Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

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

Beachbum1975 saw this as one of my top Wants and cracked it open. Thanks man. Pours reddish brown in color. No head to be found on the pour. Smell is lots of sour cherry and some woody oak. Incredibly lip puckering and tart. Lots of good sour notes coming through in the flavor. The cherry flavor is perfectly done. Very complimentary to the rest of the beer. Just a hint of alcohol burn in the finish. Fairly thick and coating in the mouth. The cherries sour and oak work amazingly well together and are incredible. This is a world class beer. One of the few rare and hyped beers that has lived up to the expectations. Incredible beer.

2008 375 ml cork-finished bollte. Pours a dark mahogany brown with ruby red highlights. No head at first from a soft pour, but a thin tan head forms when swirled. The aroma is full of lovely cherry notes--dried cherry and concentrated cherry essence. Following this is a hint of light sourness over a subtle malt base. The flavor is full of clear tartness--both from fermentation and the cherry addition. A malt foundational structure is there but is very well integrated along with a significant yet well balanced alcohol characteristic. The barrel aging is quite evident as well which contributes a substantial amount of character in the form of woodiness and some slight pleasant oxidative elements. The body, for containing 11% alcohol, is completely smooth and fully integrated, and leaves a long, lasting impression in the finish both in the mouth and soft palate.

small ’08 bottle, from a trade. Rustic brown pour.. rich w/ lots of sediment (cherry skin? probably just yeast).. probably because of a rough car ride just before opening. Fragrant, sour-funk nose that does remind of the Giradin. small tan head. rich, funky taste that has some off-brett sweet sour. depth of the body definitely reminded me of the LA angel’s share ... this definitely tastes like a PP/LA beer, which is a wonderful signature. Cherries come through quite a bit (right up there with the red-wine grapes) with a nice sour-cherry on the lips. Good oakiness but not so much bourbon (which is alright by me). hides abv really well. Interesting, worth a taste (might be ’nothing like it’ as they say) but not transcendent as far as I’m concerned.

Thanks to luttonm for sharing a bottle. Pours a murky brown with very little head, and a *ton* of sediment - what looks like cherry peels. The room is immediately permeated with the smell of cherries when the cork is popped. The aroma is a cherry-infused tart citrus (lemon, with a bit of funk) - reminiscent of the Girardin gueuze. Tastes of a great old cabernet sauvignon - very, very musty - notes of old oak shine, and it tastes 10 years older than it is. Still, it has some bright notes like those of a champagne, but one made with red-wine grapes. It isn’t utterly fantastic, but it’s *very* good, and carries a wonderful novelty. I adore the musty flavor, which lingers forever.

The Lost Abbey - Cuvee de Tomme, Vintage 2008. 12.7 oz bottle poured into my New Belgium glass. 11% abv. Served at room temperature. Appearance: Dark brown with a pinstripe ring of tan suds. Aroma: Sour cherries, sour grapes, oak, wine cork, and funky goodness. Taste: Red wine, funky sourness (The Brett?). After a bit, you can really taste the wood of the barrel. Mouthfeel: Juicy. Overall: A very nice sour beer, but I was in search of something that I didn’t find. Hasn’t changed much with 6 months of age on it.

Sampled more than one time at GABF 08, cloudy brown red hue, with a beige head, but falling quickly, yeasty, funky, toasty malt, dried caramelized fruity nose of raisins, prunes, with some nice sour red cherries, with some wet oaky, winey, musty accents, some faint bourbon vanilla liquorish notes in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a funky, sour, fruity character of dark dried raisins, dates, with a winey, musty red cherry flavor, with some hints toffee, caramelized malt sweetness, and some oak vanilla bourbon accents, leading towards a malty, fruity cherry sourness finish.

Pours a cloudy medium brown color, no head. Aroma is a complex blend of cherries and dark fruits, caramel malts, vanilla, a little bit of bourbon and oak, and subtle funk. Taste is more sour than anticipated, but the malt base and the oak and vanilla make the flavor nicely complex... I think I can say this is the most interesting unified blend of flavors I’ve ever experienced in a beer. Smooth, alcohol is hidden well. This is really something amazing.

awesome, pours dark and has a serious funky nose of brett, strong sour taste and a little oak notes come out. Extremely complex, you taste the alcohol in this one it is strong! Tastes like candy. Funkadelicly good