Lost Abbey Yellow Bus

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

My contribution to an epic sour/wild tasting hosted by Alex. Thank you to myself for letting me try this. Sean, you are awesome! Poured from 750ml bottle into Bell’s tulip. A - Pours a mirky orange with a very faint white head that quicky vanishes into a bubble here and there around the rim of the glass. No head leaves no lacing behind, which is kind of a bummer. Not the greatest looking sour I’ve seen. S - This is where the experience turns epic. A nice whiff of this one leaves me in a state of tart-awesomeness. I also get some sweetness as well, which I contribute to the peaches that this was brewed from. Nice oak/wood notes follow up both the sour and sweet notes and round this one out nicely. I didn’t take a drink of this one for quite some time, as I wanted to just keep smelling it. T - Not as sour/tart as the nose suggests, which I like. I can enjoy the peach notes a lot more without a huge amount of funk. Don’t get me wrong, there is funk, but not enough to hide the sweet fruity notes. I’m thinking I should have just drank this one and got wasted by myself in my basement (kidding, to my new Chicago buddies, of course). M - Fizzy on the palate. The look of no carbonation isn’t true, there is some. Leaves a nice tingle with a dry finish. D - Holy crap do I need another bottle of this. Sadly, don’t know if that’s possible. Oh well, mark this one down as out-freakin-standing. Lives up to the huge hype.

Bottles pouring at the Night of the Funk event in Boston. I had been eager about Cable Car and had planned on that being the first thing I had, but Yellow Bus was a welcome surprise. Pours a hazy golden amber with a thin white head. Big funk, lots of brett, lemon, and hay. Smells gorgeous. Nice carbonation, soft and subtle. Big lemon flavor with some sour funk. Mouth puckeringly acidic, but remarkably balanced. Finishes up with a long and lingering tartness. By far the star of the entire event. Amazing.

Bottle at Night of the Funk that I had to wait on an obscenely long line for. Lost Abbey’s got quite the racket going with this beer. It seems to show up everywhere again and again, yet they’ve kept the bottle release so pathetically low that the demand is through the roof, even though they bring cases and cases of it to fests. So, I’ll admit, I really wanted to hate this. I hate the hype, I hate the artificial demand, I hate everything about this beer... except the beer itself.

I was let down at first — or perhaps relieved — that the aroma was lackluster. A touch of wheaty tart, almost berliner weisse like, with some acetone getting in the way of things. But it hits your mouth and wow — you are instantly tasting one of, if not the closest American beers to a traditional Belgian gueuze that’s ever been brewed. It could sit in a blind tasting easily and none would know better. Deep, punchy sourness, lightly citric, dry as the shitty heating in NYC that is currently ravaging my skin — this has it all. Well, besides availability, of course.

Sampled at Night of the Funk 2009: Beautiful deep hazy golden with a dense white head. Richly funky aroma- old aged cheese, lactic tartness, tons of horse blanket, leather- reminiscent of an authentic Belgian Gueuze. Perfectly fluffy body with a sharp lactic acidity. Some citric acidity as well of lemon-rind qualities, tons of rustic funk- cheesy, horse blanket, bone dry with a cherry pit sharpness as well. Earthy, sour, infinitely complex. Combines the effervescence of the best American sour ales and the funky complexity of the traditional Gueuzes of Belgium. A masterpiece.

From an unlabeled bottle at Night of the Funk. Poured a cloudy yellow colour with a respectable white head. Fresh mouthwatering aromas of passion fruit and peaches with a healthy amount of funk. The flavor is truly excellent with more fruit, tart funk, and a refreshing yeasty finish that balances out the sourness and funk. This is so well constructed and carefully balanced - Amazing!

Sample @ BBF Night of the Funk - I feel very fortunate to have tried this before it ran out. Pours a hazy yellow with a small white head. Nose is bread/biscuit, light fruit/citrus, and heavy heavy on the funk. Taste is a little malt up front with a heavy, fruity funk that whacks you over the head as you finish each joyous sip of this beer. I think I recoiled and cursed very loudly (in front of Tomme Arthur - score one for me!) after trying this because I was so blown away by how amazing it is. I love these guys, I really do.

Sample NotF. My favorite of the night. Pours a hazy yellow color with a small white head. Nose is funky and musty with light biscuit notes and some fruit esters. Palate is full and fizzy, nice carbonation. Flavors are biscuity malt with light funk and a nice peachy finish comes through.