Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale

Pours a pale copper color with a thin white head atop. Smells of sweet banana, some alcohol, a bit earthy aroma and some spice are all very noticeable in the nose. Sweet caramel malts, some more earth, a bit booze as well. The finish is a bit bitter and hoppy. Nicely subtle beer.

Bottle. Pours reddish brown coloured with a small egg white head. Aromas of bread, malt, rubber, spice, herbs and hops. Malty flavour with notes of spice, bread and hops.

750. Definitely some apple and a very floral nose (chamomile comes to mind). Flavor is toast, pepper, spicy apple and pear and a nice bite on the finish. Could be more well-rounded, as the flavors aren’t highly blended (I think higher carbonation would help here - it was approaching flatness - not to jump on the "LA carbonation issues" theme, but that’s what it was), but a nice brew nonetheless.

On tap, from brewery. I am probably not suited for rating Beer de Gardes, since my experience is limited to one very odd attempt at one during a tasting 6 months ago. The nose was faint, musty, and a mildly funky. Flavor leveled at dried fruits, cactus, and earthy notes. An odd mixture, not exactly unappealing, but easily my least favorite of the Lost Abbey flight I tried.

750 ml bottle shared by JB. Pour is slight haze copper orange. Smallish white head. Aroma of sweet apple and clove. Perfume and floral, very bright nose. Also some mild brown sugar. Taste is big clove, dusty brown sugar, very sweet. Not terribly integrated, though now that I realize its a BdG the taste makes more sense. Palate is medium, almost entirely still. A bit of a metallic taste to the finish. Good, but a little on the sweet side for my tastes.

Draught at the brewery. Gold color with a white head. Bready malt, some dough, and a spicy hop note in the aroma. The flavor is pretty similar with moderate bitterness and a medium body. Pleasant, but not too much going on.

Bottle. Pours a very murky and hazy honey color. Aroma is fruity (mainly citrus) with some spice. The flavor has a lot of citrus, some dried fruits, some peaches, some bread, and there is a hint of spice, like coriander. Finishes rather dry with a slight sour note, but not unpleasant. A little too much carbonation for me, but it’s a great beer.

Bottle: poured hazy pale orange. Aroma was citrusy with some sour and spice. Flavor very fruity and slighty sour with a toasty notes. Pretty good.. as usual from Lost Abbey.