Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale

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

Nose of apple, caramel, toffee and cherries. Medium bodied, deep gold color with orange highlights, low head. Flavors mostly toffee, toast, caramel and slight yeast esters. Finish is sweet, mild, creamy. Really needs more farmhouse and yeast character.

Aroma is sweet with malt, a slightly winey character, otherwise restrained and slightly spicy. poured pretty cloudy with an initial big head, that dissipated, but stayed on the edges of the glass. flavor was big on malt initially to the point of being sweet. Flavor of anise than rushes in, perhaps from the hops used. well carbonated with a bit of black pepper. chewy body. in the middle the anise flavor really takes over. very complex and well made beer. finish is the part lacking most, bit of high alcohols, and harshness. All in all an interesting and complex biere de garde.

The beer poured a golden color with a slightly hazy body and a medium white ring around the glass. The aroma was of sweet tarts and a bit earthy. The taste had more of the sweet tart quality and a wheaty character to it with a touch of bitterness on the back end, making for a medium body and easy drinking beer.

Bottle from Hi-Time. This is my first Lost Abbey product from Port Brewing. Pours an amberish color with a nice fluffy off-white head and some pretty good retention. The aroma is a grassy-hay scent along with strong malts and candy-like fruits. The strongest flavors here are funky and bready type of malts but theres quite a bit more going on, some of them subtle; a bit sweet, a little fruitiness, some spices, sour and tart in the finish. A lot of Saison type qualities. More alcohol shows than I would expect and I’d prefer a little of that to hide better. Overall a good beer but perhaps not as good as the high expectaions I had. I do want to try more of these. Re-rate 8/24/09. Amber color, decent head, some retention but pretty good lacing. Aroma is malty and very bready and doughy, light citrusy notes as well. Flavors, oranges, bread, caramel, toffee, not bad but not as good as I remember partly because it’s semi-sticky sweet with an alcohol bite. Slightly dry with a good amount of spice. 3.3 this one, 3.7 previous, I’ll average the two.

750ml bottle courtesy of KingG, thanks! the cork gave a very loud pop when I opened it but the head was not out of control. This has a nice light-orange color with some white bubble action. very subtle sweet honey on the nose, bready flavor with a bit of fruit on the tip of the tongue , oddly easier to drink than the Red Barn I had last night. As it warms the alcohol shows up a but the flavors really get stronger. This seems more refreshing despite the higher ABV, maybe its the lack of spiciness? In any case another interesting and worthwhile beer from Lost Abbey. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-12-2008 02:42:03

25.4 oz bottle from Binnys South Loop (Chicago, IL) that I had been storing for awhile. Popped in honor of getting all 4 of my trades out the door today. Whew! Pours a very nice gold with some darker orangish elements, light haze, and moderate white bubbly head that dissipates down to a film. Aromas are lightly fruity, belgian yeast lightly dances across the nose, with apple, spice, and light peach. Initial is medium bodied, but light on flavors. Light grain and belgian yeast are present with subtle apple, graininess, a bit of creaminess, and a touch of bitter, peach, and skunk in the finish. Despite not beng watery, this beer tastes as though it should be. Taste is far too subtle on the palate and leaves a bit of warm booze and bitterness on the aftertaste. In a word: Bland and therefore underwhelming. Just not my thing, I guess. Not bad, just not what I expected.

Dark yellow colored with hazy appearance. Little yellow head. Fruity aroma with peach and yeast, slight spices also here. Medium bodied. Flavor is similar with peach and spicy note, some cacao-chocolaty note also. Aftertaste lasts with lemon and same toffee.

on tap at lost abbey. slightly bitter taste; very well balanced. light fruit and sugar flavors.