Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi

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

This is a fantastic beer, although i thought it was more in the style of a dubbel or quad. It leans toward the malty side but with a nice balance with the high ABV.

I got very big hops in this bottle. Gorgeous white foam on a perfect copper liquid. Aroma is medium full. Tastes to me like a fusion of the West Coast IPA and biere de garde. And a phenomenal fusion at that. Delicious malts with soft grape nuts, hint of candy and coriander with big citric, piney, hops. It took me a while to feel this one out and comprehend what was going on. The texture is easy and without particulate or viscosity issues to complicate an extended look at the entire beer. Still very bright without any dampening of the hops or washing out of the malt shine.

Bottle. It’s been a couple weeks now since this showed up at my door. I had pondered holding both bottles for a while but aspidites insisted that I pull one so I could try it fresh and enjoy the dry hopping, he’s never steered me wrong with anything beer related so what could I do? The pour is murky and burnt copper in color with a persistent ivory head. The aroma is primarily malt and yeast with a sort of musty orange note. Bright hop character in the flavor with a nice brettiness not unlike a fresh Orval. I like where this is going... The malt sweetness is very subdued and I refuse to believe the alcohol is 9.5 %, there’s only a touch in there. Everything seems to be balanced in this beer but its seems to be delicately balanced, if that makes any sense. If I were one to believe in tag lines for beer, I’d call this one the chandelier of beers. There’s also slight stone fruit notes. I don’t get the scores on this one; I think it’s awesome! To each their own, I guess. You can’t argue with anyone’s palate.

Pours dark golden like aged honey w/ a solid two finger head. Superb head retention receding slowly to reveal a wall of a sticky snail tracks and a full moldy blotted canopy. A thick fluffy ring tells the tail of a fatefull sip. Aromas are very brandy like and alcoholic w/ defined buttery peach pit, vanilla, melon, and stonefruit. Medium full nectar w/ ample soft residual effers. This creates a luscious texture, almost creamy. A solid malty backbone lays like a concrete slab on my palate heavily yet dry. A Fort Knox breaching bittering component stings the palate just as soon as it hits scarring the fleshy tissue. This is a mans beer. It’s bold and unforgiving like the Australian outback. It makes me question it’s validity only to force me to submit. Biting peach pit bittering w/ nuances of brandy, pine sap, leather, and caramel. As Gift warms it opens up and pushes stonefruit nectar, vanilla bean, and butterscotch into view. The finish is dry w/ a moderate hop bittering. For as obtrusive as this beer is it remains balanced. Let it warm a bit and you will be rewarded. Highly recommended.

Caramel colored with good, creamy tan head / Sweet, winey, candied nose / Medium to full body, sweet, syrupy, and malty, big alcohol well masked, and with good finish / Flavors of caramel, sherry, nuts, peach, orange peel, dry hops, and winter spice / Outstanding.

Deep, glowing amber. Small, dense, creamy, off white head. Nice melding of lightly sweet, bready, toasted caramel-like malt and fruity, funky, airy yeast. Very dry finish. Medium to medium full body, softly balanced carbonation. Excellent.

Bottle shared w/ jsh12bamasuckoslost4straight. Aroma is spicy hop. Spicy hop finish in the flavor as well. Flavor is like an IPA, a tripel, and a spiced alle all combined. Very complex and will only get more complex when the brett kicks in. Very good brew.

This pours an intense shade of burnt orange with a pretty dense and creamy looking off-white head. Looks excellent! Pretty spicy and exotic aroma, smells of sweetened bread, bread crust, and some spice (oregeno, ginger, peaches, lemon zest. A bit of hay, and grass too. Peppery flavor at first, with some ginger, followed by some sweet bready malts, and a sort of minty effervesence flows through the flavor. Finishes with more pepper, mint, toast, and a nice general hop bitterness (flavorful, not just bitter). A little warming going down, but it’s pleasant to me. I could see how a bit of funk might make the beer even more interesting, especially the finish. Very creamy texture, not too high carbonated, med-heavy body. Lively and evelooping mouthfeel. I gotta say, this beer is pretty exciting!