Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale

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

Bottle via trade with Stefanje. Pours a dark brown-red with a few bubbles. Nose is distant tart cherries, acid notes and funky yeast. Dust and wood as well. On taste, quite sour with a caramel note in the background and robust toasted grain notes. I get some floral cherry blossom in the background as well that draws out into light golden raisins. Again, a bit of a roasty note. A very nice mouthfeel and very much in the Flanders tradition. Very tasty stuff.

Bottle at Nørrebro Bryghus. Pours an hazy dark amber colour with no head. Sour-sweet aroma with lots of plumes and prunes and notes of caramel, figs, cocos and vinegar. Flavour is dry and sour but well balanced with notes of cherries, raisins, wood and alcohol. It has a nice slightly sour and pruny aftertaste. One more please!

I could’ve swore that I’d rated this before. Sampled a 2008 and 2009 thanks to rustychiles. Initially, the 2008 is much more interesting to me, where I find far more different flavors, particularly a nice chocolate/cherry pairing that I liked, compared to the newer 2009 that just tasted sour. However, as I drank more of both, that same chocolatey quality in the 2008 really glued itself to my palate, became a hinderance to all other tastes, and got quite annoying. However, as I sampled more of the 2009, I began to really appreciate the depth of flavor in the sourness with some nice cherry to back it up. Definitely not a melt-your-face-off sour like a Cantillon either, I could still taste other parts of the beer and appreciate it. A great offering from the Lost Abbey, and I’m quite happy that I ponied up the money for 4 bottles from this year. Score is an average(ish) of the two - about a 3.6 for the 2008 and a 4.1 for the 2009.

2009 Vintage thanks to Rciesla for sharing. First Sour I have ever tried did not disappoint. Tastes of sour cherries, as one would expect. Delicious, might have a new genre of beer to try.

Pours a ruby red-brown with just a hint of white head. Fresh funky barnyard, red cherries, and papaya aromas. The flavor of this beer really surprised me. I was expecting a very funky sour, but instead was met by a ton of fresh fruit like sour cherries, dried apricot, and a hint of funk. I found it to be a bit thin and unbalanced. Otherwise, it is a fine beer but not in the same league as other top sours.

Pours a lovely russet with a thin, cream colored head. Wild, sour cherry and yogurt aroma with hints of green plants. Fairly tart flavor of pure sour cherry and lacto. Nice.

Bottle. Pours a reddish-brown, head is very fine and is only around the rim. Ripe fruit and subtle barn yard notes on the nose. Slightly sweet and slightly sour cherries dominate, though I do pick up the oak notes in the dry and slightly acidic finish.

Huge thanks to Dakine for this one, it was worth the wait! I’ve only had a couple other sours that were as smooth as this one was. The funk here was just enough to tease the palate, but not enough to make one pucker, a great balance, finished smooth, with just a hint of the cherry fruitiness behind the beer. Just delicious.