Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Bière de Garde
San Marcos, California USA

This is my third brew from the Patron Saints Club. Aroma is flowery with hints of honey. Color is a golden orange with light carbonation and a thin tight head. Taste is very floral and spicy. Starting with a medium body it goes down crisp. Finish jumps out with a floral spiciness that has bold coriander and pepper flavors, then some honey notes and a slight melon like taste. After taste is a lingering bitterness that seems to build a bit. Although this has a very complex flavor its just not a brew I would seek out again. I think the spicy flavor, especially the pepper, just stands out too much.

Bottle. Poured a cloudy orange color with a small white head. Aroma of bread and a fruity note. Flavor is dry and not as spectacular as I had hoped. Slightly bitter. Light bodied with good carbonation.

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (grain, cookie), trace hops (herbs), lightly yeasty (mold, dough), with a strong note of peach, light note of lemon zest, hint of celery. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Suprisingly lackluster. Aroma reminds me a bit of a peach flavored American wheat, not at all of an authentic Biere de Garde. Flavor also seems like it has fruit juice added. Malt is kind of rough and raw, and there’s even a touch of vegetal character to it. Probably the worst Lost Abbey beer I have tried so far.

Cloudy orange. Great aroma. Tons of fruit and bread. Apples are the dominant aroma. The flavor is more bitter than the nose alludes, and is very dry. The alcohol is well hidden. Light to medium body.

Bottle shared with Timfoolery. This one lost me a little bit. Looked to be full-flavored, but seemed lacking in flavor. Maybe a hint of carmel and some breadiness. Not a bad beer maybe my expectations were a little high.

Bottle from Wades Wines in Westlake Village, CA. I figured this one to have more taste, but instead stumbled upon a new genre. The breadiness was a new taste for me, as this one disappointed. I’ll have to expand my tasting.

750ml bottle. A slow pours yields a mostly clear honey yellow colored body with a tall forming white head. Nose is clover honey, heavy with cantaloupe and floral notes. Syrupy, oily, typical for Lost Abbey, one of the things I don’t like so much about them, that silky, slimy texture on the tongue... leaves a pasty oil coating on the tongue. Mellow melon, honey and tea, that’s the good part... the texture, I just can’t get over the sliminess.

Interesting take on this style of beer. I’ve had some beers from thsi style from France, and they all seemed to be quite pilsener in flavour with some shrap hops, this was the opposite. This was a cloudy murky caramel color. lots of caramel and some ripe apples, and pears in the aroma, along with some bready malts. Flavour is smooth, and creamy with some more BIG caramel notes. Finishes quite sweet, interesting take on the style. but really on the other side of the coin its bang on for the style. i enjoyed it.