The Angel's Share - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
The Lost Abbey

The Angel's Share - Bourbon Barrel-AgedThe Angel's Share - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
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From:
The Lost Abbey
 
California, United States
Style:
American Strong Ale
Ranked #21
ABV:
12.5%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,382
Avg:
4.29 | pDev: 10.72%
Reviews:
720
Ratings:
1,950
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 23, 2023
Added:
Aug 23, 2006
Wants:
  612
Gots:
  567
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.This striking Strong Ale is brewed with copious amounts of Caramel malt to emphasize the vanilla and oak flavors found in freshly emptied bourbon or brandy barrels. The beer spends a year in oak before it is packaged for release.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SwillBilly:
Photo of SwillBilly
Reviewed by SwillBilly from Virginia

4.89/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
2nd installment of the Sinners Club. 12.7 oz caged and corked bottle:

Appearance: Popped the cork and a big woosh ensued with a good bit of head foaming out of the bottle. Poured into my Duvel tulip, the color was deep dark mahongony topped by a huge light tan head. Hints of ruby shown around the edges. Head fades slowly to a thin, densly foamed foamed head topping the beer.

Smell: Initial hints of boubon and wood then loads of deep, dark and rich fruit ensue. Currants and ripe plums drenched in bourbon come to mind with and just a bit of caramel beneath the surface.

Taste: Wow !! You would think with the smell that bourbon would be a dominating flavor but that is not the case. Big and rich, with more dark and ripe fruit. Nice vanilla undertones peak through the malty mass along with the now present bourbon. Brown sugar and caramel come into to play as well. For such a big beer alcohol is well hidden though warms the face. Hops show in the finish with a nice, smooth bitterness that leaves the mouth asking for another sip.

Mouthfeel: Velvety and smooth that sticks to your mouth, not chewy thick but the viscosity is full.

Drinkability/Notes: Sure am glad I joined the LA Sinners Club. Where else could I get such fantastic beer. Bourbon Barrel Angel's Share hits a home run. I'm not a big fan of some bourbon barrel aged beers but this one is spot on. The bourbon accents the beer not dominating the flavor profile whatsoever. Plenty of big, rich, dark fruit with hints of vanilla and bourbon all finished with a nice bit of hop bitterness. Alcohol is so well hidden its dangerous. A true sipper that gets better as it warms. Seek and Enjoy !! Highly Recommended !
Apr 06, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by bruindre from Massachusetts

Feb 08, 2023
 
Rated: 3.87 by not2quick from Missouri

Jan 14, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by brandoneast from Texas

Sep 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.31 by Wisconsin_IPA_Lover from Wisconsin

Aug 20, 2022
Photo of NCSapiens
Rated by NCSapiens from Indiana

3.99/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Nice whiskey barrel flavors compliment a base ale.
May 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.31 by hopley from Massachusetts

Feb 12, 2022
 
Rated: 4.14 by 22Blue from Kansas

Nov 14, 2021
Photo of DaveMaciolek21
Reviewed by DaveMaciolek21 from New Jersey

4.49/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Muddy brown strong ale, no head whatsoever, and absolutely no more disappointment after that. Great silky mouthfeel, vanilla flavor mildly allowing bourbon and even brandy notes to overtake it. Nice caramel malt finish, smooth from top of the glass to the bottom. Brandy flavor is more at the top, bourbon predominant through last sip. Superior effort!
Mar 07, 2021
Photo of bret27
Reviewed by bret27 from California

4.27/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2009 Vintage courtesy of acurtis.
(12 years old!)
Dark fruits,(prune, raisins), toffee, leather, wood, slight oxidization.
99% flat. No booziness. Smooth.
Overall: Though definitely old, this ages pretty well. Those melded flavors only age can produce. Ages better than most beers out there. From what I’ve read Lost Abbey was probably flat even when fresh.
Feb 02, 2021
Photo of DrStiffington
Reviewed by DrStiffington from New Jersey

4.46/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
The Angel’s Share is from 2016. Pours dark, dark brown. Almost black. Very little carbonation during the pour, and then a bit after it was all poured. Immediate aroma of bourbon. I was surprised it was so strong after 4-5 years. Taste follows - big bourbon presence, which makes me happy, because I love bourbon barrel aged beers. Between the color being almost black and the bourbon dominating, this is very close to a bourbon barrel aged stout instead of a barleywine. If given in a blind tasing I might think it was. There’s very little barleywine characteristic: it’s not sweet, don’t get any caramel or toffee. It’s still a bit boozy, but I like that in beers like this.
Jan 30, 2021
 
Rated: 4.41 by Bogdawg from Massachusetts

Dec 26, 2020
 
Rated: 4.31 by Tcsox from Massachusetts

Dec 26, 2020
 
Rated: 4.18 by NolaHopHead from Louisiana

Dec 02, 2020
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

4.16/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Viscous, opaque garnet-brown with no head; strong bourbon nose with hints of wood, cherry stone, candy sugar, moss, plum and oak smoke; fig, milk chocolate, red currants, a whisky hit with a big thread of vanilla, sweet comeback + warming end; medium-full, chewy, round.

3.75 4.5 4 4 4.25

Sat on this for 5 years.
No looker, but smells like a humidor - once you get past the booziness, the complexity of the aroma drips down the back of your throat.
The taste is dried dark fruit more than any caramel sweetness. And then that bourbon drops in… while among the most harmonious I’ve encountered, it does take over more than complement the base beer.
Not perfect: it’s flat + boozy - hard to avoid at 12.5%, but it should've mellowed with age. I see lots of good ratings for this, but some are a decade old - maybe this beer jumped out more before everything was getting put in barrels.
Overall, this has more in common with treacly English strong ales than anything else. But with a lot of bourbon.

More an advertisement for bourbon barrel aging than a complete beer.
Nov 26, 2020
Photo of DvdP
Reviewed by DvdP from Netherlands

4.43/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Cork didn't want to get out, no pop. Pours dark brown, flat. Smells bourbon. Smooth mouthfeel, but could do with some carb. No alcohol to speak of. Taste is dry, woody, with some bice bourbon. Bit herbal, that old leather tobacco flavour from good barrels
Nov 14, 2020
Photo of Apellonious
Reviewed by Apellonious from North Carolina

4.31/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Vintage 2016. Poured into a tulip glass. No head to speak of, just a full murky ruby brown. Aromas of fig,barrel, and caramel. Taste is similar, no hops semblance at this point. And that is ...Ok. I’ll give you six dollars if you can name where that quote came from. The heft was surprisingly light, carbonation low, mildly sticky as everything warmed. Delicious and coating.
Oct 03, 2020
Photo of Luscious_Malfoy
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
vintage 2016 poured from a 375mL corked & caged bottle into a snifter. pours light brown but gathers in the glass a bit darker, almost chestnut, with the tiniest amount of khaki colored head that dissipates leaving small khaki swirls. nose is a combination of dark fruit, figs, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, oak and bourbon. taste is a little more oak and bourbon forward followed by sweet toffee and caramel. it suffers from a little oxidation but that’s my own fault for letting this sit so long. mouthfeel is medium to full. it sits on the tongue fairly full then finishes a little thinner. overall, pretty stellar bourbon barrel-aged barleywine. need to track down a fresh vintage as it was not my intention to try this for the first time with so much age on it. very much enjoyed it though.
May 31, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Patches826 from Massachusetts

Apr 15, 2020
The Angel's Share - Bourbon Barrel-Aged from The Lost Abbey
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 1950 ratings