Falling into The Abyss

As black as a cold russian night, *it* tantalizes the drinker from the instant it hits the table.

Deep, dark, intriguing.  Imperially.  Stouty.

Just a finger of dark tan head, with a bubble formation that reminds me of a pelican on the top.  Cute bubbles, really.

I want to stare into the depths of The Abyss' eyes all night long.  That would be stupid, though, because its too damn special to look at for too long.

A heavy roasted malt odor wafts up to my beautiful nose.  Hints of bourbon and barrel round it off as my excitement builds.

The first sip is a sensual experience.  My face gets a little flushed, and a tingly feeling surges through my extremities.  It may be the 11% alcohol by volume talking, but damn this beer is something.

The dark chocolate, molasses, and bourbon.  God, the bourbon.  Brewed with licorice and molasses, aged in oak and oak bourbon barrels.  It's delicious.  Dreamy. 

Orgasmic.

Deschutes Brewery has hit the mark with the 2011 The Abyss.  A year of aging has treated it well, and Seattle Beer Week has brought it to my local watering hole, The Noble Fir.

Don't just take my word for it, The Abyss rates a perfect 100 on RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com.   Two perfects make a perfect brew.

And if that weren't enough, The Abyss has been named one of the "Ten beers that will make you a man -- if they don't kill you first." In that article, Denver Westword said it better then I ever could:

The Abyss doesn't care. It just keeps winning medals and awards, but do you know what it does with all that hardware? The Abyss melts it down in the fires of hell, pounds it on a blazing anvil and recrafts it into the sledgehammer that it will hit you over the head with, Missy. At 11 percent ABV, this immeasurably dark beer tastes like molasses, wood, licorice and the soul of mankind. Deschutes claims on its website that the Abyss pairs well with caramelized onions and cream cheese on pepper crackers. Bullshit! The Abyss pairs better with the nine horsemen of the Apocalypse riding steeds made of granite. Enjoy.

Don't worry, it's for the ladies too.

So now that I've had my moment, you should too.  Seattle Beer Week continues through this weekend and if you're really lucky, you may run across some The Abyss.  If not, demand it at your local bottle shop.

I said demand.