feat by itself. It's not as mind blowing as I might have hoped, but certainly an interesting soup of flavours and aromas. Not bad for the winter season, given the spices and warmth. It's supposedly an imperial IPA, but the hops don't dominate at all in my opinion, and it's pleasant to drink; no full-blown hop bitterness here. I should also note that it was rather difficult to open the bottle, the artificial champagne-type cork was very tight.

This is sadly only my first contact with the Abstrakt series. I would've been more interested in some of the previous offerings, especially AB:03 and AB:04, but I'm pleased to have gotten my hands on this one anyway!

A: Pours dark brown with reddish hues. Almost no head.

S: Rich sweet malts, caramell. Some citric notes. Dark dried fruits. Spices. Vanilla and coffee.

T: Sweet roasted malts. Vanilla and dark dried fruits. Some coffee in the back.

M: Rather long sweet aftertaste with a full body and low carbonation.

O: This is actually an only semi-extreme beer from BrewDog - nice!

Who thought that I'd be drinking my first Abstakt in Brazil? Thank you André for making this happen. On to the beer:

Black colored with a hue of creamy brown. A reasonable head forms on top, and good sticking lace remains stuck to the glass. The nose is big on pine, chocolate and brownies. I had no dea what the style was supposed to be beforehand, but it seems like a hoppy Imperial Stout.

The taste says hoppy RIS. Pine and orange flavor combine with the plentful doses of chocolate to make a melangé that is fun to drink. Citrusy in the aftertaste. A full body and well hidden alcohol make up the texture of this beer.

Hard to say if this is much of a new concept, but it is fun drinking stuff.

 

 

154th Review
Bottle to snifter

From notes. I opened this at a small tasting with some local beer geeks in Denver way back when. Thanks jbeatty for this sweet extra!

A: Deep brown. Half (cream color) fingernail head on medium pour.

S: Deep, dark fruit and loads of it. Hints of spice and roasted malt, but no real booze here as I was expecting.

T: Sweet malt character up-front with balance of fig, dark cherry, and molasses/vanilla combo. Hint of citrus and hops, but this is quite faint. Port-like booziness comes out a bit, but fairly well hidden.

M: Full bodied (thick and coating) with low carbonation.

O: This beer starts soft, but grows quickly as it moves down your palate (and warms up). The booze comes thru a bit towards the back end, but it is very welcoming! Pretty good all-around and fun to try.

Served in a nonic pint glass.

Dammit, I forgot to note the bottle number...I know it was somewhere close to the upper limit, though... Anyway, it pours a dark ruby-tinted black-brown topped by a finger or so of wan tan foam. The nose comprises light roasted malts, toasted pumpernickel (I don't recommend toasting pumpernickel, by the way...), pine resin, and very light orange peel. The taste brings in more of the same, though everything is toned down slightly, softened as they were mixed together. Not nearly as acerbic as the smell came across at times. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fairly dry finish, one that bordered on sticky. Overall, a nice CDA, a surprise coming out of the BrewDog boys (whose IPAs and other hoppy offerings have normally fallen somewhat flat for me in the past).

Thanks to my cousin Jeff who picked this up on his last trip to England, bottle 83 of 8973. Bottle split evenly in 2 SA perfect pint glasses. The pour was jet black, moderate tan head after a vigourous pour. The aroma was piney,sweet, vanilla. Both of us thought it was either a barley wine or an old ale. The beer had some piney resin, was sweet, malty. It had a sweet finish. The body is full, light carbonation, alcohol noticeable, definite sipper. I really enjoyed it.