Lost Abbey 2008 Sinners (blend)

My 800th rating. Bottle thanks to Bu11zeye, I really appreciate it. Aroma is spicey with cinnamon, chocolate, burbon, cherry sourness, oak, rum raisin (very complex, notes of cookie dough too). Pours with a light brown head and a dark brown body. Taste is sourness with raisins and grape, some spiceyneess, and a lot of dark fruits to round it off. Light bubbles.

12.7 oz bottle. Dark purple brown with some lacy froth. Nose is cherry, red currants and lemon funk. Juicy nectar with a sparkle. Taste hits all the cherry notes with juice, peel and pits. Some grape, crabapple and pear. Smooth drying with oak, pepper and cinnamon. Elegantly sweet turning gently sour. Top notch.

Pours a rich maroon color with a tan head. Smell is rich, sour cherry tartness, and maybe some brandy hidden in there too. Taste is creamy, with light carbonation and some sour cherry. A little bit rich for a sour ale for sure, and now that I notice, a bit high ABV for a sour also. Almost a chocolatey richness to it. Interesting blend of beers and flavors. Pretty easy drinking as the intense sourness is not there from the blend. Good, but I’d probably be fine with having it once more and wouldn’t lust after it after that.

12.7 OUNCES, corked & caged, sampled early September 2008: pours an incredible dark brown, looks black except when held up to a bright light, when brownish red hues are visible. Off-tan, creamy head...breaks down into small bubbles and leaves a thin ring of cream around the inside of my glass. Incredibly strong, dark black cherry aroma with metallic/iron accents, blueberry wisps, and hints of blood all wrapped up in a oaky smoke...it is almost like what you would smell wafting out of my Webber Kettle if I skewered overripe cherries with fresh blueberries, dipped it in blood and put oak chunks on the charcoal…it wouldn’t be so damn sinful without the blood. Creamy body with strong sour flavour – cherries mixed with red wine grapes, currants, and bitter tannins. The power of this beer for me is the complexity and the beautiful alignment with the ‘Sinners’ program…A dark mysterious beer that surely some sin was committed in order to make it so good...I commend the folks at Lost Abbey for taking such great care of their supporters and putting such effort into truly spectacular beer! Thank you!

12.7 fl oz bottle received as the July installment of the 2008 Lost Abbey Patron Sinners club. Corked and caged, opens with a pop. Pour is cordovan and ruby, with a one inch tan head. There is visible carbonation, and some floaties in the pour. Thick lacing on the sides of the tulip. Aroma of sour cherry fruit, sweet fruit, oak woodiness, Pinot Noir and faint alcohol harshness. Full, engaging nose. Taste starts with sour cherries (none of the fruit sweetness from the nose), then turns more towards the tannins and the oak wood of the barrel. Transition between the two flavors is smooth. There is a bit of vanilla sweetness near the end, though its very faint. Finish is smooth, the harsh alcohol of the nose is not present in the taste. Not nearly as drying as other Lost Abbey beers I have had. Palate is medium and a bit slick. Quite drinakble. Nice one.