THE ABYSS

The Abyss, an Imperial Stout by Deschutes Brewery (and a member beer of its Reserve Series)

22 ounce bottle.

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The email from 99 Bottles arrived in my inbox at 11:05 a.m. on Thursday 17 January 2008. The subject line stated, "The Abyss has arrived." I opened and read the message one hour later, at 12:05 p.m. At 4:35 p.m. I called 99 Bottles to ensure that they still had stock left. They did, but bottles were going fast. I made a trip there to get two bottles—one for immediate consumption, and one for cellaring. At 5:15 p.m. I was in the car, headed for home and dinner.

Only two days prior, I had been viewing pages on the Deschutes website to see what seasonal beers were currently available. The Abyss was listed as part of their Reserve Series. These are beers that are brewed in limited quantity and aged in oak barrels, to give the beer a richer, more complex character. I figured I would pick up a bottle if I happened upon one. Instead, the email from 99 Bottles arrived.

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The wife, the child, the mother-in-law, and I sat down to a dinner of Asian spiced pork ribs with noodles and sweet orange warm slaw. It was the perfect meal for this ale.

The Abyss poured raisin black, with the faintest aura of ruby red. The head was a frothy dark brown that left behind spectacular lacing. The aroma was complex. A slight woody scent was accompanied by thick molasses, dark chocolate, raisin, plum, licorice, and berries.

The first sip was the taste equivalent of a mostly charred log in a campfire that has started to cool down. This lent the overall effect to be a smokiness that offset the sweet of some of the other flavors. The sweetness comes through in molasses and various fruit flavors—raisin, plum, cherry, berries. Faint bitterness is provided by dark chocolate and coffee. For an 11% ABV ale, there was surprisingly no alcohol "bite." The flavor matured as the ale warmed, with the smokiness diminished somewhat and the other flavors moved to the foreground.

The Abyss was thick on the tongue. It engaged the entire mouth equally—lip, tongue, gums, palate, the top of the throat. The sum was definitely the focus, rather than the parts.

The experience was near perfect, heavenly. I cannot wait to have the other bottle after a few years of bottle conditioning!