Lost Abbey Veritas 002

Formerly brewed at Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
San Marcos, California USA

Draught at Lost Abbey
Burgundy colour with hints of brown. Gorgeous, gorgeous aroma - deeply vinous and complex with blackcurrant, pinot noir, oak and subtle florals. Full mouthfeel shows evidence of meady oiliness. Winelike and oaky, with woody accents, crazy rich fruitiness and a big depth of malty tang. Long, dry finish. You’ve got to be kidding me.

GABF 2007. Murky brown color. An intriguing mix of caramel malt and honey on the nose with a raspberry bite. Thick body with mostly raspberry mead cutting through, though the old viscosity leaves some chocolate flavors in the mix. Tasty.

Draught @ brewery and one of its highlights. Warm dark brown/burgundy color with some initial suds but not much of a head. Low co2. Bretty, boozy, barrelly aroma you can get lost in. Sour cherry yields to mellow wood and infinite complexity that includes occasional kisses of chocolate and wine. Clean, dry finish and a wonderful melange of sour, fruit, and dryness.

Draught (?!!) No head over deep-red, Cola-like colour. Absolutely stunning nose of wine, cherries, grapes, fresh garden herbs. Cherries, sherry, Madeira, game sauce; vinous as no other; yet delicate and complex as none. Somehow as enhanced with Ve-Tsin. Slick, viscous, alcoholburn, and -warming. Perfect balance sweet-sour (and even salty as with the Ve-Tsin?). My new Tomme Arthur favourite. Stunning. This is, BTW, THE beer for game with cranberries. Forget about wine.

Tap at the brewery. Pours a dark murky brown with a small head that fades quickly. Smells of raspberry, brown sugar, caramel, light toasted grain, and honey. A little funk with a light hop note. Taste is dominated by raspberry, figs and sour apple. Light yeasty background pulls this one together. Dry mouth feel and was slightly tart. A little watery. Very complex and with every taste comes a new flavor. Glad to have a bottle to age and see how this one develops.

GABF 2007. Beer is cloudy, murky, ash-brown. Head is small,creamy, light-brown, mostly lasting head.<P>The aroma is malty with light notes of toasted grain, biscuit, brown sugar; Light floral hop note; Moderate miscellaneous notes of honey mean, light notes of root beer/sassafras. Very reminiscent of a honey mead.<P>The flavor is moderately sweet, light/moderately acidic, trace bitter with a long, lightly sweet, trace acidic, moderately bitter finish.<P>The body is medium, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.

Multiple samples, GABF 2007. Head is mostly lasting. Body is medium to dark brown. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (cookie), lightly yeasty (barnyard, cobwebs), with notes of berries, cherry, wood, allspice. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. I didn’t expect to like this much based on the description (sounded like a mess), but it was quite delightful, classy, and interesting.

Tasted on tap at the 2007 Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival. The Belgian Strong ale poured a light orange gold color. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity, caramel, and sweet. A medium to full bodied BSA. Malts are fruity and sweet, lots of spices. The funk is just coming out; its there but seems a little subdued yet. There is a pronounced roastiness to the malts, with balances the sweetness well. Nice beer, will get better with some additional aging. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet and tart.