Tasting Notes: Lost Abbey, round 1

Like I mentioned previously, Gary, Kevin, Trent, and I shared some beers a Friday night not too long ago in a "beer-thirty"* session... a session that found us talking well past 2am! Times like that are... well, priceless. Knowing that we'd eventually get around to drinking the beers, I buy one or two of the special beers I find and save them for the next beer-thirty.

This time, the Lost Abbey line up consisted of Witch's Wit, Carnivale Ale, Inferno Ale, and Serpent's Stout (and then we topped it off with a pull or two off the keg of Stone Imperial Russian Stout).

Let's begin.

The Witch's Wit was cracked open first because I thought it would go best with the food Trent was eating (roasted chicken) and it would also taste okay after the meal I made for the family and my brother Gary (a simple non-Oriental stir fry). That, and I had heard it was not a great beers (not bad, just not great). Many of those wheat and malt notes in the nose and flavor. The yeast contributed a spicy character. The beer was good, yet not as impressive as other Lost Abbey beers, but I bet it was a nice complement to the chicken. (RateBeer's entry - 75 pts)

Beer two was Carnevale Ale, a nice saison. As a "rule", it seems that saisons defy classification and rules. I guess this beer is really "how the Belgians brew at home", in short. I can totally see this beer as being made in a rustic Belgian farmhouse brewery (not that I've been to Belgium... yet). I enjoyed this beer, with its citrus nose, yeasty spiciness, and good mouthfeel. (RateBeer's entry - 93 pts)

It took us a while to get to beer three--Infernal Ale--as we were savoring the beer and really caught up in conversation. Nice name. This one's a Belgian strong ale, so the flavors were less rustic and more focused on the malt and the yeast. This beer was nestled comfortably in the midst of other Belgian strongs... pretty good, but not great. I'll reserve great for Angel's Share (mentioned below). (RateBeer's entry - 92 pts)

The penultimate beer for the evening was Serpent's Stout. Wow. Okay, so maybe I was mistaken and should have allowed for this beer to be called great. It was. Excellent chocolatey, coffee-like roastiness nose that carried through to the flavor. The richness of flavor slowed us down a bit more as we carried on talking and enjoying this beer. Go get a bottle or two. Wait, make that just one... leave more for us. (RateBeer's entry - 99 pts)

The final beer of the evening was Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2008, which I had on draft from a 1/6 bbl hanging out on the balcony. Everyone got at least a pint of this one--the tap was open for the night! As the preceeding 750ml bottles were split four ways, I needed something to cap off the evening. Since I'm not done building that kegerator yet, it was a little warm from being exposed to the Escondido winter air that evening, but this beer is great at cellar temperature and gets better as it warms and opens up. All the flavors of my second favorite Stone beer were there... present and accounted for. Perhaps I'm a bit jaded, but I grew used to the keg of "IRS" being there through Christmas, New Year's and into February (just blew the keg last weekend). (RateBeer's entry - 100 pts)

In conclusion, I must doff my hat to Tomme Arthur and the brew crew at Lost Abbey (aka Port Brewing). They brew some damn fine beers. Between them and the brewers at Stone, I don't know what the hell I'm going to brew at home. They make what I like!

A future Lost Abbey round or two will include Amazing Grace Ale (2007), Angel's Share Ale (2007), Red Poppy Ale (late 2007), Cuvee de Tomme (late 2007), and a vintage Cuvee de Tomme (2004 or 2005?)... at the very least. I'm not sure if I want to open those all in one night though. Beers of this caliber deserve to be savored, not pounded or even consumed without a bit of consideration. If we get too distracted in conversation, or perhaps a little drunk, our palattes will miss all the finer details... all the subtle flavors of the beers... but we'll have the memories.

Afterall, that is what a real beer-thirty is about. I'm looking forward to the next one... for the conversation and the beer.

* for those of you who don't know what a beer-thirty is, it is that special time when you gather with friends to drink good beer and discuss what is on your mind. Some people like to go to a happy hour at their favorite bar/restaurant/dive. I prefer to have them in the studio at my house. Low stress, excellent beer, and a place for everyone to crash if they feel they've had too much to drink. Good all the way around.