Lost Abbey Cable Car Kriek (2011)

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
San Marcos, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottles on release day at Toronado SD. Beautiful hazy rosey red color with a thick, fine light pink head and ample carbonation. Ripe cherries, barnyard, and soft oak on the nose with distinct sour notes. The flavor really pops on the palate with excellent sourness, complex funky animal fermentation characteristics, and a hint of nuttiness in the long finish. At once both fresh and deeply complex with precise balance. This is one of the best new releases from The Lost Abbey.

Bottles at the DC Lambic & Sour Tasting on April 14, 2012. Served in a Lost Abbey Teku. Big thanks to Brad for acquiring two different versions of this rarity. The first was an unlabeled version that was allegedly dubbed "too sour" and not released. The second was the labeled version available at Toronado. The review that follows is of the "regular" version from Toronado. After that are some notes on the unlabeled version in comparison to that one. Gusher alert! Holy hell did this thing explode. Even after being stored cold and opened right out of the fridge, as soon as the cage came off the cork started pushing up and beer shot out sideways several feet. Thankfully we were mostly prepared, as had we not been ready I think we would have lost the whole bottle. After all that, the beer pours a hazy and murky reddish-amber with a small off-white head that recedes pretty quickly, leaving just a bit of sparse lacing behind. The nose carries heavy notes of cherry with a bit of nutty pit in there, though just a touch. Behind that is a really nice bit of earth and some very light barnyard. The flavor was similar and brought plenty of cherry along with some light funk and moderate acidity. Body was medium with average carbonation and a dry finish. Really a lot more depth to this one than with the 2010 Cable Car that we had alongside the two Kriek versions. Compared to the regular version, the "too sour" unlabeled version did not have nearly as much cherry and had quite a bit more acidity. The cherry that was there seemed to be more of a sour cherry, and there weren’t nearly as many earthy notes. This reminded me much more of the Cable Car with cherries added, whereas the labeled version seemed like a different beer. Very interesting comparison. Thanks again, Brad.

Bottle at Toronado. Pours a clear light red color with a small white head. A woody tart nose with cherries and light sawdust. The flavor is initially full sourness, tart, vanilla wood, later huge cherries, very much like a Kriek lambic, natural and sweet cherries, lingering tail of sour wood. It is actually more acidic and sour than it seems at times, not acidic overall though. A fruity rich sour.

Bottle at Toronado generously shared by Scopey. Thanks Paul! It pours bright pink with a light pinkish head. The aroma is nicely tart with cherry and good barnyard funk and leather. Dry and tart. The flavor is only mildly tart with some sweet cherries and lots of barnyard funk. The tartness comes in late. Great balance, light, dry and effervescent with a sophisticated mouthfeel. World class.

Bottle at Toronado SD, shared with Lorna, richiesd & joeneugs. It pours pink-red, with a thin fizzy white head. The nose is cherry, sweet strawberry, chlorine, coconut - no major tartness. The taste is fruit syrup, cherry, raspberry, coconut, tart lemon, sour Granny Smith apple, strawberry and wood, with a juicy tart finish. Not super-sour, but has very good sweet-sour balance going on. Medium body and fine, prickly carbonation. Tasty stuff.

Shared a bottle with the wife at Toronado SD. Have been waiting for this one. Poured into stemware. Big POP when corked and served up a good light pinkish-white foam head. The beer itself was a clear rose/orange hue that become a little more hazy as we reached the bottom of the bottle. Smells like a sour sugar candy. Artificial cherries and watermelon. I was taken back with my first sip as the effervescence and tartness right off the bat was insane. After settling in, the roasted cherry skins come out. I got a deep earthiness and oak to round out the flavors as the liquid goes down the hatch. You know that taste when you finish a cherry popsicle and you chew on the popsicle stick for awhile? That’s what I was tasting even 10-15 minutes after I was done with this one. Sweet, fruity wood. This beer was very refreshing and clean tasting in my mouth. As we started tasting the cloudy portion of the the bottom of the bottle, the mouthfeel took on a little more depth. So glad I had a chance to try this beer. Such a successful sour kriek ale. Hope to enjoy more of this in the future!

Pour from a bottle at Toronado in SD. Light red in color.Nice white head with a mild bit of carbonation on this bottle. The aroma was a mild amount of barnyard funkiness. Flavors were of sweet cherires but not too sugary. The beer ends up being dry enough in my book. Tart sourness and not lip puckering. Nice long tasty finish. Too ad this beer is so pricey.

bottle... yes, this explodes, be careful, we lost half the bottle to foam into 6 glasses, tons of sediment, yeast and cherry chunks all over the place, the beer is medium grapefruit in color, interesting color, a light pink head... the aroma is awesome, initially it reminds me of lou pepe kriek with decadent cherries, tart but sweet, rich, sugary, a wonderful sour finish... big puckerer at first, shockingly so but in a great way, the cherries are so perfect adding sweetness but also tart, one of the best American cherry beers I’ve had, a must try for sure

A - Pours a hazy red color with a slightly orange hint with a thin finger of frothy white head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some lace spots. S - Aroma is full of lots of fresh sour cherries with some citrus and other sweet fruits. There is some nice tartness and some oak to add some complexity. Really great smelling beer. T - Starts off with a nice kick of sour cherry flavor with some oak and tartness providing some depth. Through the middle, more sourness comes through with some citrus and raspberry flavor. There is a bit more oak and some funk that join in as well. As the beer finishes it mellows out a bit with some oak, sourness, and funk lingering on the tongue alongside the cherries. M - Medium bodied with moderate-plus carbonation. Maybe a hint over carbonated, but very smooth and crisp. D - Extremely drinkable. Very well balanced. The sourness and fruit flavors are excellent and have some great richness and depth. Really enjoyed this beer.

Bottle @ toronado. Hey, there’s pantanap. What’s up? Word. Anyway...shit overflowed all over so I got a great discount of $40 from $50. Cloudy pink...very little head, maybe none...who knows. Very sweet nose with raspberry...where’s the funk? Not here. Nice sugary sweet raspberry flavors, clean...sour...but certainly not as sour as it should be and where the god damned fuck is the funk? There is none. This is clean, commercially sour raspberry beer with that powdered sugar background that could be hansens great had it maybe a hint of funk...but no...no funk. Fuck you.

UPDATED: NOV 22, 2011 750ml bottle bought consumed and taken away at toronado San Diego...opened with a small pop and pours pretty gently unlike the gusher that todd experienced about an hour later. yielded a hazy barely transparent red berry hue, pinkish red in nature, with a light sense of liveliness and then crowned with a thinnish soapy white head that eventually receded into a thin wispy white soapy film... Aroma is big on cherry kriek upfront with a seedy berry note lingering underneath. Sour and tart lactic sourness, non-abrasive and refreshing. Nice fruity presence with a wild side to it... Flavorwise the cherry remains in the forefront with an excellent lactic sour presence although initially a moderate degree of sweetness was derived but quickly dimishes with the aforementioned sour cherry characteristics. A light spiced cinammon characteristic on the backend. Body is light quaffing while the carbonation was similalry lively addingto its sense of drinkability. Backend becomes intensely sour while dialing back late into the experience. Yeah, gimme another chance at this one again - just smeone send me the $50 to do so.