Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

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

2008 Bottle. The beer pours a deep mahogany with a tiny tan head, that disipates quickly. The aroma is of sour cherries, dark caramel malts (raisins?), and mellow oak/bourbon. Wonderful. The flavor is well balanced between the sour/tartness from the cherries and the wild yeasts/bacteria and the deep caramel malts and vanilla like flavors from the barrel. The beer finishes with a tartness and slight tannic finish. The after taste is vanilla and sour cherries. I love this beer and this style. The mouthfeel is full yet not too big. This beer has many wine like properties in smell, taste and mouthfeel. This beer is extremely drinkable, but at 11% abv be careful. I could drink 10 of these no problem. I have to say that this is my favorite of the Lost Abbey yearly releases. Some of the special one-off sours are excellent, but I am really glad that this one is released every year. Can’t wait for the 09 due out soon.

2008 bottle from Schroppfy, thanks! Reddish dark brown color. Oak, malt, dark chocolate and cherries in the aroma. Odd mix of tartness, dark chocolate, the finest of cherry bonbons, licorice, oak and cherry liquor in the flavor. Very complex, strong and tart. Not a sign of the promised 11% ABV, excpt in the warming finish, but strong and powerful. And deceptively drinkable. World class beer.

Bottled sample via and shared with oakbluff. Amber brown in colour with moderate carbonation and a bit of haze. Aromas of supermarket produce department, cherry, funk, hothouse flowers, and rich pale malts. More fresh and juicy fruits and funk in the mouth, with the pale malts asserting themselves a bit more. A bit of drying wood on the finish. Very complex. Top notch stuff to say the least.

375 ml bottle shared with piscator34. Pours murky brown, minimal brown head. Nose-brown sugar stewed fruits, cherry. Taste- sweet thick malt, dark fruit, tart cherry. Finish dry oak, touch of alcohol heat. Very very complex.

Bottle shared with friends at Obriens. Pours a cloudy dark reddish brown with a very small head and low carbonation. Aroma is oak and wine, cherries, caramel and spices. Flavor is perfectly tart, with lots of oak, and hints of honey, caramel, dark fruits. Finishes dry. Full bodied and smooth with low carbonation. Great stuff, looking forward to the Sinners 09 release! UPDATE: Had this again at the Pizza Port Belgian Beer Party. Even better than I remembered! The best sour ale I’ve ever tasted.

375 ml bottle. 2008 vintage. Pours a dark brown with some red highlights. Light brown head. Tart cherry aroma. Flavor is really nice. Lots of cherries, some wooden notes, and warming alcohol. Really nice beer.

08 bottle, shared by the generous Yaniv. Rusty reddish brown with no head atall. A little saltiness maybe? Sweeter darkish malt, small alcohol. Fruity cherry. Flat but not watery body. Sharp tannic fruity nose with a warm acidic lingering. The barrle comes out, this is very winey. A slight hint of something vinegary. Quite a lovely thing to drink indeed. Rerate ’08: More or less a change of numbers. Additions to notes must include raisins in nose and taste and raisins, red wine and lingering astringency in taste along. Bumped both appearance and mouthfeel up a point each, so I will tack on a point to palate now. A really nice beer.

Bottle from Sean. I have been looking forward to this one for a very long time. Thankfully the ass pirate was able to succeed. Pours out a dark brown color with not much of a head on it. Somewhat red in color too. Smell is fruity, sour, and has some bourbon notes too. The taste is something I wasnt really expecting. More along the lines of a very high abv and more barrel tasting Supplication. Oh, and not as good. This is almost like a bottle of wine really. Its good, its sour, and its unique. The bourbon is kind of harsh at times. I will get another bottle of it next year, so hopefully an update to my rating will be in order.