Before I jump into the review I’ve got to thank my incredibly supportive and loving girlfriend Trish for not only putting up with this crazy hobby of mine but also for buying this beer for me for my first huge reviewing milestone. I love you Trish!

The Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel Aged Angel’s Share Ale

A / 4.45
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4
rDev: +2.9%
374 ml/12.7 oz corked and caged bottle poured into a snifter. 12.5% ABV, “Bourbon 2010″ printed on the back, towards the bottom of the bottle.

A - Mild Carbonation results in a quiet fizzy pour that allows only seconds of tan head to appear before falling away to a tiny ring of bubbles. Obvious for a beer this high in alcohol. Surprisingly, it’s not sludgy like motor oil. Instead it’s a clear, very dark brown color with mahogany red slivers around the edge.

S - Dark, rich notes of earthy, dirty old wood pairs well with an incredibly hot bourbon booze in the nose. It’s like a slap in the face how hot it smells. Molasses trickles in after the booze but is followed by a scary soy sauce aroma. Let’s not have a repeat of “Triple Bock” please… Vanilla and caramel malts find their way in towards the background of the aroma. No hop presence at all as it’s almost entirely bourbon.

T - I’m thrown for a loop initially by the rich texture that it’s got that it didn’t seem to have on the pour. Then I’m thrown for a second loop with hop mild the bourbon alcohol hotness is in the flavor compared to the aroma. Vanilla and sweet milk chocolate with molasses outlines the caramel malt-laced warm wood bourbon barrel flavor nicely. Lot’s of deep, rich notes cover up any hops that may actually be in here and actually work very well with the lower bourbon kick. This is incredible.

M - It looked thinner from the pour but boy, was I mistaken. Almost non-existent carbonation leaves this full-bodied, chewy beer smooth as velvet, rich, and thick. It lacks the alcohol kick to the taste (thankfully) that the nose has. Instead, it warms up your innards pretty damn quickly.

D – I’ll be sipping this for the next two hours no doubt. It’s warm and goes down well but would be best shared and is much more suited for anywhere between late fall and the dead of winter. While the hotness doesn’t enter the taste so much, I still find this to be a beer that would only get better with another 5 years.

Cheers to 1,000 more!

-Andy

Congratulations go out to Mr. Damon Hill, BeerFM’s very own Beer Geek of the Month. He’s helped spread the BeerFM word to others, participated on the website and Facebook, and he’s just an awesome guy all-around. His prize is yet to be determined but will surely be something awesome!

Raise a pint and join me in saying thanks to Damon!

-Andy

BeerFM would like to continue growing into a community of individuals who enjoy talking about beer and in order to increase discussion both on facebook and our website, we need your help. This is why BeerFM will be starting “BeerFM’s Beer Geek of the Month”. At the end of each month the BeeFM members will decide who has helped contribute the most to discussions, posts, and to generally spreading the BeerFM word as well as the word of craft beer. This person will be rewarded for their utter awesomeness with something beer related (don’t worry, it won’t be an empty bottle or a spoiled batch of homebrew). It could be anything good from our cellar from a stack of coasters to glassware from one of BeerFM’s sponsors or possiby a t-shirt. Maybe it will be a rare bottle of beer, or even tickets to a beer event! At the end of each month the selected beer geek will be honored on the sites for their contribution! We know this may sound like bribery but it’s actually just Andy’s cleaver way to get rid of some of his massive piles of beer stuff! And if you live out of the greater Milwaukee area we’ll even ship it to you free of charge! So why don’t you jump on facebook and post some comments, “like” some pictures, or upload a photo, and maybe next month you’ll be drinking a beer from a shiny new glass!

I realize what true beer advocacy is when I hang out and share beers with Todd (aka Beerwolf). He is one hell-of-a generous guy who gives and gives without thinking of anything but the enjoyment of sharing his massive stash of beer with other beer lovers. I was very luck to meet him (and countless others) through Beeradvocate and I’m really pleased he has joined the BeerFM crew!

I am equally blessed with meeting Larry Schneiberg, the area manager of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. He constantly hooks me up with Sierra Nevada goodies in the name of spreading the word of good beer. If you see any signs on liquor stores advertising a Sierra Nevada tasting in the greater Milwaukee area make sure you go and meet this kind and generous man and share some samples while listening to his wisdom.

This one’s for you Todd and Larry! Thanks for keeping the brotherhood of beer fellowship an awesome community to be in!

-Andy

BeerFM has paired up with Silver Creek brewpub in Cedarburg, Wisconsin to bring you their Imperial Mai-Bock release!

Come join fellow Milwaukee beer enthusiasts at Silver Creek, the northern ‘burb’s premier brewpub! Enjoy Silver Creeks’ awesome house tap beers and nice guest tap list while getting to know other beer geeks in a relaxed, smoke free environment. Silver Creek taps are 75¢ off when you order with a BeerFM business card in your hand! (Don’t worry, they’ll be handed out on location!)

Meet us at Silver Creek on Friday May 28th at 7 P.M.

It’s located at:

N57W6172 Portland Rd, Cedarburg
(262) 375-4444
www.silvercreekbrewing.com

If you have any questions, contact Andy at andy@beerfm.com

(Click image for larger poster view!)

-Andy

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” -Benjamin Franklin

Right on Ben, right on.

-Andy

I’m excited to share with you that part of the change I mentioned about BeerFM is upon us.

I’d love for you to join me in welcoming two new writers to BeerFM; Beerwolf and Sweem.
My two friends Todd (Beerwolf) and Dan (Sweem) are just as, if not more ecstatic about beer as I am and will be joining the BeerFM team in updating news, writing tips and reviews, and helping me in expanding BeerFM.

We’ll be providing more content than ever before including:

-Writer bios,
-Full length articles,
-More tips,
-Frequent, up-to-date beer news,
-Beerfly reviews (locations such as breweries, beer bars, and beer stores)
-A (forthcoming) Homebrewing section with another author joining in!
-BeerFM sponsored beer events!
-Beer event calendar and reviews covering events,
-annnnd, a fresh, new website to showcase it all!

The podcasts will still be released and available for free on iTunes and BeerFM will still be on facebook and twitter!

And most importantly, all of this is coming to you absolutely FREE of charge and FREE of ads so keep your ears and eyes peeled for BeerFM, your source for beer news, tips, and reviews (and now much more)!

Take a listen to Tips Episode 4 where Andy gives you tips on serving beer to make you the best pour-er you can be!

Tips Episode 4: Serving Beer

This is a quick overview of my process for reviewing beer. Short and to the point, it’s a jump-start into my review podcasts.

Review Process