The Angel's Share - Rum Barrel
The Lost Abbey - The Tasting Room
- From:
- The Lost Abbey - The Tasting Room
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Barleywine
- ABV:
- 14.5%
- Score:
- 91
- Avg:
- 4.19 | pDev: 9.31%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 6
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Dec 30, 2023
- Added:
- May 21, 2016
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 1
SCORE
91
Outstanding
91
Outstanding
Down in Kentucky and across the pond in Scotland, distillers who age their whiskeys for many years refer to the evaporation of the spirits from their barrels as “The Angel’s Share.” We couldn’t agree more. Each time a barrel is filled, a measure of liquid seeps into the oak and is lost for good.
Our Angel's Share is a barrel-aged burgundy colored ale infused with copious amounts of dark caramel malt to emphasize the vanilla and oak flavors found in the freshly empties Rum barrels. Each batch spends no less than nine months aging in the oak. As with all of our beers, this beer is brewed for sinners and saints alike. So be an angel and share it with a friend or two.
Our Angel's Share is a barrel-aged burgundy colored ale infused with copious amounts of dark caramel malt to emphasize the vanilla and oak flavors found in the freshly empties Rum barrels. Each batch spends no less than nine months aging in the oak. As with all of our beers, this beer is brewed for sinners and saints alike. So be an angel and share it with a friend or two.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Beersnake from California
4/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured at a share at fridge temp. Pours a murky brown with no head. The nose is fully of dark fruit - mostly plums and raisins. The taste is sweet, with slight notes of rum and toffee.
Dec 30, 2023
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho
4/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Botttle at share courtesy of JohnGalt1. Copper colored pour with a small bubbly head. Aroma and taste are caramel, rum, pit fruit and notes of vanilla. Quite boozy.
Jun 01, 2023
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania
4.27/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.27/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Sampled blind, and yes I got the barrel wrong!
This quite sweet and desert like, bourbon barrel aged I'd guess. I get creme brulee and brown sugar in a big way up front and throughout. The strong whiskey notes come on next with a strange, mild banana note that I'm liking quite a bit. The finish adds lots of oak and some tobacco for a nice balancing bitterness at the end. This is a great finale from a spectacular trade!
Sep 30, 2022This quite sweet and desert like, bourbon barrel aged I'd guess. I get creme brulee and brown sugar in a big way up front and throughout. The strong whiskey notes come on next with a strange, mild banana note that I'm liking quite a bit. The finish adds lots of oak and some tobacco for a nice balancing bitterness at the end. This is a great finale from a spectacular trade!
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut
3.79/5 rDev -9.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -9.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2020 vintage; consumed on 2/23/2022
Pours a near jet-mahogany body with sharp ruby accents and is topped with just shy of two fingers of fluffy, tan foam; decent head retention yields a thin cap, larger, creamy collar, and a few isolated strands of webby lacing along the walls of the glass.
Aroma opens with fruity esters bringing forward light rum and a residual brown sugar, soon fading to dehydrated raisin and riper rum over time as it intermittently revealed toasted caramel, hints of smoked toffee, and oak across a wavering bouquet.
Taste shows tropical rum bearing fruity esters and a secondary tone of richer caramel upfront, a cocoa dusting lingering through the mid-palate as sweeter caramel char and deeper threads of oak linger into the back end and through the finish.
Mouthfeel presents a medium-light body accented by a contrasting moderate-high carbonation, fluffily textured into a subtle, boozy warmth; creaminess over the mid-palate dries steadily into a lighter, level back end and delicate slickness to the swallow.
Barleywine richness tempered with deft textures and a fruity rum contrast, this milder take on the style is quietly dominated by barrel overtones insistent yet boozy; a stalemate holding the profile between oak and decadence, the persistent indecision leaving this one struggling to stand out as a whole.
Feb 24, 2022Pours a near jet-mahogany body with sharp ruby accents and is topped with just shy of two fingers of fluffy, tan foam; decent head retention yields a thin cap, larger, creamy collar, and a few isolated strands of webby lacing along the walls of the glass.
Aroma opens with fruity esters bringing forward light rum and a residual brown sugar, soon fading to dehydrated raisin and riper rum over time as it intermittently revealed toasted caramel, hints of smoked toffee, and oak across a wavering bouquet.
Taste shows tropical rum bearing fruity esters and a secondary tone of richer caramel upfront, a cocoa dusting lingering through the mid-palate as sweeter caramel char and deeper threads of oak linger into the back end and through the finish.
Mouthfeel presents a medium-light body accented by a contrasting moderate-high carbonation, fluffily textured into a subtle, boozy warmth; creaminess over the mid-palate dries steadily into a lighter, level back end and delicate slickness to the swallow.
Barleywine richness tempered with deft textures and a fruity rum contrast, this milder take on the style is quietly dominated by barrel overtones insistent yet boozy; a stalemate holding the profile between oak and decadence, the persistent indecision leaving this one struggling to stand out as a whole.
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut
4.26/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
4.26/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
Decent head production, even from a careful pour, but it quickly fizzes and disappears to a completely flat body, far too quick to even snap a picture. Body is very dark brown and nutty.
The aroma is, in a word, intimidating. Huge notes of toffee and caramel, along with oak and booze. The rum does stand out a bit distinctly from the far more common bourbon notes you get used to among beers like this, with notes of brown sugar, coconut, pineapple, and vague spices - perhaps nutmeg or clove. A bit of dark fruit lurking in the back, reminiscent of prune, date, and raisin.
A bit fizzy mouthfeel, but not unpleasant. Despite the sky-high ABV, it's not a thick beer; it actually drinks a little thin and slick. Not necessarily inappropriate for a barleywine (or strong ale), but surprising. Plenty of bite up front, and moderate alcohol heat, but you can still sip and savor if you dig the flavor. Plenty of building chest heat.
The flavor really delivers on the premise. It's a big, rich, malt-forward brew, the impact amped up by the barrel aging. There's a touch of oxidation (not unpleasantly so), which I can't say for sure is oxidation or an aspect of the oak. Rum has its greatest impact on the back half, but even so, it's restrained; if you're not a fan of rum (which I am not), that shouldn't be a barrier to enjoying this brew.
Primary flavors are dark fruit, brown sugar, oak, and caramel. Secondary flavors are dark bread, nuts, leather, rum, star anise, and bark. Tertiary notes include coconut, pineapple, vanilla, pine, and a dash of orange peel.
The Lost Abbey promised a complex and bold beer here, and they delivered. It's not exactly my favorite profile, but I'm not about to hold that against it - and I do enjoy and appreciate it very much.
May 02, 2021The aroma is, in a word, intimidating. Huge notes of toffee and caramel, along with oak and booze. The rum does stand out a bit distinctly from the far more common bourbon notes you get used to among beers like this, with notes of brown sugar, coconut, pineapple, and vague spices - perhaps nutmeg or clove. A bit of dark fruit lurking in the back, reminiscent of prune, date, and raisin.
A bit fizzy mouthfeel, but not unpleasant. Despite the sky-high ABV, it's not a thick beer; it actually drinks a little thin and slick. Not necessarily inappropriate for a barleywine (or strong ale), but surprising. Plenty of bite up front, and moderate alcohol heat, but you can still sip and savor if you dig the flavor. Plenty of building chest heat.
The flavor really delivers on the premise. It's a big, rich, malt-forward brew, the impact amped up by the barrel aging. There's a touch of oxidation (not unpleasantly so), which I can't say for sure is oxidation or an aspect of the oak. Rum has its greatest impact on the back half, but even so, it's restrained; if you're not a fan of rum (which I am not), that shouldn't be a barrier to enjoying this brew.
Primary flavors are dark fruit, brown sugar, oak, and caramel. Secondary flavors are dark bread, nuts, leather, rum, star anise, and bark. Tertiary notes include coconut, pineapple, vanilla, pine, and a dash of orange peel.
The Lost Abbey promised a complex and bold beer here, and they delivered. It's not exactly my favorite profile, but I'm not about to hold that against it - and I do enjoy and appreciate it very much.
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida
3.18/5 rDev -24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.18/5 rDev -24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
750 mL bottle. Deep amber. Smells of caramel malt, brown sugar, a dark fruit, and some hops. Tastes of rum and brown sugar. Sharp alcohol flavor. Some bitter hops. Lots of alcohol. Oaky finish. Extremely heavy and quite boozy. It's tasty, but it's outrageously alcoholic.
Apr 22, 2021
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