Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale

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

Pours a slightly hazy gold with a good head. The aroma is of lemon and bay leaf, a little hay malt. Fairly dry with an herbal/spicy flavor that’s quite nice. Pretty refreshing. The spices sound werid, but are balanced and very pleasant.

Hazy yellow honey hue, with a rocky white head, leaving laces, yeasty, fruity nose, of grapefruit, lemon, with a nice herbal, floral hop citrusy accent, a spicy honeyed aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a spritzy, yeasty, fruity, peachy, citrusy character, with a lemon flowery hop flavor, with a leafy accent, hint of pepper spiciness, leading towards a citrus, floral hop dry finish.

750 ml bottle in Gulden Draak tulip. Pours glear golden with large lasting white head. Aromas of honey yeast and slight alcohol. Flavors of sugary sweetness like marshmallows with slight hoppy spicy finish. Medium body. A little candy-sugar sweeter and less spicy and hoppy than I like a saison to be. But a good beer nonetheless.

Medium sized tan head with decent retention and lace. Murky amber brown hued brew. Nose is lightly spicey, ginger, cinnamon, light maltiness, caramel, bananna notes as well as some type of off aroma thats hard to describe, plasticy, some burnt wiring?? Not sure but it did take away from the nose somewhat. Body is medium, lightly creamy with good carbonation, decent. Lightly fruity flavors of over ripe banannas, a hint citrusy, peppery and spicey with a lightly sweet malt backing. Finish is almost dry and fruity. The Phenolic aroma and flavors were somewhat distracting though. Props to FlacoAlto and SDbruboy for hooking me up with bottles of this. .

Draft at San Clemente Pizza Port. Aroma of yeast, wheat, spice, and some banana. Flavor was similar; better than other saisons because it is not as earthy.

On draft at PP San Clemente; found this very good for the style. Aroma of wheat, spice and fruit. Flavor was much of the same. Some nice spiciness; not a big fan of the style, but thought this was good.

Pours a medium-gold with a fine white lasting head. Bright aromas of spice, wheat, fruity esters, and a touch of hops. The flavor is very reminiscent of classic saisons but with a little more of everything--more grain, more hops, more spice--except for fermentation characteristics, which are more subdued. Everything here is fresher tasting and more nimble on the palate. Light, crisp mouthfeel that still asserts itself as something serious. Certainly easygoing, but leaves you with more to think about--a great example of the style with new twists.

Tasting courtesy, Slob. Pour was cloudy amber with reddish/orange type hues. Good initial head, fine lacing. The aroma was bananas, lots of phenolic and spicey character, yet the phenolic aspects carried with it either a fusel or chemical, almost plastic, or something off note with it, yet not displeasing, just off. The flavor was much the same, a spiced up hefeweizen almost, again, though, some sort of off spice or something under it all, not necessarily displeasing, yet I couldn’t place my tongue on it or tout it postively. Mouthfeel was typical for the style, amply carbonated with a malty backbone. Not a bad brew, and much thanks to Bert for this opportunity! Re-rate, 7/08 on a bottle that was about a year old: No off phenolic aspects, pretty nice Belgian-Ale to Saison cross with a definite bitter hop type finish. Spices had all settled and nearly diminished, traces of the grains of paradise noticeable, but that’s about it. Caramel was the malt feature flavor. Decent brew, rating stands.