Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi

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

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!

Bottle: Pours a misty bronze color with a nice puffy head and ample lacing. The nose is ripe and spicy with plenty of phenols and herbal woody hop and yeast ester notes. A bit too sweet for my liking in this style, I prefer a more dry and funky interpretation with a lower abv, this comes off more like a belgian strong dark with its body and sweetness. Lively mouthfeel and a citrusy phenolic finish.

Based on Stines glowing recommendation the last time we discussed Lost Abbeys offerings, I was greatly looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, my sampling of the 2007 bottling seemed to be a bit of a mess. Intensely bready and malty aroma and flavor but with a cheese stale hint like something unintended had been living in the bottle. I look forward to sampling the 2008 vintage soon enough. 5/3/4/3/12 Ok, on to the 2008 vintage. A murky brown pour with faint rings of head. Hops and mild dark fruits mixed in with a faintly yeasty aroma. Almost sherry like. Sadly, no brett yet... Candy sugar, dark pitted fruits, bitter hops, belgian yeast, and most importantly a brett funk on the very finish. Much better than last years Im pleased to say. 7/3/8/4/17

750ml Bottle: Aroma of malts, chocolate, and yeast. Poured amber in color with a small, off-white head. Hazy. Sparkling. Light to medium sweet flavor. Tastes of malts, alcohol, grains, and some caramel. Medium body. Dry, prickly texture. Lively carbonation. Malty, dry finish. Not very good.

bottle. thanks glkaiser. hazy thick pour with thin head. oak. bready aroma. fruity and rich. full body. old oak. nice.