Lost Abbey 10 Commandments

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

Bottled. A brown beer with a thin brown head. The aroma is sweet with notes of vegetables and fruit. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of berries and wood, the berries giving it a slight acidic edge, leading to a dry finish.

(Bottle 75 cl) Courtesy of Bierkönig. Pours a cloudy, light brown with an orange hue and a small, light brown head. Intense aroma of burned caramel. Quite full-bodied, lots of sweet caramel and spicy ginger accents. Quite a nice one. 280907

75 cL bottle, thanks to Bierkönig. Pours hazy and deep brown with a lacing off-white head. Aroma is dried fruity and malty. Flavour is a blend of malty sweetness and something beyond this (undefineable malty/herbal note). Slight herbal note with a minor acidity into the finish, a quite dry finish.

Bottle 75cl. @ home.
Unclear dark brown color with a average, frothy - fizzy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige head. Aroma is light heavy malty, roasted, caramel, spicy, cinnamon, alcohol. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration, spicy. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light to moderate alcoholic. [20090815]

Bottled (Thanks stoutlover72!). Hazy amber colour, not much head. Aroma is raisins, alcohol, yeast, mild fudge and some liquorice and herbs. Flavour is quite much the same along with quite much grassy notes. A rather nice Belgian Strong Ale.

Bottle. Hazy red brown coloured with an off white head. Aroma of dried fruits, caramel and liquorice. Flavour of dried fruits, caramel and liquorice.

Date: June 09, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Noog 3D
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: clear dark brown, drippy lace
Aroma: dark fruity aroma with a light sweetness and a light spicyness
Flavor: rich malt flavor, gritty brown sugar sweetness, nice dark fruity character, a touch of hot bourbon, earthy balance

Date: July 04, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: fine beige head
Aroma: starts with a strong sweet raison and dark fruit aroma
Flavor: lots of the rich ripe fruit flavor, well tempered sweetness has the raw sugar character, same hint of the hot bourbon from before, the oak shows as part of some earthy bitterness, the earthy balance is big and unexpected for a Belgian but not too out of place, the yeast shot gives a breadyness to the ripe fruit to turn it into a spicy fruit cake

Date: January 12, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2007
Aroma: picking up a big sweet winey character in the aroma
Flavor: wine character carries through to the flavor which is still mostly dark fruits and raison

Date: December 27, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: still plenty of carbonation
Aroma: sweet fruity and winey aroma
Flavor: rich and fruity flavor, lots of raison, winey sweetness, touch of grape, background chocolate
Overall: aging well

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Corked bottle, vintage 2008, 1 year old
Dark color, almost black; medium head, reducing fast. The aroma is not impressive, instead there is a light sourness, and very light spices. It has a good body structure, with a rich chocolate flavor; the spices are subdued (cinnamon? oranges...), but more evident than in the aroma; in the end it indulges too much on the roasted malts, and the alcohol burns a bit too much. Powerful, a bit chaotic, not Belgian.