Lost Abbey Carnevale (2009)

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

pours hazed pumpkin orange. Head thin, spotty, but lace-inducing bright white. Nose painted with brettanomyces and bits of mandarine orange, lemon, apricot, persimmon, pineapple, ..shit, the nose is pretty fucking cool...brett touched fruits galore. Flavors bring back the brett, the fruits are a bit muffled..lacking big malt sweetness, they are on the dry side and more essencey than sweet and succulent. The middle is grassy, bretty, and with a twist of citrus that carries through to the finish with an ending of vivid grapefruit rind bitterness. Overall...the brett is nice, the bitterness to me could have been toned down a bit in the finish allowing more concentration on the fruity brett notes, but I’ve been very sensitive to bitterness lately, so that could be in my head. As is ...its still nice and certainly a step above the 2008.

750mL 2009 bottle. Pours a very bright, effervescent golden color; solid white head with attractive lacing. Pleasant show of brettiness and a nicely dry Belgian character in the aroma: lime, bananas, crackers, bubblegum; pleasantly dry, refreshing, and beautifully integrated on the whole. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: solid levels of carbonation, appropriate levels of acidity and a very light tartness; dense show of honey and bubblegum at the core; certainly much dryer and much improved on the previous incarnation, but there is still definitely a certain heaviness here: lots of esters, reasonably developed brett character adding some lime notes, a crackery touch and some pepperiness; lively and quite enjoyable. Again, much improved! Medium finish of honey, lime, and toastiness; balanced end.

Bottle from Sosilkysmoothm
pours a deep cheddar yellow, thick and dense with millions of tiny bubbles bubbling. Nice lingering white head and lacing. Aroma is wet and fresh barn hay soaked in lemon water for a week. Really strong Bret presence. A touch of lemon cedar in there as we’ll. Flavor is a nice, musty lemon-scented barn after a spring rain, with notes of wet eart and cedar woodpile in the finish. Tingly and smooth on the tongue. I want another of these to age. Make it happen, retodd.

pretty damn good saison but it was a tad sweet. Poured with a nice white head and good lace. Color is a clear amber gold. Aroma is spicey, grassy, light malt, yeast, bread, and bit of sour fruit. Flavor’s the same and big on the saison flavors but a little over sweet. Body is decent and so is the carbonation. Little strong alcohol in the finsih. Maybe a session.

Hazy pale golden with a dense inviting white head. Aroma is slightly bretty, fruity sweet and refreshingly inviting. Flavour is rather sweet, fruity with subtile brett and a dry finish with a small lingering sweetness. Mouthfeel is smooth with fine carbonation which adds to the drinkability. The beer goes down easy, rather refreshing but slightly too sweet.

Pours a slightly hazy brass golden with a small froth of off-white head. Aroma of dry bretty funk with some biscuity malty notes and a touch of light fruits. Starts with pretty good malty fullness with some caramel toffee sweetness and grassy hop balance. Has a lot of bretty hay and horseblanket character along with a touch of coriander spice and lemon zest before a smooth, slightly bittersweet finish. A well-balanced, authentic and enjoyable brew.

211109 Tasting with Ungdomsklubben. Pours a hazy golden with a diminishing white head. Sweet with the well-known dust aromas. Hints of abricots. Aslo some bretty dryness.

75cl bottle @ Hj Hansen, Odense. Poured (into my Duvel glass) cloudy dark handsome golden with a small creamy white head on top and handsome lacings. Nose is damm near perfect. Brett, yeast, orange, fruity and floral. Dry, fresh, crisp and bitter flavor. Ends dry.