The Drunken Polack

You’ve probably heard me start reviews like this before.  The girlfriend and I went to San Diego last year blah blah blah.  Yes another review is starting like that.  Right after we landed in San Diego we got into our rental car and sped over to The Lost Abbey for their Christmas in July event.  It just so happen that it was also Duck Duck Gooze release day. 

I picked up a few tickets to buy some bottles and while waiting in line to get those bottles I enjoyed this beer for the first time.  I loved it and so did my girlfriend, which is a rare feat.  She hates beer but she loved this beer. 

Duck Duck Gooze is labeled as an American Wild Ale.  It’s released every couple of years so you can say it’s a rare one.  It was available that day at the brewery and it was also available as part of the Sinners club I believe.  Not part of the regular Sinners Club but it was a beer you can put in your cart as an extra.  One of the reasons I love the club and it will continue to get my money year after year.  So anyway, how is this beer standing up over a year later?  Very well I must say.

DDG pours a hazy golden color.  It honestly looks like apple juice.  No head is poured and no lacing.  There are bubbles that shoot from the bottom of the glass to the top.  Of course as you get deeper and deeper into the bottle that clearness goes away and becomes cloudy.

Smell is all the way tart apples.  It’s the number one thing I noticed.  Tartness and sourness mixed together wonderfully.  I also picked up some lemon, grass, citrus, and oak. 

The taste is more sour than I remember.  It could be because of some of the age.  This time around while my girlfriend liked it she didn’t quite love it.  I ended up finishing almost the whole bottle by myself.  I never have issues really finishing a whole bottle but when there is a sour ale involved it eventually gets pretty damn puckering.  The sour and tart apples once again take front stage followed by barnyard funk, lemon, citrus, and a oaky finish.  If I could describe this beer to someone I would say it’s Acidic, tart, funky, sour apple juice mixed in with wine like qualities. 

Mouthfeel is dry, mouth puckering, medium bodied, and acidic.  Good carbonation.

I love this beer.  I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Isabelle but it’s damn good.  Bring a friend when polishing off a bottle.  My palette was wrecked by the time I was done but it’s always a good time when I get to sample DDG.  Sadly all my bottles are gone.  See you in a few years DDG.

Found: Straight from the brewery
ABV%: 7.00%
Price: 30 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says:In Belgian brewing there are fantastic wild ales brewed with naturally occurring yeast. These beers develop over time and are ready on their own terms. Duck Duck Gooze is our homage to these effervescent and wonderfully complex sparkling beers.

A blend of young and old barrel aged beers we expect this to be one of our most sought after beers year after year as it will be released in very small quantities.
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Angel’s Share, The Lost Abbey Judgement Day
Other beers to try within the same style:Avery Brabant, Russian River Temptation
Rating: A

I told you I couldn’t stay away for to long.  Awhile back I got to try one of the best sour beers I’ve ever tried.  That’s not saying much since I’m not expert on this type of beer but I like to think I know a good beer when I have one and this is a fine damn beer.  Framboise De Amorosa is a Oud Bruin aged in Oak Barrels with Raspberries.  Just how much Raspberries per barrel is anyones guess.  Maybe only Tomme knows.

Now before I go into any details about this beer, if you’ve been reading any reviews I’ve wrote about Lost Abbey beers in the past, a lot of them have been flat.  Basically no carbonation.  This really didn’t bother me to much because even though the beer was flat, it was still world class.  But people bitched so much, Tomme had to answer the critics.  I think he did a fine job with that.  But anyway, no carbonation issues here.  As a matter of fact, this beer has a different issue.  I’ve read a ton of reviews where people opened up their bottle and the liquid just explodes out of the bottle.  Causing them to lose half their beer.  So with glass in hand, I popped the cork and hoped for the best.  While the cork let out possibly the loudest “Pop” I’ve ever heard, no beer was lost in this review and thank god, this shit is good.

Amorosa pours a murky brown color with a nice amount of fizzy raspberry colored head.  Sediment litters the glass.  No carbonation issues here.  Lacing throughout the glass as you drink.  As soon as you pop this baby open you know it’s sour and tart.  I held the bottle away from myself, arms length, and I could still smell the sourness of this beer. When held up to the nose you are welcomed by a nice dose of Raspberries, Tartness, small amount of a yeasty aroma, small amount of oak, and some barnyard aromas.  A tad bit funky.

As I took my first sip, my lips puckered.  This might just be the most tart and sour beer I’ve ever tried.  It was hard to get past the first couple of sips.  It didn’t taste bad, actually it tasted great but it was just hard.  As you drink it though it becomes easier and easier to drink and more of a pleasure.  The raspberries aren’t as big in the taste.  They kind of take a back seat here.  Instead the intense tartness rules here.  The funkiness of the beer also comes through more in the taste a long with the oak that it was aged in.  Raspberries linger on the tongue during the aftertaste.  If you are trying to turn someone on to a sour beer, this might not be the best place to start.  While it’s not the most sour beer I’ve had, it was definitely up there in the tartness.  Might scare away some people.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and nicely carbonated.  No issues here with the bubbles. 

I’m really happy I got to try this beer.  Actually this might be the one beer that made me sign back up for the Sinners Club.  I’m glad I did.  Lost Abbey has another winner on their hands.

Found: Lost Abbey Sinners Club
ABV%: 7.00%
Price: 15 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says:Tomme hasen’t updated his site with this beer yet.
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze, The Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Avery Brabant, Russian River Temptation
Rating: A

Last Thursday I started on a beer crusade that would take me from Minneapolis to Munster, Indiana in 3 days.  I woke up at 4:45am sharp knowing I would be soon meeting up with 3 guys who I have never really met but have talked to a bunch of times on their blogs, through twitter, and have traded with all of them.  You see I think the beer community is a tight knit one.  I wouldn’t meet up with just any old strangers but I felt like I knew these guys before I even really met them.  Who are these people you ask?  Aaron from The Captains Chair, Stu from Friday Night Beer, and the Vice Blogger himself, Aaron.

This just wasn’t Dark Lord Day though.  We hit up a ton of places.

Brewpubs and Bars:

Stubs and Herb’s - The first place we went to.  If this bar was by me I’d be in trouble.  It has a great atmosphere, good food, and a hell of a beer list.  I could of honestly sat there all day.  Did I mention it was located in the middle of the University of Minnesota?  That provides a whole different thing to look at if you know what I mean =)

Beers consumed at Stubs and Herb’s: Surly Abrasive Ale (Batch 1) and Surly Furious

Barley  John’s - Second stop of the beer tour was to this little brewpub off the side of the road.  If you blink you could miss it.  Stu explained to me that the deck outside is usually overgrown with hops but when we were there it was barren.  Maybe to early in the year?  They are known mostly for Rosie’s Old Ale but sadly Old Rosie wasen’t available.  So we picked up a flight of 4 of their other brews.  The Bitter being my favorite out of the four.  All really good though.  We sat outside and enjoyed the perfect weather.

Beers Consumed at Barley Johns: Little Barley Bitter, Stockyard IPA, Wild Brunette, Old 8 Porter

The Captain’s Basement Brewpub – Ok so this isn’t really an official brewpub but we did enjoy some fantastic homebrews from the Captain himself.  3 to be exact.  I really enjoyed all 3 but my favorite had to be the Hefe.  It just hit the spot.  We got to meet his lovely wife and daughter, drink some fantastic beers, and enjoy some grilled food.  Thanks for letting me stay Aaron.

Beers consumed at The Captain’s House: The Captain’s Slightly  Better IPA, The Captain’s Hefeweizen, The Captain’s Wild Rice Brown Ale, Sam Adams Utopias

Ale Asylum – We stopped by Ale Asylum on the way to New Glarus.  I didn’t know much about these guys so I was very surprised when we stepped into the brewpub.  Loved the look of the place, their food was really good (pull pork sandwich with chips and salsa was great) and I loved the samples they give you.  You can buy 10 samples of their stuff for 20 dollars.  It’s such a bargain.  Out of everything their Bedlam IPA was #1 and was simply a delight to drink.  The Citra hops used in the brew was just amazing.

Beers consumed at Ale Asylum: Bedlam IPA, Ballastic IPA, Ambergeddon, Bamboozleator, Big Slick Stout, Contorter, Gold Digger Blonde, Hopalicious, Sticky McDoogle

Minneapolis Town Hall – I wish I could write a fantastic story about this place but I can’t and it’s not because the place isn’t fantastic because well it is.  You see the trip here came on my first night.  At this point I was sorta drunk and well I had the worst headache I’ve had in a while.  The brewpub itself is awesome.  Great atmosphere, a nice selection of brews, and a nice little guest tap list.  I did get to try one of the beers I had hoped to try, Mango Masala Mama, and well it was just fantastic.  Next time I go to Minneapolis (Hello DLD 2011) I will make sure I go here first.

Beers consumed at Minneapolis Town Hall: Mango Masala Mama IPA

Flossmoor Station – Once again I was in the same boat for this visit.  It was just after DLD and I was on the verge of being to drunk.  I didn’t get to have any beers since I felt if i had just one more beer, i’d be over that limit of getting sick.  God I hate that.  But Flossmoor Station is just pure class.  It’s such a beautiful place to eat and drink.  They stuck us outside though.  Guess they didn’t want any drunkards in their place =)  I don’t blame them.  Heck I didn’t even though it was still a working station until I heard the train pull up.  I want to go back to this place so bad.  Oh and they teased me with the empty bottle of Wooden Hell in the window to the brewery.  Bastards! =)

Beers consumed at Flossmoor Station: Uhh none dammit!

Breweries:

Surly Brewing – On my first day there I got spoiled and visited Surly.  Aaron lives two miles from the brewery.  Maybe he’s more spoiled.  When we stepped in we automatically got to meet Omar the owner.  It was cool talking to him.  But it was totally great when the Brew Master, Todd Haug walked in and started pouring us some brews.  I got to try Coffee Bender which I loved just as much as the regular version but I also got to try Batch Two of Abrasive Ale.  Wow just friggin wow!!!  This beer was amazing and it totally beat the version I had earlier in the day.  Abrasive Ale is the real friggin deal!  After we bullshitted over the beers, Todd offered a private tour of the brewery.  This was amazing because this was pretty much one on one time with the guy who makes some of the best beer I’ve ever had.  He must of talked with us for a good 40 minutes about everything the brewery does, how everything works, etc.  He’s pretty much my favorite brewer right now.  He makes great stuff yes but he’s totally cool and a hell of a nice guy.

Earlier in the conversation, Aaron the Vice Blogger mentioned that he saw on twitter that Surly would be providing a firkin of Tea Bagged Furious.  Omar and Todd kind of played it off.  As we ended our tour Todd asked us officially if we would like to like to take the firkin with us to DLD and provide it for one of the guest taps.  Of course we said Hell Yes!  So on the way out we picked up the firkin and threw it in the trunk.  Wow were we really driving around with a rare beer in our trunk.  A rare beer provided by Surly themselves?  Hell yes we were.

Oh and in the fridge we spotted this box and no we didn’t get to try it.  I would of given a kidney for a bottle.

Beers consumed at Surly: Coffee Bender, Abrasive Ale (Batch 2)

Check out more pictures of Surly here

New Glarus – Wow just wow!  That’s all I can say about this brewery.  It’s nestled on a top of a hill overlooking the small town of New Glarus, population of about 2100.   This is the most beautiful brewery I’ve ever seen inside and out.  Just take a look at the outside of this place.  The inside is clean and just amazing.  What I like about it most though is that you can actually take a brewery tour yourself.  You can just walk around and see everything.  It’s cool how you can walk around while the brewers just do their work.  It’s seamless.  I also love their gift shop and tasting area.  For 7 dollars you can two tasting glasses and 6 pretty big samples.  All the beer was great.  Of course it was fresh.  I got to try their Golden Ale which is brewery only and part of their R&D line.  I’ll probably never come back to this place again since it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere but I’m so glad I got to see it.

Beers consumed at New Glarus: Golden Ale, Stone Soup, Moon Man, Belgian Red, Cabin Fever

Check out more pics of New Glarus here

Dark Lord Day:

So before I go into the actual day let me rewind to the night before.  We arrived in Chicago around 6pm.  We had every intention of going to Flossmoor Station that night but instead Aaron had the idea of dropping the firkin off at Three Floyd’s.  He gave Todd a call and Todd called back saying that it sounded like a good idea.  So we headed to Three Floyd’s instead.  We drove up and there was a huge line to get into the brewpub.  We drove right up to the doors which was a no no since their driveway was blocked off but we got around it.  Dirty looks ensued as we went into the pub.  The gentlemen that was guarding the door said we had to step back and get in line but that all changed when we said we had the firkin of Furious.  He said right this way gentlemen.  We brought the firkin through the main brewery doors and we were greeted by a few more Three Floyd’s employees who were happy to see the shiny object.  They then let us through the back doors to the brewpub and told the bartender to take care of us.  Wow what a night!  We each had a few drinks and dinner and just had an awesome time.  We felt like rockstars.  The brewpub is awesome.  The atmosphere is electric, fantastic art, weird movies projected on the wall, awesome people.

Last year Three Floyd’s released a brown ale along with Dogfish Head named Popskull.  While Popskull was good, that night they have a Barrel Aged version.  Well holy shit that beer knocked my socks off.  One of the best beers I’ve had in a long time.  It was a shell of it’s former self.  Around midnight we got out of there because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

So it was time for DLD.  I really didn’t know what to expect.  I knew it was going to be packed but I also heard they were expecting 3k more people this time around bringing the total to around 8k.  We got there around 10am and took our spot the lawn.  We didn’t get in line, we just sat there watching all the suckers get in line while we staked our piece of grass.  It was drinking time and boy was it ever.  Aaron and I jumped to the guest tap area and picked up our glasses of Tea Bagged Furious.  Fantastic stuff.  I also picked up a Apple Brandy Barrel aged Cigar City Warmer Winter, Winter Warmer which was great.  When we got back to our spot we noticed some extra people.  It happened to be Mike from Thank Heaven for Beer with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend.  He shared his homebrew which was over 40%.  Yes 40% and wow it was one of the best beers I’ve had in a while.  Mike is a hell of a guy and I’m glad I got to meet him.  Nate his partner in crime was supposed to be there with him but he had car issues.  Finally got to meet him later in the day and he was also a hell of a guy!  His homebrew ruled too.  Two standup guys.  Through out the day we got to try so many brews.  Stuff that I brought like Isabelle Proximus, CBS, BA Blackbeerd, etc.  But somehow a ton of other beers got into our stash.  Probably the worst beer of the day was a 1995 Sam Adams Triple Bock.  Holy shit, nasty!

But the MVP of the day had to be my man Stu from Friday Night Beer.  The man got us both Oaked and Vanilla Dark Lord.  That guy is magic.  I was afraid I wasn’t going to able to try those two rarities but the man came through.  Stu I salute you!  Needless to say DLD was awesome but it was also a very unorganized even  In the middle of the day the beer per ticket allotment went from 4 to 3.  That surely pissed some people off.  The lines were out of control.  A lot of cutting. I also saw some stuff I wish I didn’t see.  Like a guy sitting in a car with puke on his shirt, passed out.  I also saw some pour guy sitting in the bathroom line surrounded by cops because he couldn’t get up.  He was so drunk he was afraid he would pass out or fall if he got up.  Wow he was drunk.

So would I go again?  Oh I already plan on it next year.  I had such a good time.  I met some fantastic people and drank some legendary beers.  I just need to be more prepared to drink next time.  I was the lightweight of the group.  Oh and Stu you did order those wings and that bottle buddy =)

If I’m missing any guys, let me know =)

It might seem like I’m reviewing a lot of stouts lately and well it’s true.  Whenever I hit up the fridge, I start looking through the endless beers for a nice stout.  It’s all of the sudden become my favorite style of beer.  It also doesn’t help that a lot of the most wanted beers out there these days happen to be stouts.  Stuff like Dark Lord, Darkness, Sexual Chocolate, Black Tuesday, Olde Rabbits Foot etc.  I don’t know but I just crave the damn style!

So yeah like I was saying, here is another stout.  It’s the only stout in The Lost Abbeys line of beers that usually gravitates to Belgian inspired brews with some American stuff sprinkled in.  This version of Serpent’s Stout is from 2009 and even before I start the review I just want to say that this beer might of lost some of it’s pizazz.  It’s still really damn good but I think a lot of the flavors would of just been a bit bigger if it was a little fresher and I plan on buying this again this year so I can see the difference. 

Serpent’s Stouts pour is nothing to write home about.  Yes it’s pitch black like 99.99% of the other stouts out there but barely any head is formed and whatever is formed quickly disappears.  No retention.  Before you ask, this beer doesn’t have the same problem a lot of the 2009 Lost Abbey brews had.  This had carbonation. 

The number one smell I get from this brew is booze.   It’s not mind blowing a like other stouts out there but I have a feeling if it was more fresh it would of definitely been a lot bigger.  The aroma also has some chocolate, roasted malt, and a slight amount of coffee and dark fruit.

Now up front the taste of this is bourbon (even though it’s not barrel aged), chocolate, and prunes.  Makes for a really nice mixture.  In the middle I picked up the coffee and a small bit of bitterness from the chocolate.  As the brew hits the back of the throat the coffee and a bit of a earthiness hits the palette.  There is also some alcohol burn that hits the throat from the 10.50%.  Really nice, not over the top stout.  Complex but balanced.

The mouthfeel thick and heavy.  Really loved it.  This beer is fantastic in many ways but I think what I liked most is that this beer is so much easier to land then a lot of the other stouts out there.  It’s great and I don’t need to stand in line to get it =)  I can’t wait to try it fresh next time.

Found: South Bay Drugs and Liquor, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: It’s been a long time since I bought it but if I had to guess, maybe 11 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says:  The history of the bible and religion is indeed the struggle of good vs. evil. Our Serpent’s Stout recognizes the evil of the dark side that we all struggle with.  This is a massively thick and opaque beer that begs the saints to join the sinners in their path to a black existence.
ABV%: 10.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Veritas series, The Lost Abbey Angels Share
Other beers to try within the same style: Founders Imperial Stout, Great Divide Yeti
Rating: A

Last Summer the girlfriend and I took a trip to San Diego.  She wanted to go to Disney, the zoo, and the wild animal park.  Well  guess what I wanted to do?  Yeah you guessed it, visit the breweries in the area.  As soon as we landed, we got settled into the rental car and took the 40 minute drive to The Lost Abbey.  Usually I wouldn’t mind waiting to go to the brewery but it just happen to be the Christmas in July celebration.  Oh and it was Duck Duck Gooze release day too =)  The first beer I tried that day was this beer you see right here.  But I believe on tap.  Yeah I probably should of started with something a little lighter then a 12% beast of a beer but I was so looking forward to trying it.  The beer blew my mind.  Huge on taste and aroma this was one of the better beers I tried that week.  I say that because well I was in beer mecca know as San Diego. 

Last night I popped open my bottled version of this beer.  The one I got from belonging to the sinners club.  Now if you read the Beer Advocate forums or maybe even the Rate Beer forums you’ll know the issues with Lost Abbey/Port Brewing brews and the lack of carbonation.  It seems a lot of the higher ABV beers from last years batches have zero carbonation.  I experienced it first hand last year when I opened up a bottle of Older Viscosity and was greeted with basically nothing when it came to carbonation.  The beer was still amazing but would of blown my mind if it had some carbonation.  I felt sorta of the same with this beer but not to the same degree. 

When I pulled the cork on this brew I was actually greeted with a nice “pop”.  A good sign of some carbonation.  I was even more surprised that when I poured it some head came out with some fizzy bubbles.  But that was very short lived.  In a matter of like 3 seconds everything was gone.  Just what I expected really.  So no surprises.  A dead beer.  The color of the beer is a deep dark brown with lighter brown highlights around the glass. 

The smell of this beer is just simply amazing.  It’s a assault on your nose.  Huge amounts of bourbon, caramel, toffee, dark fruits, vanilla, and oak.  I really can’t describe this smell.  I mean I just did but it’s something that needs to be experienced first hand.  Simply awesome.

The taste is world class too but a little bit muted compared to the aroma.  Maybe it’s the little bit of age I put on the brew.  I don’t know but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fantastic taste.  The bourbon flavor is king here.  It lingers in your mouth.  Every other flavor is balanced perfectly between the caramel, toffee, dark fruits ,etc.  Alcohol burn plays a big factor in the mouthfeel on this beer.  It burns the mouth, throat, and stomach.   Need a great beer on a cold night, here it is.  It will keep you warm.  The mouthfeel is also thick, syrupy, and coats the mouth. 

This is a big, complex, and flavorful beer.  The lack of carbonation doesn’t hurt this beer that much.  Not like it would hurt a lot of beers.  Don’t be afraid to pick up the 2009 version of this brew.  Oh and keep the lookout for Angel’s Share Grand Cru this year.  It’s a mixture of 6 different barrels of AS.  Some brandy, some bourbon, one mixed in with grapes, and from different years.  I think the earliest barrel is from 06 or 07.  It’s sure to be awesome.  I got my 4 bottles on order.

Found: The Lost Abbey Sinners Club
Price: 15 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: Story on this one is way to long.  You can check out the full story here
ABV%: 12.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery:The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments, The Lost Abbey Avant Garde
Other beers to try within the same style: New Holland  Dragons Milk,  Stone Double Bastard
Rating: A+

So what we have here is Sinner’s Blend 09.  A couple of facts about this brew.  This brew is exclusive to the Sinner’s Club.  The Sinners Club is one of two clubs that The Lost Abbey runs.  It costs 250 dollars a year to be part of.  That pays for 12 beers.  2 beers even other month.  Those beers are usually some of the harder Lost Abbey beers to find.  Beers such as Brandy or Bourbon Barrel Angel’s Share, Cuvee De Tomme, Red Poppy Ale, etc.  You also get a nifty shirt.  But one thing that got to me a little bit was that I found out this beer wasn’t so exclusive.  I’ve seen a ton of reviews where people had this beer on tap at various bars.  Not so exclusive if you ask me.  Another fact is that this is a blend of three different beers.  Rumor is this beer is a blend of Ten Commandments aged in Bourbon Barrels, Gift of the Magi aged in French Oak Barrels, and Serpent’s Stout aged in Port Barrels.  And well the fact is a lot of Lost Abbeys brews lately have been flat.  This one is no different.  Dead beer.  Hopefully they can fix that next year.  Anyway on to the review!

Sinners Blend 09 pours a very dark brown.  When held up to the light red highlights show.  I mentioned that this beer was flat.  No head is poured.  A few bubbles appear but quickly go bye bye.  No carbonation or lacing.  Smell is tart up front.  In the background sits roasted malt, chocolate, and cherries.  I saw a review that called it chocolate covered cherries.  I agree on this one.

The taste is a mixture between a sour and a stout.  When the beer hits the palette it’s sour and tart up front.  Not huge but it’s definitely noticeable.  In the middle comes the cherries, some raisins, and oak.  Then the beer hits the end.  In the end comes the chocolate.  It hits the palette and lingers.  Overall a decent taste but with the kind of blend this is I thought I might get a bigger taste.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and slightly dry.

Overall this is a decent brew.  Not fantastic.  Not as good as some of their other more exclusive brews like their Veritas series but decent.  I wouldn’t bother spending 15 bucks a bottle for this beer but I wouldn’t pass it up on draft.

Found: The Lost Abbey Sinners Club
Price: 15 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one.
ABV%: 8.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi, The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Rating: B+

Here’s my second Tomme Arthur beer of the week and yes this one is flat too.  But luckily it’s not as flat as Older Viscosity.  This one did show some life on the pour but it died a quick death.  This is one of the beers I was looking forward to the most when I joined the club.  Once again the lack of carbonation really didn’t hurt the taste to much as I fell in love with this sour Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

Cuvee pours a dark mahogany brown color.  When I popped the cork I got a nice little pop.  A lot louder then I got from Older.  A small amount of head and bubbles formed but quickly disappeared into what you see on the right.  The aroma on this beer is fantastic.  Dark fruit, sour cherries, oak, and a little bit of alcohol.  It’s definitely a sour aroma but it’s not really big.  Not like some other beers I’ve had like this.  Taste is just as good and I was left wanting more when I was done. Up front is a nice sourness/tartness.  That’s backed up by cherries, bourbon, and oak.  It’s a great combo of cherries and smokey oak.   Alcohol definitely plays a role here.  It doesn’t interfere with the great taste though.  The sourness sits on your palette and lips.  Mouthfeels lies more on the thick side.  No carbonation like I said and silky.  Goes down nice.

This beer would be world class just like Older could be.  Better luck next year.  Don’t be afraid to buy this beer though.  It’s still damn good in it’s current form and it did show some form of carbonation.  Maybe if you let one age you might see a little more.

Found: The Lost Abbey Sinners Club
Price: 15 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: A massive brown ale base that is made from four fermentable sugars including Malted Barley, Raisins, Candi Sugar and Sour Cherries, this beer is fully fermented before being placed in Bourbon barrels where the beer ages for one year with the Sour Cherries and the wild Brettanomyces yeast that we inoculate the barrels with.
ABV%: 11.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi, The Lost Abbey The Angels Share
Other beers to try within the same style: Allagash Odyssey, Fantome Black Ghost
Rating: A

New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red – Once again thanks to my buddy Kevin for hooking me up with this brew.  Its been on my wants list for ages now and whenever I tried to trade for it I just couldn’t seem to get the deal done.  Bottom line is New Glarus makes good beer but their fruit beers are just above anything they do.  As far as I’m concerned anyway.  This brew and their Raspberry Tart are just world class.  No fruit beer I’ve had so far comes close to those two brews.  You don’t like beer you say?  Love cherries or raspberries?  Then this is right up your alley.  Yes these are beers but wow they don’t taste like beer.

This brew pours a brownish red color.  Very similar to the Raspberry Tart.  Barely any head forms on pour.  Whatever had pours fizzes away with a nice amount of carbonation.  The smell of this beer is just unbelievable.  Tart, ripe, and sweet cherries.  It’s just full of cherries.  Taste is full of sweet cherries.  It’s so hard to explain how this beer tastes because like I said above, it doesn’t taste like a beer to me.  It tastes like a different kind of cherry fruit juice.  What makes it a little different is a little bit of roastiness in the background.  But when I say a bit I  mean it.  The cherries dominate.  Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied.  Nicely carbonated and a joy to drink.

Out of the two fruit beers from these guys, The Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart, I give the upper hand to the Raspberry Tart.  Only by a hair.  Both are just amazing beers and make you wonder how they got the beer to taste like this.

Found: From my buddy Kevin!
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: Our International World Champion Specialty Beer is a true winner. Brewed with whole Montmorency Cherries, Wisconsin Wheat and Belgain Roasted Barleys. Over a pound of Door County cherries in each bottle. Ruby red in color, a medium body, highly carbonated and intense with cherry flavor and bouquet.
ABV%: 5.10%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Spotted Cow, New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Other beers to try within the same style: Founders Cerise, Dogfish Head Black and Blue

The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale - What we have here was my first shipment from the 2009 Sinners Club.  I got two in the package.  I drank the first one the night I received it and thought it was an excellent beer.  I waited a while to have the other one.  Don’t know why.  I spotted it the other day and thought it was time to down the second one.  I’ll miss this beer and I hope they make it for the 2010 Sinners package.  I really enjoyed this brew.

Red Poppy pours a hazy ruby color.  No head is poured at all.  Slight ring of lacing around the glass.  A good amount of carbonation is noticeable.  The beer is classified as a Flanders Oud Bruin.  They are usually characterized by a slight vinegar or lactic sourness.  A fruity estery characteristic is also shown in this style.  The aroma on this beer definitely follows those rules.  It gives off a nice amount of a vinegar smell.  Definitely not as much as other beers of its kind but its pungent enough to knock your nose around a bit.  Overall the beer has a funky kind of smell.  A good mix of oak, tart cherries, and vinegar.  Sour and acidic.

Up top I said the sourness wasn’t that bad but in the taste it’s definitely more evident.  A great amount of sourness and tartness attack your palette.  The vinegar takes over the taste.  The cherries take a bit of a backseat here.  They show up more in the end when the vinegar dies down.  As this beer warms a little the oak starts to show.  Overall it’s a lovely taste.  Took me a bit to finish the glass though.  The sourness got to me a few times.  The sourness just sits in your mouth and on your lips.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied.  Acidic and nicely carbonated.

This is a winner from LA.  With all the talk about their flat beers it’s good to have a good brew from them.  I know all the rest of the beer from my sinners club is going to be flat.  Everyones has been.  So you won’t see any Angel Share or Cuvee De Tomme reviews just yet.  Hopefully overtime those brews carbonate a little.

Found: Sinners club selection
Price: I’ve seen these go from 20-30 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: Perhaps no country embraces the use of fruit in beers more so than Belgium. Numerous traditional as well as regional specialty ales are infused with every sort of fruit imaginable. In this way, the flavor of the fruit becomes especially prominent.

Red Poppy Ale is a veritable celebration of Sour Cherries in an explosion of aromas and tastes. Brewed from a brown ale base and aged in our oak barrels for over 6 months, this beer is not for the faint of heart.

The Golden Poppy is the state flower of California and the Red Poppy is found in Flanders Fields where our inspiration for this beer comes from. This beer is 5.5% ABV and is available in 375 and 750 ml bottles and on draft at inspired locations.
ABV%: 5.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale, The Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze
Other beers to try within the same style: Deschutes The Dissident

I always get excited to try a Lost Abbey beer.  Tomme is a great brewer and so far so good when it comes to trying his creations.  Nothing has ever been horrible.  All of them have been pretty good to fantastic.  This one falls in the pretty good section for me.  It’s not the best saison I’ve ever had but it’s a beer I wouldn’t turn down if I had the chance to drink again.

Carnevale pours a hazy burnt orange color.  Nice foamy head is poured but quickly disappears.  This bottle had a ton of carbonation.  Bubbles throughout the glass.  As for the smell, Tomme loves to use Brett in his brews.  Which really is turning into something I enjoy.  I remember having my first beer brewed with Brett and not liking it.  But now I like the funky smell and taste it gives off.  That’s what you get here.  A nice dose of it.  What you also get is a nice mixture of fruit and spice.  Tropical fruits, lemon zest, and citrus.  Pepper and cloves soon follow.  A very nice smell.  One I might have never smelled from a saison.

The taste is a great mixture of everything above.    Spiciness up front followed by the lovely funky farmhouse yeast.  The taste also has a nice little sour kick to it.  Not much there but I detected it right off the bat.  The tropical fruits and citrus, and lemon notes.  What through me off a bit was the mouthfeel on this saison.  Actually my buddy over the Captains Chair noticed the same thing.  It doesn’t have the usual saison mouthfeel.  I’m more used to a crisp and lighter feel.  This beer was a little more thick and sticky.  It was smooth though and went down nice.  Overall for me this was a different kind of saison.  I would totally expect that from Lost Abbey.  Once again this is a nice saison to try if you see it.  But maybe don’t go out of your way to get one?  There are a ton of better saisons out there.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com
What the company says: Nothing on their site about this brew.
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Angels Shares, The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments
Other beers to try within the same style: The Bruery Saison De Lente, Ommegang Hennepin
Rating: B+

It seems that The Lost Abbey has been in the beer news lately and for all the wrong reasons.  You see Tomme Arthur is a world class brewer.  I have no doubt about that but lately he’s come under fire to selling some beer that is not quite up to standard.  It seems a lot of his beers went out of the brewery with little or no carbonation in the bottle.  Tomme even came out and wrote to the fans about the situation. Which to me is a fantastic thing.  He’s taken the issue head on.  The one issue I have is this should never happen.  They should be testing their batches as they go out the door.  What also annoys me is that The Lost Abbey has some crazy prices for their beer.  25-30 dollars for a 375ml bottle of beer that can be bought in stores?  It annoys me that I paid a ton of money to be part of the Patron Sinners club.  Sucks to hear that your order will be delayed months because of the issues.  Nothing like paying over 200 dollars for a club that doesn’t deliver.  I hope we even get these beers.  I’m almost certain one day soon we’ll see an email from the brewery stating sorry but we couldn’t meet the demands of the club so here’s your money back.  Ok enough of my bitching.  Bottom line is that this brewery is world class in my opinion.  They just need to get some stuff straightened out.  Hey did I mention Devotion Ale is a really good brew?

Devotion pours a cloudy dark orange color with a medium sized fluffy head.  The nose is full of Belgian yeast, lemon, citrus hops, and candi sugar.  This beer is a pure joy to drink.  Sour up front.  Not as sour as other Lost Abbey brews.  Not even close.  Pretty much perfect for my palette.  Lemon, citrus and grassy hops come up next. The lemon and grassy hops make for a nice bitter taste.  The mixture of the Belgian Yeast, fruit, hops, sugar sweetness make this brew perfect to sit back and enjoy while outside sitting on your deck.  The mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, slightly syrupy, and easy to drink.  This is not a big beer and might be one of their safer beers right behind Witch’s Wit.  I enjoyed it a lot.

I hope I wasn’t to harsh up top.  I commend any brewer on running the daily operations of a brewery.  I sure it’s a crazy job.  I just want my bi-monthly supply of Lost Abbey dammit!! =)  Keep up the good work Tomme.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: 7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com
What the company says: Read the whole story here
ABV%: 6.25%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments, The Lost Abbey Lost and Found
Other beers to try within the same style: Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty
Rating: B+