Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

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

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: August 24, 2005
Score: ii
Words: russian river contract
great rich malt, good cherry tartness with only a hint of sweetness, nice balance, a bit of bret upon warming, interesting

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: December 03, 2005
Source: strong ale fest
Score: ii to iii
Appearance: clear ruby red
Flavor: wonderful cherry tartness in the aroma and flavor, great cherry pit bitterness

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: June 18, 2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Noog I
Vintage: 2003
Appearance: solid brown
Aroma: funky horsy aroma with a bit of swetness
Flavor: thin soy sauce flavor

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: June 18, 2005
Vintage: 2004
Appearance: rusty brown
Aroma: sweet rich malt aroma, hint of horse
Flavor: tart malt flavor
Overall: what’s the big deal?

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: June 18, 2005
Vintage: 2004
Words: gold foil
Appearance: ruby red
Aroma: tart horsy aroma
Flavor: sweet tart fruity flavor, the tart fruit saves the day, best of the litter, ii

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: July 14, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2005
Aroma: huge tart cherry and oak aroma
Flavor: cherry flavor is taking on a candy sweetness

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: June 09, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: Noog 3D
Vintage: 2007
Score: 3.6 to 4.0
Aroma: huge tart cherry pit aroma backed by rich chocolate
Flavor: very rich sweet cherry flavor with plenty of tartness, rich chocolate

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: July 03, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: hazy dark amber, wispy beige head
Aroma: big tart cherry pit aroma
Flavor: big sweet dark caramel malt flavor, lots of cherry tartness, touch of chocolate, balancing earthyness

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: July 04, 2008
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: opaque dark burgendy red, scant beige head
Aroma: dry dark caramel malt aroma, lots of oak, woody cherry pit tartness, light mustyness
Flavor: dark caramel and cherry flavor, lots of fruity tartness, light sweetness kept in check by the tartness, wood character adds balance and complexity, touch of chocolate

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***+/4

Name: Cuvee de Tomme
Date: August 01, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewery
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: clear dark brown, fint tan head, drippy streaks of lace
Aroma: tart lactic cherry and oak aroma, light chocolate
Flavor: strong cherry and oak flavor, tartness is nicely tempered by the oak, long tart finish

Aroma: /10; Appearance: /10; Flavor: /10; Palate: /10; Overall: /20
Rating: 0/5.0
Drinkability: /10

This beer causes quite the conversation. How to review a beer in which evoked such a different experience between 3 different samplings? May ’07 release in bottle had developed into the funky sour one of the three. Recently sampled two more versions at the LA barrel tasting - one from french oak; the other in bourbon. Wow. A whole different monster than the bottle, period - the heavy bret influence shown in bottle was replaced by a rich pear/green apple like aroma with such an elegant mouthfeel - simply divine. Such a complex, mind boggling brew. Always quite exciting knowing that every time one gets a shot at tasting this, a new experience will be sure to follow. Rating is for the non-bottle versions. Bravo!

375ml, lost abbey release batch 1. pours flat dark ruby-brown. nose of sour cherries, bourbon, oak, vanilla, tar. flavor is really sour cherries with brett, tobacco, alcohol warmth, and sweet caramel finish. the finish is sweet and bretty. some carbonation could do this beer wonders. a tasty complex tobacco and sour cherry flavor profile.3.9.

7/10/08, 375 ml bottle. 2008 vintage. Lost Abbey release batch 2. thanks to ironchefscott for this one. pours dark red with off white head. nose is tart cherrys, tar, bourbon, vanilla, doughy, cinnamon, sour. wonderful complex aroma. flavor is tart cherries, oak, vanilla, toffee, cheesey, charred woody finish. dry sourness too in the finish. wow this is awesome stuff.4.2.

375ml bottle.....to celebrate the birthday....aroma: lots going on in the nose. i get a fair share of sweet malt and dark fruit but the majority of it is woody with a nice precense of tart cherry.....appearance: dark caramel brown, thin head at first but gradually dissipates....taste: where to even start? tart cherry right of the bat. then hints of vanilla and caramel begin to weave in and not to mention some oak to add to the tartness. it maintained a consistent tart/sour feel to it but never became overbearing. at 11.5%, you would never notice it. very interesting indeed and enjoyed to the largest extent. wish i had more, that’s for sure.

Big thanks to jayg and mgumby for sharing these. 2005 and 2007 bottles. Both poured a murky red color, but in a very good way. Aroma is sour, with dark cherries and plums leading the charge. Some vanilla peeking through. Flavor is blanced, with the sourness remaining blanced and harmonious. Interesting to see what 2 years does to this beer.

Fresh 2007 bottle, with awesome art work. Pours a murky reddish-brown with much head. Sour yeasty aroma with hints of fruit and oak. My tongue didn’t know what the hell to do at first taste. Very tart but not agressive, cherries rasins sugar vingar. After a few sips my palate became adjusted and it started to taste simply amazing. I took a big sip and it made the back of my throat twich. Strange. This beer was very hyped, but worth it. A brew like nothing I’ve ever tried before.

Bottle from Cquiroga shared at BCTC. Black label version. Poured an reddish amber with a thick off-whote head. Nose was bretty, with some oak and sour cherries. Flavor was more sour cherries, a little chocolate, brown sugar, more oak and brett, and even some raspberry. Tasty drink. Wish I had more bud glad to share this gem. Thanks Chris!!

Courtesy MGumby, thanx Mike. Samples from the 05 bottle.this was quite different.Poured a nice golden color with sour and spicy notes on the nose.The alcohol was present but not dominating. Sour fruits up front with some maltiness. Finish was warming wiht some subtle sourness.