Into the AbyssSometimes you just have to change things up: come to work late, eat lunch for breakfast, change around your office furniture, have a post-work Happy Hour at your desk. Last Thursday was one of those days – just in time for the arrival of a bottle of Deschutes Brewery’s The Abyss.
See, one of the perks of my job is that people send me stuff. A particularly good perk is that Deschutes, a brewery in Bend, Oregon that makes the kind of fantastic, creative beer that’s made the Pacific Northwest famous for its microbrews, is one of those “people” who sends me “stuff.” In fact, I’ve also had a bottle of its Green Lakes Organic Ale sitting by my desk for a month, just waiting for a taste test.
So. I invited some colleagues up to my office. I switched off the Misfits (which is PBR-drinking music) and switched on Elvis (which, somehow, seemed more like microbrew-drinking music). And I popped open the Green Lakes and The Abyss (whose cap, by the way, is covered in wax, like a fancy bottle of whiskey).
True to its name, The Abyss is impossibly dark and impossibly thick. When poured into a Styrofoam cup, it’s the texture of molasses and stains the cup like unfiltered coffee. And in your mouth? Smooth, rich, not too bitter – a lot like Guinness. There’s no question about it, though: this imperial stout is sipping beer. No kegs of The Abyss or Abyss-fueled all-night drinking binges for you, no sir. (Plus, it’s 11 percent alcohol, so pace yourself accordingly.)
On the other hand, you could drink Green Lakes until the cows come home or the sun comes up. It’s light, crisp, and refreshing, managing to be both flavorful and subtle at the same time. I tend not to like most ales – even Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a bit too strong and bitter for me – but this one I’d go back to again and again, even if I’m accused of being a hippie for drinking it. But I still won’t smoke American Spirits, damn it.
Now if only more bars and liquor stores in San Francisco regularly carried Deschutes, we could all have weekday Happy Hours in our own offices.
Know who’s serving/selling The Abyss or Green Lakes? Tell us!
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