Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale

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

Bottle @ Monk’s Cafe: Had this during the Brett Pack Dinner during PBW. According to Tomme, this beer is aged in various oak barrels and then blended together. This one poured like a wine, not much carbonation. The color was a deep red. The aroma was cherry, oak. and vanilla. The flavor was FAN-tastic. Very sour cherry balanced by the oak and vanilla. Not an overly sweet aftertaste either. Very smooth. Definitely my favorite beer of the night. Almost wine like. I could see this being the way of the future, instead of wine, I’ll have a Red Poppy please.

Wow. wow. wow. I really, really like this beer. I like Red Poppy, but I love double Red Poppy. Is it because of recipe tweaks between 2008 and 2009? Is it that the additional cherry juice lends additional sweetness? A wonderful acetic tartness, which reminds me of balsamic vinegar. Lots of cherry notes. Insanely drinkable. With unlimited funds and time, I would have drank as much as I could, but only had one glass. One wonderful glass.
Earlier Rating: 8/26/2007 Total Score: 4.5
Tasted at Lost Abbey 1st Annual Barrel Tasting on 8/25/07. Used to be named Le Woody Brune at Solano Beach Pizza Port. 4 barrels/100 cases were made, but won’t be released until Spring? Made in old 1997 red wine barrels with subdued oak characteristics. 4oz sample from barrel was flat and at room temperature: need to re-rate when bottles are released in Spring. I expect it to be better and more sour then. Made with Dawn Patrol Dark as a base, and I think I heard it was blended with a barrel aged Amigo Lager. Deep red color approaching black. No head, which I would expect to reduce aroma, but still had a wonderful sour cherry aroma I could smell all day. Made with Brettanomyces yeast, which is a super attenuator, so I expected the beer to be dry, but there is still a nice hint of sweetness. Mild pleasant sourness, that I think even sour haters would like. Normally beers are better with cheese, but I like this beer by itself, because cheese over powers the wonderful flavors. Extremely pleasant to drink.

Unlabeled 375ml at a private dinner with the Lost Abbey crew. Thanks! Pours light brown with no head. Bottle had not conditioned yet so there was no carbonation. Sour cherry aroma dominated by oak and brett. I smelled this one for 20 minutes before tasting. WOW! Nice tart taste with a slight sweet background flavor. The Dawn patrol is showing through. Light candy sugar plays well with the sour cherries. Thick mouthfeel holds up well even without the carbonation. This is one amazing beer that will hold it’s own for years to come. After being told this was the same recipe as Le Woody Brune, I am amazed at how well this turned out. I am glad to have a few bottles to stash away for a few years.

What a sour aroma. Wow! This is one tart beer. I’m drinking this through my teeth. A little sticky in the finish, but otherwise excellent.

Pours a cloudy, medium mahogany brown with a very fine, thin, off-white head. Very prominent horse blanket/barnyard brettanomyces aromas with some acidic qualities and a very subtle, soft, sweet malt background with cherries, wood, and spice. The aromatic qualities flow directly into the flavor. There is more overt cherry flavor present and some more spice as well. The oak aging really softens things out pleasantly integrating the bold flavor characteristics together well into a coherent flavor profile. The body is light and delivers the many dimensions of this beer well as a straightforward presence in the mouth. The alcohol is appropriately mild and hardly noticeable making this a refreshingly complex and funky drinking experience.

Bottle huge massive thanks to cgarviewuk. Aroma is tart sour apples and cherry, really good sour ale character, funk near lambic. Taste is similar, the nearest to lambic without being lambic iv ever had, sour yet balanced and fruity character really nice like unfaultable, exstremly well made and perhaps a kick in the ass to belgiun brewerys to step it up somewhat.

Orange-brown in colour with a long lasting off-white head, excellent lacing. The aroma is acidic, sharp, some old cheese, lots of sourness, citrus and some wood. The flavour is quite mellow, some malt starts to come through, sour cherries, light lemon citrus, oak. Lightly acidic mouthfeel, medium body, high carbonation. Finishes long, fruity and sour.

This is like a very mellow cherry lambic. Fantastic stuff. The drinkability is through the roof. I need more.

375ml bottle obtained in a trade with TheEpeeist, thanks Chris.
Opened on November 9, 2008.
Vintage 2008.

muddy brown with a tan head. Some red peeks through also. Aroma of tart cherries and dough. Tart up front with a really nice and very interesting middle. Fruity and cherry with some sour green apple and some musty funk. Lots of fruit and some really great flavour going on in this beer.