Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale

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

Bottle courtesy of Kegbear: Poured a deep clear reddish color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention and no lacing. Aroma of oak and sour cherries are heavily dominating. Taste is also a very nice mix between some deep oak notes with some cherry flavor also discernable. Very complex taste and some what similar to Rodenbach Grand Cru. I thought cherries would have been more prominent but they were somewhat loss in the mix.

Huge thanks to Dr. Matt Capone for bonusing this one onto me as a gigantic surprise! Pours turbid deep ruby with off-tan head. The nose is gorgeous....a medley of cherry, raspberry, earthy peaty notes, hops, oaky spirits, mild vanilla, florals. Tastes complex, rich, very well balanced, with a definite tartness balanced by an earthiness and a huge cherry, raspberry, and oaky bourbon flavor. The finish was tart, full of bery, cherry, and earthy notes, and very smooth. I’ve tried to trade for this, unsuccessfully, over the years, and I cannot thank Matt enough for sharing this one with me. If I die and go to Heaven, I want Matt and Capone’s to be right next door to me. Hell, I’ll even work for them for minimum wage, as long as Matt lets me live upstairs! Bravo to Capone’s, and bravo to Tomme Arthur, for continuing to make astounding, envelope-pushing beers with loads of character and complexity.

2009 Bottle. Thanks a ton to Kegbear for this. Pour is brown with a light red hue. Aroma is strong of tart cherries, floral characters, light spice, and light sweet malt. I thought I knew what I was smelling but then the flavor came and was beyond complex. Strong but smooth sourness compliments the cherries very well. There is a warming oak character that is very well blended in deep into the ale. Finish is mildly dry with some funky wild yeast notes. All I can say is, "Holy balance Batman!" Really great brew. Love the complexity and how drinkable it is.

Shared bottle with jimbowood. Pours reddish brown with no head. Aroma of cherries and oak. Taste has nice funkiness to it with tart cherries. Easy drinking and refreshing.

Shared a bottle with bman1113vr - thank you sir! Pours a dark brown hue with no head. Aroma is of yeast, some rusty attic, some soy sauce - all these elements combine to give the beer a quite sour aroma! Flavor is sour all the way through - tastes really, really good! Thick mouthfeel with light carbonation.

375ml bottle, Vintage 2009. My 200th California Rating. Murky dark plum color. Thin tan head. Large aroma of sour cherries, hints of oak, and more sourness. Smooth creamy mouthfeel. Cherry Kombucha. Soft sourness is full in attendance, not overwhelming. It is such a soft beer. Nice mellow touch of Flanders. Heavenly. Rating #1822.

2009 bottle. Pours murky redish brown with a small beige head. Aroma of sweet fruit, cherries, tart notes, yeast, and oak. Taste is very tart and sour. Lots of cherry, with some malt, some light vinegar. Finish is on the dry side and sour. Carbonation is very low and body is medium. Overall, a nice flanders red.

Courtesy ChzMan. 2009. Brown/red/amber with some off white carbonation. Flavor and aroma of lactic sourness and barn funk, cherry juice, skins, and pits, lightly toasted malt. Dry finish. Medium body, moderate carbonation. Like a cherry flemish brown with extra brett, very nice.