Lost Abbey Carnevale (2008)

Formerly brewed at Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Saison
San Marcos, California USA

Pours cloudy blonde/gold. Sweet belgian yeast aroma. Flavor of sweet citrus and herbal complexities. Finishes bitter and hoppy, slight hint of salt. Leaves your throat dry.

750 ml bottle. Pours a hazy golden with a decent carbonation and a nice medium sized white head - very foamy tight and lasts a long time- nice lace as well. Aroma has some typical saison phenolic yeasty character to it- light sea salt, floral, with some wierd plastic-like phenols that develop especially with american hops blended with belgian yeast- kind of like all the attempts at triples with american hops- it gets plasticy and too phenolic. Flavor has some citrus, orange and lime zest, more phenols, black pepper, some olives and capers, nice doughy pale malts, earhty and more citrus hops but they dont blend quite well- a good amount of spearminty type bubblegum in the middle, wintergreen and teaberry, with some gin berry with some wet hay in the end. Mouthfeel is a bit big and it almsot seems as though it doesnt finish as dry as it should- and I also wanted it to have a much higher carbonation typical of the best saisons. Id much prefer to drink the red barn over this. Ok I guess, but I was hoping for something more.

Bottle: Pours a hazy orange gold color with nice white head and good sticky lacing. The nose is spicy with nice citrusy yeast esters, chewy light caramel and wheat. Clove, light banana and melon intertwine with apricot and coconut. Tons of spicy esters floating around. The flavor is brisk, citrusy and grassy. A bit of earthyness in the tail. Excellent! Thanks Jake!

A return brew from Hard Liver ala 5000. Thanks again! Light golden color with a taller, fluffy off-white head. Really has triple/weisse aromas. Sweet wheat, light fruit in the form of bananas and cortland apples, touch of cloves, mild mint and a bit of doughy yeast. I find it very pleasant to sniff, while not overly complex. Much dry in flavor than the scent alludes to . LIght pale malt start. Quite crisp in the middle with a light citric spritzed apple. Hops kick in a bit more in the finish and linger with some herbal bitter qualities. Light and airy feel. Very drinkable and actually quite refreshing. Every quaff, I’m reminded of some of my other favorites: Duvel, Damnation, Luciernaga. Pretty good company me thinks. I think the others have minor nuances that are slightly above this, but I’m enjoying this one know. Long linger of pale malt and dried flowers. Wow, what a ton of yeast on the bottom of this. Last half glass looks like light honey mustard, but still tasty.

Really love Lost Abbey but this one was a tad disappointing. Extremely yeasty/bready. Pours a hazy 14 karat with a towering white head that left significant lacing on the inside of the glass. Aroma is citrus, belgian yeast, and white pepper. Very flavorful with unique spiciness, earthiness, and citrus. Decent.

Poured a hazy golden color with a medium sized, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of citrus fruits, earthy yeast, floral hops, vanilla, coriander (cardamom?), and a bit of funkiness. Taste of vanilla, toasted dough, citrus fruits, coriander, white pepper, honey, and a dry finish. Two days later, and I still don’t understand the In-Heat Wheat reference... Thanks John!

750ml bottle shared courtesy of axilla. Poured a medium and cloudy golden color with a small sized white head. Aromas of citrus, spices, a little funky, and fruity. Tastes of citrus, spices, fruity, and bready.

Thanks to axilla for this one. Pours a hazy golden with a bubbly/creamy white head that left some lacing. Aroma was bready, lemon notes, earthy notes, light oak, pepper and lightly floral. Flavor was bready, floral, lemon, spicy and peppery, lightly sweet, but it works. Blink182 claims a rebottle of In Heat Wheat, choose for yourself.