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

 

The 2015 version of this beer was on tap at The Beer Junction, Seattle. I'm a longtime fan of The Angel's Share, but it was always the usual bourbon barrel version. This was my first time with the brandy barrel version. The body/mouthfeel on this version was lighter than I expected (or remembered). There's a strong brandy flavor. It's quite boozy. Overall, it's a solid Lost Abbey offering.

On tap at Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier, VT. 2015 vintage.

This one pours a dark-ish brown color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like chocolate, dried fruit, tobacco, caramel, oak, and vanilla.

This has aged really well and is a real treat to find on draft. There’s no booziness, with great barrel character - vanilla, oak, tobacco, dried fruit, etc. There’s also spicy breadiness, caramel, and toffee. It’s very nimble for a barleywine - not too heavy tasting.

This is medium bodied, clean on the finish, no booze, with a nice creaminess and richness.

I really enjoyed this one - Lost Abbey is pretty underrated.

 

 

 

Tinypalooza 3/24/2018

16 ounce prowler into snifter, filled on 11/4/2017. 2017 vintage, 14.5%. Pours slightly hazy very dark brown color with a thin light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a spotty lace cap that lingers. Slight spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big raisin, prune, plum, fig, cherry, date, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, brandy, rum, toasted oak, and brown bread; with light notes of coconut, smoke, molasses, leather, tobacco, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Touch of booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and brandy barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge raisin, prune, plum, fig, cherry, date, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, brandy, rum, toasted oak, and brown bread; with light notes of coconut, smoke, chocolate, molasses, leather, tobacco, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal hop and brandy/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark fruits, cherry, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, brandy, rum, toasted oak, brown bread, coconut, light chocolate/molasses, leather, tobacco, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and brandy barrel flavors; with a nice malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from bitter/spiciness. Very mild carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/rich, and lightly velvety/slick/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Alcohol is extremely well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth with zero barrel barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic English barelywine! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and brandy barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV and very mild carbonation. Amazingly balanced between all flavors. Awesome barrel integration and complexity; without being overly boozy, tannic, or drying. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Provisions Market on 04/26/17.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 ibu's and boozy

 

 

 

 

Had the bourbon version and was hoping this would be similar. Not quite. Still nice barrel character but the brandy does not adhere as well to the other flavors as well as the bourbon did. More boozy in this variant as well, and the feel is thinned out a little. This all being said, in a vacuum this is a very good beer, pretty sweet with brandy and caramel, with great barleywine flavors to with strong ale booze and raisin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flat beer gonna pour flat. Not flat, but undercarbonated even for style. Poured black. Aroma was nice, the brandy brings out the vanilla which brings out the sweetness. Some oak and chocolate malt beyond that.

Taste was a sweet, enjoyable sipper. Some dark fruit, but its sweetness not bitterness. Good, albeit expensive stuff. Prolly won't repeat given its expensive nature.