Lost Abbey Cable Car

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

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.

Thanks to cloudskipper for this Batch 2 bottle. Shared with bgramer last night. Pours bubbly hazy yellow with a small layer of foam on top. Aroma begins with green apples, lemon and barnyard; pineapple, wood, light banana, cobweb; musty and more funky as it warmed up. Flavor was lots of green apple, tart grapes, lemon, subtle funk at beginning; slight oaky tannins, banana, and a slight alcohol bite as it warmed; slight corn in after taste. As it got completely to room temp it was like juicy ripe pineapple and got more sweet overall. It coats the mouth with tingly bubbles and leaves a lasting impression on the palate. I absolutely loved this one; it had so many layers and subtle flavors/smells.

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.

Funky, with dusty lemons and worn burlap in the nose. There is even a hint of sweet-cream butter and biscuits amidst all those ’cobwebs’. Beautiful pour ... pretty as a translucent peach ... with a thin and persistent cloud-soft head. Sour apricots and bright citrus fruit are layered with notes of oaky, buttery chardonnay and green moss. Great body, and the finish is just long enough to let you ’wonder’ for a moment before you are compelled to take another sip. An absolute treasure.

I must first thank metallitone1 aka (deftim13) for this spectacular treat. A better man have only walked the earth once, since the beginning of time. Tim you a great man and good friend, and I feel honored to have made your acquaintance. I sure hope Tomme Arthur makes more of this beer. It is worth the price you need to pay whatever that may be. I *love* sour wild ales and this is a masterpiece. This beer is quite different from but as good as “Supplication” [also provided by metallitone1]. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to share this beer with Hopdog, egajdzis, weeare138, froggyfrog, and Risser09. Appearance: Pours a clear golden color with magnificent lacing on the walls of my snifter glass. The head is slightly off white and the carbonation is lively. Smell: It has a huge bold sour cherries and Brettanomyces funky aroma that flood the nose with aged lambic like acidity is that the Pediococcus, I believe. Who cares! It is sensational. The citric rind, apple-cider vinegar woodyness and the plethora of magnificent indescribable aromas left me salivating like a dog. Taste: How could the flavor live up to such a grand aroma? IT DOES! Sourness, abounds with fruits and sweet and tart flavors that run the gamut. Apricot lemon cherry wood and large sour apple with a funky yeast and Lactobacillus presence that gives its spectacular sour attribute. It makes my mouth pucker in pleasure on each and every sip. There is a spice element clinging to my cheeks in the aftertaste, like cinnamon, vanilla and ginger along with the sourness. Each tastes beckons the next. Mouthfeel: The sour sting and the light carbonation a fairly acidic body give this a very lambic-like mouthfeel. Dry and long-lingering. Drinkability: If the Egyptians had it right with their tombs. I want my sarcophagus placed in a conditioning tank full of Cable Car so I can drink it for eternity. Otherwise, I am certain this will be the flavor of my heaven. This is a beer I could drink day and night, if only it were available. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!

Sampled at the 2007 GABF. This was by far my favorite of the festival. I had several samples.

Poured a hazy golden color with a small, off white collar of a hear, that left sparse lacing on the glass. Aroma of cherries, brett, pedio, vanilla, cinnamon, with some stinky feet, cheese, light citrus, and pineapple. Taste of lacto, with some apple, oak, pineapple, citrus fruits, with some vanilla, light toffee, and a dry, sour finish. Thanks to Phatz for sharing this!

750ml, corked and caged bottle, shared courtesy of Phatz (thanks!, I guess I owe you my next new born). Poured a medium and lightly hazy (darker haze as we got towards the bottom of the bottle) golden color with a smaller sized off white head. Upon the first whiff, I was greeted with a plethora of incredible aromas that instantly put me in that ‘special’ place in my mind! I could smell this one all day and night long. Aromas of cherries, grapes, apples, funky, brett, light yeast, citrus, and vanilla. All the aromas melded together perfectly. I was also getting a light spiciness, maybe cinnamon. Tastes of tart green apples, citrus, woody, light yeast and vanilla. Light and soft body.