Lost Abbey Sinners Blend 09

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

Aroma has a light sweetness and a sour edge. Pours black with tan head. The smoothe richness of stout without most of the roastiness. A light sour with a bit of wood and char. A bit of a grapefruit bitter finish. Notes: Beer Advocate Belgian Beer Fest (Boston) ’09

Bottle I shared with Shawn and got in trade for my main man Jon, Muchas gracias WeeHeavySD!

Rich deep purple with mahogany highlights but almost no bubbles or head but a nice dark oily film upon the glassware and that should count for something. The complex and powerful nose with notes of raisins, plum, Merlot wine with a special B malt fruitiness all over the place. Oh some roasted malt vapours along with light pepper, juniper, oak, earthy yeast, pipe tobacco and leather. Heck there is even a touch of funky vile esters going down. Interesting to say the least and it is fun to figure out which of the three beers created which aromas... oh I swear there was a four beer adding in there somewhere!

Happy Happy Joy Joy, the taste matches the nose almost on point. Big dark fruits and dark malts with a twangy and smooth heavy malt background. Hints of chocolate, caramel, wood, and hop spice noted. There is a consistent earthy and light brett and lacto influence I liked. The mouth feel is soft and oily, shocking easy to drink dispite the noticeable alcohol splash on the finish (which brings up a point of contradiction, how can three beers 10% ABV or higher be combined to produce a blend that is only 8% ABV? Magic spirits in the cask methinks)

Mikey Likey this a lot, if only a TAD more carbonation and this would be closer towards a 4.3 or higher rating. Still it fricken rocks jocks with socks, a fun brew to sip.

Bottle shared by BBB63- Thanks MIke! Pours a nearly dead brown with some purple highlights. no head. couple bubbles at first, but didn’t last long. Aroma of dimetapp, purple grapes, port barrels, chocolate, and red wine, some light bourbon. Weird. A lot going on in this. Flavor is a sour tangy, fruity, candy combo. Seemed like juice a funky purple grape juice. Pretty much no carbonation to this beer, but that didn’t really take away from the experience. Weird beer. Unlike any beer I’ve had. A red wine, fruity, beer with some unexpected choclate and bourbon notes peaking their head through the tangy sour grape fruit. Neat.

Pouring at session one of EBF in Boston. Pours black with a medium sized tan head. Chocolate pudding with cherries. Medium bodied, tart and tannic. With a nice tingly finish.

Bottle shared by Eric. Thanks Eric! Pours dark brown with thin head. Aroma of oak, tart cherry, wood, vanilla, and light bourbon notes. Medium mouthfeel. Flavors are complex layers wood, tart cherry, and dark fruits. Very nice brew.

Thanks to the tampa sinners club for this one. A: Pours a nice shade of murky brown with hints of ruby showing through. The head is medium in size, a nice shade of beige. Lite retention and lace. S: Wonderful tartness with vineous fruit notes. Nice oak, vanilla, and toffee. T: Tartness from the start. Bitter cherry for sure. Hints of balsamic vinegar caramel and cocoa. The oak from the barrel is there with light vanilla. M: Medium in body, nice acid bite on the tongue. D: Good, Liked the 08 a little better.

Draft. Dark amber beer with a dark cream colored head. Tart, cherry, and chocolate aroma. Cherry flavor with sour notes, chocolate, and some dark malts. Medium bodied. Sour cherry and chocolate lingers.

Sampled December 2009
A very soft pour yields a headless, inky black and viscous looking brew. Actually the color is more of a concentrated brown color than black. The beer smells of fragrantly floral cherries, a touch of fruity acetic acid, some brandy like warmth, a touch of earthy mustiness, and a solid mix of brown sugar, dates and desicated raisins that is quite distinct, but took me a second or two two recognize. There is a background rich malt character here that provides a hearty richness, perhaps even saltiness, that is umami like. The saltiness makes me think of peat in some ways too and there are some faint roast notes here too. The nose is actually quite a bit more complex than I have described as there is a whole lot going on.

Fairly dry tasting for such a big beer. It also has a solid tartness to it that is rounded out by an earthy, musty finish. The texture is not completely devoid of carbonation as there is a slight prickle to this brew; it is big enough to stand up to the sligth carbonation, though in truth a light carbonation would have been much better. The body has some heft to it, enough viscousness to make up for the carbonation, but it is definitely not heavy; though fhe rich flavors easily keep this as a sipping beer for me. A salty, sea-like, almost smoky quality is here and it mixes with an earthy oak flavor, a tannic bite towards the finish, . This beer evokes thoughts of a dry, oaky, somehow fruity, complex red wine in many ways, even if I can’t quite fully describe why. Speaking of the fruit, despite the lack of sweetness a complex, tart fruitiness definitely comes through quite well in the flavor; notes of tart cherries, sour prunes, and pomegranite all are contributed by the notes in this beer. There is a definite, even if soft over all, Brettanomyces presence in the finish; soft phenolics, a hint of muskiness, a touch of butyric acid, as well as contributing to the general, soft spiciness in the finish (which the oak contributes to as well.

An interesting beer, it wasn’t what I expected, and is perhaps even a bit more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be. The worst thing about it is that it could use some more carbonation, and even that is easily over-loojed in this particular beer.