Lost Abbey Cable Car

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Sour Ale
San Marcos, California USA

75 cL bottle. Pours hazy yellow with a lacing white head. Aroma is smooth orange fruity with a hidden brett dryness. Smooth fruity with a light acidic to citric base flavour. Smooth finish with a light dryness and persisting fruity. A bit multidirectional compared to the first batch. The 2nd batch seems not fully developed and has quite a residual sweetness. The 1st batch was bone dry and tart - lovely really. (thanks to alohaC for this treat)
1st version: 8-4-9-4-17=4.2
2nd version: 8-4-7-4-15=3.8

~RBSG ’08~

Big tasting at Lost Abbey. Pours a light golden caramel pour, with small head and virtually no lacing. Very sour nose, apple pie, oats and hay. Delightful. Dry, sour flavors. Huge toasted malt finish. Hops are subdued but balance it out well. Just very tasty. Very smooth and dry, crisp. Hope to see this again.

Citrus and funk nose with oak and dark fruit influence. Incredible oak finish that lasted 10+ seconds.

Bottle sampled at Lost Abbey for RBSG. Pours hazy gold with visible sediment. Head is modest and watery. Aroma is very tart with red and dark fruits, oak, and spicy sweetbread. Epic complexity. Flavors of pie spices, yeast, lemons, vanilla, apple brandy, and some funky must. Palate is dry even without a lot of carbonation. Drinkability is very good considering the tartness.

Bottle... RBSG ‘08... This beer rocks!... Murky, straw-colored ale with little to no head. Lightly acidic, fruity nose affords notes of berries, cherries and pale grain sweetness with insinuations of toffee and butterscotch. Medium-bodied with a skim-milk mouthfeel and restrained carbonation. The flavor is a perfect marriage of acidity and sugar; tartness and sweetness. The tartness wins out, but doesn’t rule the roost with an iron fist. A notation of cherry. The finish is tart and then dries out. Thanks go out to Tomme and all the folks at Lost Abbey who provided this beer and made us all feel like royalty!

Bottle at Lost Abbey RBSG. Beer number seven for me at Tomme structured tasting event. This one poured a cloudy yellow with a small white head and showed sediment and floaties in the glass. The aroma was superb and complex with lots of funk, tart golden apples, sour grapes and dry oak. The taste was also very funky with Belgian yeasts evident through the sourness, rounding out the sides and back was granny smith apples, walnuts and oak. The mouthfeel was full and malty. The finish was long and sour and slightly acidic. Overall: Another of the greats, thanks to Tomme for sharing so generously with the RBSG rabble.

Thanks to Scott for procuring the bottle, Batch 1. Poured relatively clear, brighter golden with a light dusting of white head. The aroma opened with brilliant, yet still approachable sour vinegar, green apple skin, and tart cherry hit with a bouquet of lighter fruits beneath. The flavor had sour, funky Brett as a primary characteristic along with pears, green apples, and dry, tart wheaty notes.. finished sour, funky, and refreshing, picking up some cherries. Moderate-plus tartness on the palate, and again it was entirely approachable.. bone dry on the back and well-balanced all the way across. This was most excellent!

Batch 2, summer 2008 bottle. I can’t thank Tomme and the gang enough for treating us like royalty! Poured clear apple juicy golden with zero head sticking around. The aroma had a low-lying apple vinegar acidity paired with tart light fruit skins.. wheaty tartness and aged oak on the back of the nose. The flavor opened with tart malt and apple vinegar, followed closely by pears and green apple skins.. complementary oak tartness rode the edges and paired with more lighter fruits.. dry, lengthy, memorable finish. Medium-bodied with a great feel on the palate.. the acidity was approachable and very engaging.. there was some discord among the elements, but that’s being very picky.. a little age and this will settle in with the best beers out there. 8 3 9 4 17

Pours a nice blend of gold and copper, with a small off white head. Smells of some nice acidic fruits, apples, grapes, light malts, and tartness. The flavors are much of the same. It was an 07 vintage so it might still be a bit young. Still had some great sour fruits and even a touch of some oakyness that I caught a bit of. Fruity in the finish with a sharp and tingling mouthfeel. Pretty darn good.