Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale

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

750 ml bottle from Table and Vine in Northampton, MA (January 2007) consumed at cellar temperature from a Duvel glass. An immense fluffy snow-white head tops the milky-translucent golden body, decaying ever-so-slowly and leaving quantities of chunky lacing....earthy-funky aroma is lightly sweet and honeyish, lightly orange-peel-infused, some fine touches of tarragon, a bit of sweat....the body is drier than the aroma promised, and that’s a good thing: nicely chalky and lightly acidic throughout, little residual sweetness apparent, a touch bitter at the finish.....the ginger and pepper are barely noticeable, honestly I don’t know if I would have picked them up if not for the description....just a little on the thin side; carbonation well-judged. This is quite solid and pleasant, but nothing out of the ordinary really.

Bottle: Bright straw, very hazy, large frothy white head, attractive lacing.   Somewhat tart nose, some sweet floral, tangy.   Bright on the tongue, mild tartness, subtle barnishness, flora, very slight alcohol accents.   Some herbish aspects as well.   Moderate to full bodied, smooth mouthfeel.   Somewhat bready finish, floral and herbish.   Not as dry nor tart as most others, but still quite enjoyable.   Thanks Tad for the bottle!

Date: 12/02/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

Appearance: opaque orange, wispy white head, stripes of lace,
Aroma: light sweet malt aroma with a hint of musty funkiness,
Flavor: light dry malt flavor, lots of spiced character, lots of oak, touch of tartness,
-------- /> Date: 04/03/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: roadtrip
Score: 3.4 to 3.7

Appearance: clear dark yellow,
Aroma: sweet malt aroma with a nice fruity quality and light musty quality,
Body: creamy body,
Flavor: lots of spicy flavor with a musty bitterness, nice light fruity character adds a touch of balancing sweetness before being replaced with a bready yeast character, light lemony tartness combined with a black pepper bite like a lemon pepper flavoring, nice lingering spicy finish, adding some yeast kicks the citrus character up a notch and mellows the spicyness except for the black pepper that continues to be assertive
-------- /> Date: 04/05/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting

continues to be mellow and musty, the bready character provides such a nice base, pepery character is less assertive and more in balance, more sweetness coming through to support the bready character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Aroma has pear, yeast and malt, some spices, colour is hazy pear, pours a big white head. Full malt flvour, pear, white grapefruit, lemon, yeast and various spice noted. Medium bodied, well balanced, what a fine tongue tingle. Terific!

Pours a hazy light orange color with a white head. Aroma is wheat, orange peel, some corriander, and ginger. Flavor is wheat, orange, pepper, spice, and a light lingering bitter finish.

Golden in color with a thin dissipating head. Spice and earthiness on the nose. Nice peppery and citrusy flavors with a fairly good length on the tongue. Lovely Saison style.

Pours a hazy orangey yellow color with a thin white head. Solid aroma of hay, spices, ginger, hops and fruits with a pleasant farmhouse character. The flavor is amazing and complex with its superb farmhouse character, hay, spices, ginger, hops and a bitter finish, also it is pleasantly dry.. The body is medium with a creamy texture and moderate carbonation.

Pours a golden color with a small white head in the tulip. Not much lacing and the scent was funky with some barnyard like notes, gum, pepper and spice. The flavor was sublte with some hints of ginger, pepper, wheat, malt and dough coming through. I really don’t care much for saisons, but this beer wasn’t that bad for a style that I don’t like.