Lost Abbey Cable Car

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

To celebrate my rating number 11,000 I enter this much sought after top-50 beer, which I have been so lucky to sample at two occasions and in two version.

GABF 2007 - first release. A murky golden beer with a thin white head. The aroma is sweet with strong acidic notes of brettanomyces as well as notes of wood and citrus. The flavor is acidic with notes of wood and brettanomyces, leading to a dry tart woody finish.[8/2/8/4/17=3.9]

RBSG at Lost Abbey [8/3/8/3/17=3.9] I didn’t find the second edition as tart as I remembered the first, but it doesn’t show in the rating.

Bottle 75 cl. Courtesy of KimJohansen. Pours a very hazy and opaque golden with a creamy head that leaves a curtain of lacework. Fresh, sharp Brett aroma. Medium body with very dry vinegary notes and a dry, lightly bitter and sourish finish. A very decent beer, but not really on par with the very best Belgian sours - and yeah, I know this technically isnt a sour. 221108

75 cL bottle. Pours hazy yellow with a lacing white head. Aroma is smooth orange fruity with a hidden brett dryness. Smooth fruity with a light acidic to citric base flavour. Smooth finish with a light dryness and persisting fruity. A bit multidirectional compared to the first batch. The 2nd batch seems not fully developed and has quite a residual sweetness. The 1st batch was bone dry and tart - lovely really. (thanks to alohaC for this treat)
1st version: 8-4-9-4-17=4.2
2nd version: 8-4-7-4-15=3.8

Bottle 75cl.
[ Courtesy of KimJohansen ].Unclear medium orange color with a average to large, creamy to frothy, excellent lacing, fully lasting, white head. Aroma is moderate to light heavy citrus sour, fruity, apricot, peach. Flavor is heavy sweet and moderate to light heavy acidic with a average to long duration. Not at sour and tart as i expected it to be, a nice sour but some of the belgium stuff i much more complex. Body is medium, texture is watery, carbonation is soft. [20081122]

Date: 10/11/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewfest, GABF

Appearance: hazy yellow, frothy white head,
Aroma: wild bret aroma and a lightly sweet malt base,
Flavor: sweet malt flavor followed by a sharp tartness, nice lemon character,
-------- /> Date: 10/19/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar tasting
Score: 3.3 to 3.7

Appearance: streaky lace,
Aroma: tart lemons in the aroma,
Body: creamy body,
Flavor: good complex flavor with great balance between the sweet and the tart, the yeast gives it an even creamier lemon pie character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Hazy yellow-beige. Lightly cheesy nose with light fruit and a hint of yoghurt. Tastes like a new pair of Adidas, lots of tartness on the tongue, a splash of yeasty character and a little bit of fruitiness. Good balance - it’s a nice beer but it’s no Proximus.

Hazy orange with medium beige head. Sour aroma with notes of barnyard, orange, vinegar and wood. Sour flavour with notes of wood, barnyard and grapefruit. Sour finish. Misses the pureness that lambic has. Not dry enough.

Bottle at MesandSim’s tasting Aug 09. Thanks to MadMitch for this, cheers Ken, this was on my must have list. Unattractive thick gold cloudy beer. Lacks a bit of farmyard funk on the aroma which I want from my sour ales. Some funk and lemon, but more muted than Belgian lambics. Very sour finish. Smooth lemon. Very drinkable, good funky lemon and good flavour in the mouth. I suppose a bit unfair to compare an American sour with Belgian lambics, but this doesn’t stand up against lambics. That funk just isn’t there. We had a Girardin black label gueuze earlier in the day and then a J&J Blauw afterwards and the aroma of those 2 just blows virtually all American sours away. Russian River beers are just about the only ones that even get close.