Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

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

Another highlight of the GABF: sour cherry, brett aroma, Light wood and the funky sour brett flavor I have come to love. Truly remarkable beer.

GABF 05. This was one of my favorites of the fest. Sampled many times over 2 days. Pours a deep brown with a nice liight tan head. Aroma is loaded with funkiness and fruit- mostly cherry with some apple and plum in there as well. Lots of brett yeasty funk with barnyard horseblanket and everything else brett. Flavor has a lot of oak and wood with some earthiness, spice and much more fruit. Finishes mostly tart from all the fruit and a bit sour form the yeast. Awesome brew. Not like you can compare the 2 but this was much better than the MOAB from which tomme is made. This doesnt even taste close to 11.5% abv.

GABF - tend to avoid rating things from fest, but as with a few others I parked myself here and had sample after sample - which all confirmed this to be a truly fine beer. Remarks from other raters are more remarkable than mine. My observation is the basic acknowledgement of the pleasure found within this.

Corked Bottle thanks to DarkElf. Beautiful aroma of tart fruit upon popping the cork. Pours out a deep brown color with a reddish hue and a small lacing head. The Taste was extremely complex, maybe more so than anything I’ve ever had. Taste of tart fruit with notes of burbon along with some cocoa and some earthy flavors on the finish. Reminded me more of a cabinet than a beer. Great brew, aging the other bottle I have sitting around.

GABF 2005. Samples tried: 5, ~6oz. total. Huge, tart, sweet, fruity, sour (brown) malty aroma, plenty of brown sugar and vanilla with abundant cherry, oak, earthiness, wafts of alcoholic vapor, lightly perfumy notes, cocoa and even some winey touches. Highly complex and utterly stunning. Dark red-brown color, largely opaque with a thoroughly solid head. Flavor profile is equally massive and satisfyingly intricate; tart, alcoholic, fruity and moderately sweet, plenty of cherry and milky chocolate, some faintly citric orange and berry throughout with a big, tart finish, somehow quenching and "moreish" despite the strength. Palate is incredibly smooth, lightly acidic, body is suitably massive. Absolutely intriguing from start to finish. This was easily my favorite beer of the Fest and my new No. 1 Beer to Obtain a Bottle of at All Costs.

Black label bottle, via trade with foolish_mortal. Deep brown-red ruddy hue with a medium, frothy, tan and diminishing head. Darker appearance than the MOAB. Cherries, plums, oak, Irish cream, pinapples, leather, brett, tobacco and grape aromas. The base MOAB beer is apparent and the changes introduced by the oak aging and cherries are spectacular. The only real loss is that I can’t detect those wonderfully fresh strawberry esters anymore. Hints of vinegar as well. Moderate to heavily sweet and acidc (tart) flavor. Moderately sweet, moderate to heavily acidic finish. OH SWEET ERIS, this is delicious. It’s...it’s...like an imperial Flemish sour. I’ve died and gone to heaven. The robust fruitiness, dry tannins, vinegar/tart/brett funk...wonderful. Full bodied, rich oily texture, lively carbonation. 11.5% be damned, I’d drink this all day long.

Nose-beautiful horse tart brett and cherry. Taste-OMG. Woody, tart, brett, some vinegar, very light bourbon, tannins. This is an almost perfect beer.

dark brown pour w/ a small tan well laced head. Has a tart scent along w/ some sweet syruppy notes and hints of roastiness. Palate is well coated tart and creamy. Flavor is nicely tart a sweet malt and a touch oddness in the flavor. Good stuff.