Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Bière de Garde
San Marcos, California USA

My Bottom Line:
Chewy bready malts and lingering spicy hops slowly tango on a lightly doughy yeast in this sumptuous and appeasingly honest Bière de Garde.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam skirts the hazy straw blond.
-The body is healthy and with the flavor profile creates an authentic Bière de Garde experience.
-The spicy hoppiness (Spalt?) is as present in the aroma as in the finish, balancing out the malty baguette throughout.
-Alcohol is not a player in the flavor profile; this is beautifully drinkable.
-I often get flavors which resemble vegetable broth notes in some Bière de Gardes; no idea how to describe them any differently.

Bottle.

22 oz bottle.

Pours deep gold (clear, at least the first glass worth) with a nice soft white head.

Laid-back but impressively complex aroma: barnyard yeasts, some lemon peel, wet humus, complex earthy spices. The aroma is impressively dry. Not bitter, dry. Sparkling euro-hop dry, grassy, delightful. No pine resins here, again those mild earthy spices (and seseme?). Beautiful.

Partly it just matches what I’ve loving to drink these days, but partly it’s the pure quality -- this is such a terrific beer. Wow. I feel very lucky to have lost abbey now coming into Washington State.

First sip brings a toasted grain malt upfront with a nice hit of caramel. Fruity spiciness is evident and I pick up a grape skin and green apple flavor. Flows down with a bready, yeasty aspect and some earthy tones as well. Just a slight sour twang to it. Finishes with a touch of hops. A bit dry and grainy. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side while still having a nice creaminess to it. Ample carbonation, the beer goes down easily and is refreshing.

Thin head of mixed size bubbles. Very non homogeneous. Minimal carbonation. Had to pour pretty high to get the head that I do have. Kind of surprised in this. Reduces to a thin sloppy wisp of foam. Very nice aroma. Full of sweet caramel malts, some pears and other fruit, honey and some fresh bread. Color is a hazy dark golden brown. More caramel malts, butterscotch and honey. Noticable alcohol presence. Light melon tang late swallow. Lingering spices and dry grasses. A very good BDG. Thanks to Bockyhorsey for this one.

750 ml. bottle. Solidly and deeply golden, with a light but coarse foam collar. Nose of distilled grape beverages and walnut, plus a little windex. Superb palate, somewhat creamy, honeyed undertones float a very tasty and cutting melange of garden spice and quenching hoppy acidity. Improves as it warms and breathes. Probably my fave of the 3 Lost Abbey/Port beers I’ve tried in the last couple of days...

750ml Bottle. Gentle garden and salted toast aroma. Nibbles of oat sugars and calm white tea. Sweet, lightly spiced and bready. Pours a 50% opaque deeply hued golden straw, with a sliding slick of beautifully conditioned head above. Flavor is a lightly honeyed bread, with dappling bits of farmyard grasses, herbal flourishes, and toothy spice. Mostly mild, soft, and wheaty. Not overly expressive, sharp or nuanced. But, what is there is wonderfully dry, clean, and enjoyable. Signature minerals climb through a bough of spruce. It’s hard to say anything bad about this beer, but it’s also difficult to say anything great about. A dutifully well reproduced Biere de Garde.

Upon its departure from the 750ml cork and caged bottle it forms a nice crown of white over the golden amber body, with the resultant lace a thin covering upon the glass. The nose has a peach like aroma, backed by the malt, crisp and clean to the senses. Start is sweet; the malt adds nice bread like taste, with the top middling. Finish has a delectable hop presence with the acidity unobjectionable, nice and dry, a fine drinking beer.

Courtesy BeanDip @ Tampa RB Gathering. Light copper, a little more yellow than orange. Thin layer of white head. Caramel aroma with light spice in the background. Light spicy character to start, but a lot of sweetness is there for a bier de garde.