Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale

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

2009 Bottle at Lost Abbey dinner. Pours a light brown colour with a small off-white head. Aroma reminded me of an earthy bottle of white German wine opened 30 years later. Flavour started as a sophisticated brown ale with wood notes and finished with a slightly sour cherry ending. Light finish. Very easy drinking sour ale that includes some of the fruit notes from the cherries and not just the sour.

An odd one, thanks to toncatcher for throwing this one in as an extra by the way. My first sip was almost medicinal tasting but the more I drank the more I liked it. Sour cherry and funk!

2008 Overall this is just delicous. The color and body leave some nice lac eon the glass and the aroma permeates like crazy. Super sour cherry and some wood shine. Taste is sweet and tart cherry with hints of dark coco and liquor. A glass between two is perfect although I could drink one by myself. So good.

Appearance: A dark maroon/brown with a pin stripe of white surrounding the top of the glass. I notice some swirls of white gathering in the top center of the beer. Leaves light spotty lace that eventually disappears. Aroma: Sour cherries, a small amount of wood and a bit of Belgian yeast. Also red wine notes upon further review, but nearly as strong as say Veritas or Cuvee de Tomme. Taste: Sour cherries, oak barrel, a small taste of funky yeast, a little bit of cranberry-like bitterness and a subtle hint of spice in the finish. Mouthfeel: Juicy and puckering. Overall: A great adventure into the barrel itself. I really am able to pick out more flavors in this, than in Cuvee de Tomme. I know they are two completely different beers, but I think of them as cousins perhaps. The level of wood presence is perfect, the sour cherries make for an enjoyable sip after sip drinking session. I would imagine this would go with a meal or a chocolate based dessert.

Pours amber/orange hue, off-white head, hazy clarity. Aroma is light tart sourness, dark fruits, light funk, brown sugar, cherries. Flavor starts with tart sourness and transitions to acetic vinegar, cherries and dark berry fruits, light funk, woody oak tones, finishes dry. Medium-bodied, moderate-high carbonation, smooth texture. Good interpretation of a Flanders Red, oak accents well, balanced sourness, easy-drinking.
Earlier Rating: 2/5/2009 Total Score: 4.1
On tap at O’Briens. Magenta-deep red hue, thin off-white layer of head, light lacing on the glass. Aroma is sweet maraschino cherries, pie crust, fruit syrup. Sweet yet balanced cherry flavor hits initially with a tinge of lactic sourness, slight acidity in the middle with dark fruits, finishes with a blend of sweet and sour. Medium-bodied, slick texture, moderate carbonation. Overall, a sweeter/fruitier version of the original that mutes the sourness down a level, tastes more like a fruit beer (New Glarus-like) than a traditional sour, more drinkable than the original, this would be my preferred version if it ever gets bottled!

#400. Bottle, 2009 (drank 02/07/09). Pours a deep red strawberry juice color. Aromatic sour cherry, caramel, brown sugar. Wonderful sour cherry flavors, tart is just the right level. Nice oak undertones Mouth is smooth and easy to drink with a long sour finish that nicely makes your tongue roll. This might be trouble, sours are growing on me!

375 ml bottle 2009 vintage. Poured straight down the middle of the glass and still a very thin head. A murky dark reddish orange color. Aroma is pleasantly tangy and vinegary, nice funky barrel and a bit spicy, a hint of brown sugar sweetness. Apple-cinnamon comes through as it warms. Plenty of cherries and oak in the flavor. Sourness is nice, not overwhelming at all. Very, very drinkable. Medium bodied and quite twangy mouthfeel. Finish is a nice lingering musty wood dryness. Super tasty. I’m afraid my other three bottles won’t last long.

idk where this bottle came from but it’s been in my fridge for a year now (2008). muchas gracias to the soul who left it behind...

it’s been sitting so long that the cork bomb was no issue... dark orange brown color with no head and lots of clumpy yeast.

smells a bit like pickling spice/pickles or that strange funkiness that a lot of red burgundies get before they get a chance to open up... cinnamon, wet cement, fruity/cherry tart though not quite sour and malty sugars yet it’s very dry.

it tastes very ’green’ from young barrels and quite tannic. though i’m not sure whether the tannins dominate from the wood or cherry skins (it really doesn’t matter)... also, faintly malty and oaky with a cinnamon-y brett-like stink on the finish which lingers on. medium body lacks a bit of richness. the mouth feel it is prickly and dry as it cleans the palate entirely.

not a whole bunch going on... seems as if something is missing. though, it is in no way a bad beer! 7/4/7/4/15/3.7