Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Bière de Garde
San Marcos, California USA

Courtesy of ibrew2ir3. ’07 bottle. Pours cloudy blonde. Aroma is yeasty and fruity. Taste, spicy, grainy, some yeasty and hoppy notes, with caramel malts. Came off more as a strong Belgian ale.

2008 version. Pours the color of a blood orange. Aroma is pears, sour apples, and spice. Flavor is fruity, some spice, a tiny bit of funk, and a bit of detectable alcohol. I’m going to cellar a bottle of this, and see what it does. Mouthfeel is nice, though carbonation is a bit low. Overall, I am so glad Lost abbey is back in Chicago!

750ml bottle from Sam’s in Downers Grove, IL. It poured a hazy golden brown body with a very short-lived head. No lacing at all. The aroma had spicy yeast, dates, sweet malt & honey, and a pungent floral bitterness. It tasted of caramel & toffee, black pepper, dried fruit, alcohol, and had a sharp jab of floral bitterness. Not bad.

Tasting @ binny’s. Copper color with an off-white head. Yeasty, citrusy aroma. Nice complexity. Fruit and funk in the flavor, pungent spice, caramel, brandy notes, citrus, blackberry, bourbon barrel and noticible alcohol. Full, smooth mouthfeel, gentle carbonation. Missing something?

On tap at Lost Abbey. Pours a murky brownish-amber with a beige head and decent lacing. Nose is yeast, spice, fruit and a touch of hops. Taste is sweet malts, ripe dark fruits, spicy yeast and brown sugar. The finish has a mellow citrus hop aftertaste. Medium creamy mouth feel. A little too sweet for my tastes but very well put together.

750, corked and baled, at Uber. Murky brown with light scattered gray rim and slight webby lace. Nice fruity sour brown nose. Cherries and strawberries there. Creamy medium body with subdued carb. Sweet, tart, fruity mid-palate. Clean, organized, easy-drinking. Delicious. Gives you sweet, sour, and savory, leaving you happy.

Transferred from beeradvocate.com; converted as best as possible...

Look (3/5):
This has an uneventful, copper, and murky body; an amber-yellow highlight can show itself; the head is nice and condensed, light tan, and leaves little lacing.

Smell (4/5):
The aroma is interesting--sweet, clean, and spicy; the spice and aroma arrives and leaves at different moments--caramel apple, anise, nutmeg, pear... it presents itself differently at different times, and is especially different after the bottom of the bottle pours with the yeast...

Taste (3.5/5):
Well, it’s unoffensive, but I think average--caramel, apple, multi-grain bread, carvings of spice from the smell...

Mouthfeel (3.5/5):
This is smooth although it is a bit watery for what I expected.

Drinkability (4/5):
This is definitely drinkable.

Overall (3.55/B):
This beer is good. It is a festive strong ale that won’t disappoint unless you’re expecting fireworks.

Serving type: bottle

2008 - Way too young for this beer! Pours headless - but an amber flat headless. Nose is hops and more hops. No brett funk or anything. The flavor is awesome though, and I can see where this beer is going. Best to buy some and sit on it, as its not great now, but will be. UPDATE 1/12/09: This stuff is starting to carbonate and get a little funky. Good stuff now!