Lost Abbey Cable Car

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

This is an amazing beer. I am not a big sour ale guy but this one looked so good at Toronado’s 20th Anniversary Celebration that I took a chance. Remarkable. I still kick myself for not buying several bottles to take home.

750ml bottle (2008 version) from Tornado Bar San Diego. I walked into the bar, saw this bottle staring back at me from the fridge, I didn’t talk to a girl the rest of the night! Pours a slightly hazed straw yellow with very little head to speak of. Big tart and funky aroma with citrus, sour Chard grapes, and some old cheesy funk. Sourness lingers on the palate for what seemed like days, took me about 1 hour to drink one glass! $50, the most I’ve paid for beer (@ a bar) to date....well worth it.

Bottle from 08 Night of the Funk. Aroma bardnyard, cheese, tart kiwi, citric qualities. Flavor citrus, later dividing into orange, lemon, and grapefruit, fresh young berries, tart and sweet with some earth. An absolute pleasure.

Bottle sampled 09/26/08 at Night of the Funk. Pours orange with a small white head. Aroma of tart light fruits. Flavor is quite tart and sour with a nice grapey sweetness that makes this beer almost champagne-like. I got some citrus notes. Not too sour and very palatable. Awesome beer and my favorite sour thus far (rivaling Castleton, Supplication, and Beatification).

Bottle of the ’08. I have finally bestowed a 5: this beer is epic. It’s like the beer version of Krug champagne. Oak and cherry wood swirl with funk and sour aromas and flavors. Astoundingly complex, yet I feel like I could tackle an entire bottle by myself with its superior drinkability. Addendum: And with the ’09 I have retracted it. This years seems to have gotten a wee bit too much oak for my tastes, as the vanilla takes it over a bit, but it is still absolutely world class.

Bottle. Poured a clear amber with little/no head. Aroma of sour fruits. Tart flavor with citrus and cherries. Very good sour.

Bottle, batch 2, via Dunk, huge thanks Steve! Pours a lightly hazy copper color with a thin beige head. Aroma is light funk, citrus, pepper, coriander. Flavor is sour, light fruit, vineous, vinegar. Palate is medium to light bodied, medium carbonation, finished lightly sour, light dryness. Decent, overhyped!

750 ml bottle courtesy of mreusch. Batch 1. Pour is a cloudy hazy golden orange, pretty much no white head. Aroma of muted sour tartness, some bathroom odors, and finally some signature Lost Abbey yeastiness. Taste is tart, slightly husky sourness, muted taste. The finish is a bit dirty, not entirely pleasant. Palate is medium, and mouth coating. Overall, this was just ok, certainly not bad, just a bit underwhelming. Thanks for sharing, Matt, I didn’t think I would have a chance to try this one.