Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

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

2008 sampling courtesy of BA Barleywinebrewer..Thanks! Pours brownish amber, almost opaque, with a crimson tinge on the edges. Zero head or lacework. Perfectly clear legs on the glass. Aromatics are intense and complex. Tart cherries, brandy, bourbon, vanilla, raisins, and a touch of balsamic. Plenty of boozy alcohol and sour fruit. Medium bodied, a bit syrupy and chewy. Pretty much flat with a hint of carbonation. A concentration of sour cherries, brandy, bourbon, and balsamic steeped raisins lead off the pallet. Warming and plenty of lingering sourness. A wine-like vineousity contrasts the boozy alcohol nicely. Dry and juicy, with plenty of oak and vanilla that struggle to follow through. Finishes with lingering balsamic, cherry stones, and warming booze. I don’t like to reference other beers when reviewing, but the intense balsamic sourness reminded me of Earthmonk. Add the Cherries and the bourbon/brandy character and this beer is in a class by itself. I think Tomme needs to work on the carbonation issues of his beers though. If this beer was carbonated the aromatics would have been more intense, and the pallet could use some liveliness.

2008 Release; Sampled June 2008
A somewhat soft pour produces a 1/4-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a very dark, burnt-amber color that shows a lightly hazy, deep red color when held up to the light. As I am pouring this beer I immediately notice aromas of Bourbon and oak as well as a rich fruitiness. A more focused inspection of the aroma yields a sourness that is reminiscent of fruity balsamic vinegar, light Bourbon aromatics (including a bit of hot alcohol), ample barrel notes of spicy wood and buttery oak, some soft vanillin and a touch of something like an oaky zinfandel wine. The Bourbon, while noticeable, thankfully does not completely overwhelm everything else. Having said that it is hard to pick out the base beer notes from the overall barrel character.

Softly carbonated, but still a bit prickly; the carbonation is actually just about perfect for this big beer. This is quite tart tasting, my mouth even puckers a bit as I take my first sip. A tannic character seems to accentuate flavors of cherry skins and also coats the teeth and palate like a strong tea. The barrel flavors contribute a soft, buttery oak component, just a touch of vanillin, and a lightly spicy woodiness as well as some light Bourbon notes; I like how light the Bourbon is in the flavor, it is much reduced compared to the aroma. Pretty darn near bone dry tasting, it does have a viscous fullness to it that shows there is residual sugars & malt here, but this is almost completely tempered by the sourness and barrel flavors. The finish has a touch of heat to it from the alcohol and barrel influences though it is somewhat soft.

As the beer warms up a bit some dry raisin flavors become more noticeable, essence of prunes also is found as is a noticeable tart cherry pulp flavor. I really like how the sourness melds with the fullish body; the combination just seems to work quite well here.

This is probably a bit tastier than the black label (Russian River) version I had before this, but I get the feeling that prior versions achieved a closer-to-perfection result than this; such is the vagaries of experiments with bugs and barrels. I look forward to sampling future vintages in the coming years.

Black Label, Sampled August 2005
4.1 7/4/8/4/18
Pours an opaque, deep amber color that shows bright, lightly murky ruby highlights when held up to the light. The head is tan colored, frothy and fairly thin though it sticks around throughout the entire 750ml bottle. The aroma is enticingly tart as soon as I pop the cork with notes of cherries. As I go in for a deeper draught of the aroma the oaky bourbon barrel type notes. There is a nice fruitiness under the barrel character; I get notes of raisins, figs, palm sugar, hints of molasses, tart cherries, vanilla, and caramel. The aroma is quite complex, the more I smell the nose the more different scents and aromas come to the fore. Quite a nice aroma.

The body on this beer is quite thick, though it finishes fairly light with a bourbon note. The taste is tart and funky with notes of moist earth, musty leather. The finish is lightly hot with alcohol, though this may be the barrel character more than the beer itself. Again the beer is quite complex, this would age gracefully for many years (probably improving quite a bit) and I really wish I had another bottle of this. This is definitely quite interesting, I am not too sure that the level of barrel character here is correct, I wish it was a bit more subtle so that I could taste the tantalizingly complex beer underneath. Don’t get me wrong this is quite good and quite enjoyable, I just wish that the barrel character was a bit less. Having said that, as the beer warms up it starts to become a bit more in balance; the tart sourness (a mix of tart cherry and hints of rich balsamic vinegar) begins to reign in the barrel character. This beer has enticing notes of toffee, a bit of molasses, whisky, bourbon, vanilla, and tannic oakiness.

This beer is quite complex, and that is what saves this beer in the end for me, there is so much going on with every sip it is just too intriguing, despite the heavy handed oak. Up front I get some really sweet cherry notes, despite the fact that this beer is not really very sweet. There is a thick maltiness here that gives a sort of rich sweet character. As it is this beer is quite the experience, very worth spending an hour or two contemplating the flavors and complexity. I need to get another bottle of this.

Thanks Tomme. I poured this into a 1.5 liter Chimay goblet and it created a wonderful yet shortlived pancake across the top leaving a sliky half moon lace. It’s a dark brownish amber color. Aromas are a bit tart pushing green apple, minerals, and citric acid forward. From the bottle I can smell the cherries but not from the goblet. Medium nectar weight with good carbonation. This is very complex and completely defies my expectations. A dry style with bushels of green stonefruit just throwing themselves at me. I’m getting nuances of cotton candy, popsickle, and cherry blush. Beautifully balanced, I never would have guessed the abv so high. We’re starting to get into the Champagne genre with this one. The finish is beautifully bittered with acidity and has a lingering green apple cherry blush kicking it forward still. Overall: a worthy specimen with superior balance.

375 ml corked and caged bottle 2008 Vintage Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme. I received this bottle as part of the Sinners club. Pour is dark burgundy with a smallish tan head. Aroma of musty cherries and some woody bourbon barrel. A fair amount of alcohol heat present in the nose. Taste is less cherry fruitiness and more of the boozy bourbon woodiness. Very dry. There is some tartness, but not much sweetness. As it warmed, more of the sweet and tart cherry came through. Boozy bourbon finish. This was like an amped up / boozed up version of Rodenbach Grand Cru to me.

Sampled at Hellbilly’s Hellraiser II. 05 courtesy of footy. Bourbon aroma. Murky brown body color. Moderate swetness and a good smooth bourbon flavor. 9/3/8/4/18 = 4.2
08 coutesy of Rustychiles. Had one of the most funkiest aromas from a beer. Darker body than the 05. Flavor had a sweeter fruity tart presence to it. 7/3/8/3/15

Pours opaque brown, thin head. Great complexity! Bretty nose, slight sour cherry and blackberry notes. Very slight bourbon character comes out as it warms. Alcohol warms the throat. What an awesome "malt beverage".

Sampled at Noogfest 08, from JohnC? Whomever brought this, thank you VERY much. Pours a murkey dark amber with creamy tan head. Wonderful complex aroma of brett, cherries, and earthy malt. Body and texture are perfect. Nice harmonious flavors of cherry, dark belgian malt, vanilla, tobacco, and banana. Finish is dry with the oak characteristics coming forward, with a touch of moderate sourness on the tail end. Alcohol is well hidden. The transition of flavors on the palate are very enjoyable. This is a world class beer and will go on my wants lists.
CELLAR CHECK 11-13-09- 2008 bottle purchased from RBSG. This is still holding up, but has lost some sweetness which brings out more acetic and acidic qualities. Perhaps just a wisp of oxidation. If you have some, drink them now because I suspect this beer is on the decline.

Thanks a ton to turdferguson for sharing this. Pours a dark ruddy brown with ruby highlights. The head is about a finger or two thick creamy and tan. Looking very nice. The nose and flavor of this were incredibly complex. The nose shows some very genuine cherry, creamy vanilla, caramel, spicy, a little oak. The flavor is tart and spicy, nice cherry, vanilla, caramel, warm, the oak and bourbon are well contained and began to become more pronounced with warmth. Very spicy warm palate, tart but not sour (as Sam put it). The finis is tart and spicy with a long warm finish.