Angel's Share: Grand Cru
The Lost Abbey in San Marcos, California, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Special Out of Production|
Score
7.98
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Nearly four years ago, we hired some Angels to work their magic on all manners of oak barrels and beers in our barrel program. As Angels go, they’re alright. Sometimes they misplace barrels. Other times, they’re selfish and hide the best barrels. And at least one of these Angels is mischievous from time to time adding grapes to the barrels to see what might happen.
Recently, we found some of these "Angels Barrels" which we’d lost over time. After tasting them, we decided to marry some of the barrels together creating a time in a bottle snapshot of some of our favorite Angel’s Share barrels. This Grand Cru bottling has been thoughtfully blended to bridge the first batches with our most recent releases. We hope that you, like us and our Angels, find it worthy of the designation Angels Share Grand Cru.
Recently, we found some of these "Angels Barrels" which we’d lost over time. After tasting them, we decided to marry some of the barrels together creating a time in a bottle snapshot of some of our favorite Angel’s Share barrels. This Grand Cru bottling has been thoughtfully blended to bridge the first batches with our most recent releases. We hope that you, like us and our Angels, find it worthy of the designation Angels Share Grand Cru.
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8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Cask gravity at gbbf 2015 day 3. Aroma is lonely, Sherry. Raisin, fruit cake, layer, booze soaked fruits. Mahogany brown coloured pour with a loose tan head. Flavours is soon rich marzipan fruit cake, booze sherry, caramel. Hint of wood. Very boozy but very smooth with a warming alcohol in the finish. Palate is full and velvety sticky sugar. Lovely.
Tried
from Cask
on 13 Aug 2015
at 12:33
7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Stein’s for the 2 year anniversary. Aromas of chocolate and dark fruit. Pours a murkey Mississippi Mud brown with taupe head that lingers only as a collar. Complex flavors of deep dark fruit and bourbon. Moderate high floral hop aspects. Mouthfeel is spritzy - tingling the tongue. Overt molasses more pronounced as it warms.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Mar 2015
at 14:53
7.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle courtesy of tkrjukoff. Pours slightly hazy dark mahogany with no head worth mentioning. Smell is malty and fruity with caramel, sweet dark bread, charred wood, grapes, kumquats and orange zest. Taste is sour and malty with caramel, dark bread, lemon juice, dark grapes, moist wood, red wine vinegar, leather, moist soil, kumquats and orange zest. Mouthfeel is dry, tart and medium to full bodied. Finish is sour with dark bread, caramel, lemon juice, grapes, red wine vinegar, leather, moist soil, kumquats and lemon zest. Quite alright as a strong American sour but clearly infected and not a barley wine or what the brewer intended. --- Beer merged from original tick of Angel's Share: Grand Cru on 09 Jan 2015 at 21:42 - Score: 6. Original review text: Sadly infected. Very dry and tart. Works as a US sour tough.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jan 2015
at 14:41
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Draft. Blackish beer with a tan head. Rich caramel/toffee aroma with bourbon and light fruitiness. Caramel/toffee flavor with bourbon and brandy. Medium-plus bodied. Caramel/toffee lingers with bourbon, light brandy, and light cocoa.
Tried
from Draft
on 03 Jan 2015
at 11:16
8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle thanks to GT. Pours a very dark brown with small tan head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is strong caramel, raisin, and oak. Medium moutfeel with nice roasted malt, toffee, caramel, brown sugar, light booze, easy to drink, very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Aug 2014
at 10:49
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Tap at the Ale Arsenal 2nd Anniversary. Pours murky chestnut, minimal tan head, a bit of lacing at best. Aroma is vanilla, oak, rum raisin, cocoa, fig, molasses, lots of dark fruits and sugars, plus a boozy note. Flavor is all of that, fully sweet, light bitter, bourbon, cherry. Full body, a bit chalky, pretty flat. Not really digging the mouthfeel, and the flavor became cloying over time. I am not as much as a fan as many others seem to be, but I am glad I got a chance.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Jun 2014
at 15:45
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Tap at Capitol Beer in Sacramento, CA. Pours dark brown with a slight tan head. Aroma suggests dark fruit, treacle, chocolate and maybe bourbon. Flavor is very chocolate with almonds, dark fruit and it seems a lot of bourbon. It’s not dry in the finish, but a little oak arrives to help.
Tried
from Draft
on 13 Jun 2014
at 16:35
8.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Draught @ Mikkeller Bar, San Francisco, CA
Pours dark brown, almost black with a smooth brown head. Lovely complex aroma of ripe fruits, wood, oak, vanilla, bourbon, raisins, roasty malts, licorice, brandy, apples and dark chocolate. Taste is heavy, sweet and malty with loads of different barrel notes, wood, vanilla, oak, apples, syrup and dark chocolate. Finish is sweet, sticky and complex with loads of ripe fruits, syrup, barrel notes, vanilla, brandy, oak, chocolate and licorice. Quite an extraordinary beer.
Pours dark brown, almost black with a smooth brown head. Lovely complex aroma of ripe fruits, wood, oak, vanilla, bourbon, raisins, roasty malts, licorice, brandy, apples and dark chocolate. Taste is heavy, sweet and malty with loads of different barrel notes, wood, vanilla, oak, apples, syrup and dark chocolate. Finish is sweet, sticky and complex with loads of ripe fruits, syrup, barrel notes, vanilla, brandy, oak, chocolate and licorice. Quite an extraordinary beer.
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 21:52
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Draught at EBF, 3/22/14
Favorite beer of the fest and definitely made me rethink my position on Angels Share. Previously, while I enjoyed the beer (we’re talkin batch 1, way back in 2006, I believe?), I was a little thrown off by the candied sweetness and slight alcohol heat. That was a young batch. I still gave it a 3.8. Now take that, and add to it all of the improvements that Tomme’s made over the years, add some age (and resulting dryness), pick the very best barrels, blend. Hard to imagine it could be anything less than amazing. And in my book, it certainly delivered on that.
Sweetness is immediately tempered by vinousness; prunes, raisins, black currant-like notes. Chewy, but not syrupy or worty. While some other thought it was overly bourbony, I am usually pretty sensitive to that and didnt get it at all. Certainly a sipper, and yes, there’s going to be some alcohol, but I thought it was pretty well-concealed. Brandy-like sweetness, wood tannins, raisin-like sweetness, and bourbon complexities all melded perfectly. Nice carbonation level, as well. Too many of these things have ultra low levels and suffer because of it. This still has an engaging carbonation that helps mask some of its burly size.
Really one of the best barleywines out there (not that that’s saying much). Very unique and as always, I feel very lucky to have tried it.
Favorite beer of the fest and definitely made me rethink my position on Angels Share. Previously, while I enjoyed the beer (we’re talkin batch 1, way back in 2006, I believe?), I was a little thrown off by the candied sweetness and slight alcohol heat. That was a young batch. I still gave it a 3.8. Now take that, and add to it all of the improvements that Tomme’s made over the years, add some age (and resulting dryness), pick the very best barrels, blend. Hard to imagine it could be anything less than amazing. And in my book, it certainly delivered on that.
Sweetness is immediately tempered by vinousness; prunes, raisins, black currant-like notes. Chewy, but not syrupy or worty. While some other thought it was overly bourbony, I am usually pretty sensitive to that and didnt get it at all. Certainly a sipper, and yes, there’s going to be some alcohol, but I thought it was pretty well-concealed. Brandy-like sweetness, wood tannins, raisin-like sweetness, and bourbon complexities all melded perfectly. Nice carbonation level, as well. Too many of these things have ultra low levels and suffer because of it. This still has an engaging carbonation that helps mask some of its burly size.
Really one of the best barleywines out there (not that that’s saying much). Very unique and as always, I feel very lucky to have tried it.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Mar 2014
at 16:35
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle split at the BIG tasting, 03/01/14, big thanks to Paulo for this retired big fish ! Murky mahogony brown with a dirty beige head that splits to the edge. Nose is sweet, vanilla fudge, dark toffee, woody twang, dark fruits, light oxidisation. Taste comprises dark toffee fudge, dates, brown sugar, cake mix, light cocoa, subtle booze. Medium bodied with bite, fine carbonation, drying closure. Decent barley wine, not too sweet or hot, a little past it’s best age wise I felt.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jan 2014
at 14:21