Lost Abbey Isabelle Proximus

Poured from a bottle at the Brickskeller Lupilin Reunulin (double sample as I could not get enough). Hazy gold, creamy white head with perfect lacing from top to bottom. Deep complex aromas open to notes of lemony musty funk and yeast. Warming brings on soft undercurrents of creamy herbal peach, toasted oak, and hints of stinky cheese. Flavor piles on the bretty funk and yeast that beautifully balances on dense sour lemony citric and lactic vanilla wood-like tones. Just an incredible mending of flavors. Full bodied and smooth, tingly carbonation, sour funked finish. This was absolutely the highlight of the evening. Simply spectacular…

Poured from a bottle at the Brickskeller Lupilin Reunulin. The brewers themselves described the unique concept of the beer as "an homage to Belgium." Apparently only 18 barrels (400 cases) were made, and the beer is apparently a blend of different oak barrels each with 5 strains of yeast. The effort and time put into this beer is clear. Pours a translucent, rosy yellow/orange with a soft, cloudy white head. The aroma is outrageous, something you could stick your nose in literally all night long. Aroma is very floral, yeasty, sweet but also tart, with grapefruits, cloves, incense, pollen, and sour Jolly Rancher. The aroma could be a borderline 10, but a touch more hop would be needed to put it over the edge. That could be my only complaint about the entire experience. The flavor is like bottled sweet tarts but also very sour, oak, grapes, lemons, honey, flour pollen, sour mash and funk. The finish is both sweet and sour, also a touch earthy and a little oily. This is the best, most drinkable Gueuze/Sour I have ever had. It got rave reviews at the tasting and was clearly the high point of the night.

In short
A single-vintage lambic blend that comes very close to nailing the style characteristics of traditional Belgian gueuze.

Poured from a bottle at the Brickskellar Lupulin Reunulin, the color is wheat gold and the body is hazy and soft. First whiff is pungent bugs - it’s egg-like aroma at first is eventually overtaken by a distinctly strong lacto-yogurt note, and aromas of lemon juice and subtle funk (limburger cheese/body odor) mix in over time. Full bodied and rich without being thick. The expected acidity is more subtle than imagined, and the body has a delicate silk-like quality that along with the moderately thick texture strikes the palate as something not tasted before. The effect can best be described as "weirdly-oily". Lacks coarseness (thank you), but thrashes at the palate with silky yogurt lacto and pedio. Resemblance to traditional Belgian gueuze? Yes, but the silky palate is out of place. Is it something different, though? Yes. Does it work? Absolutely.

Bottle @ Brickskeller’s Lupulin Reunulin event. Pours a bright, bold honey-orange color; solid, creamy white head with fine-bubbled lacing that coats the glass; a gorgeous pour. Loads of citrus, grapefruit, intense tartness and funk in the aroma; medium-to-high levels of acidity; mouthwatering; fruit, funky and dry; nicely, densely sour. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: grapefruit, tart citrus, high levels of mouthwatering acidity, following the nose; toasty oak and loads of funk; gorgeous stuff, and not simply the bone-dry funk and citrus of other highly regarded gueuzes: there’s plenty of generous fruit here (grapefruit and tropical fruits) coupled with perfect, impressively drinkable levels of sourness, acidity, and dryness (without being bone-dry and overly puckering). To summarize, what’s the last rare beer Aaron gave a 4.4 to? Certainly nothing I ever brought to a tasting. Awesome, authentic stuff, in the same grouping as Blauw and Cable Car. We pilfered as many samples of this as we could. Lengthy finish: citrus, grapefruit, with lingering funk and sourness.

(Lupulin Reunulin, bottle) No one can accuse me of being a sourhead, but I do appreciate a number of well-crafted sours. And I will say that this beer is among the finest Lambics I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. Medium off-white head atop a cloudy straw body. Aroma is medium sweet, lemon tart/sour, funk, some cream, peach. Taste is medium sweet, lemon, funk, some wood, light peach. Light-medium body with some acidity. The serving size was too small, but our table was able to get another five or so cups to share. You’d think that was a good thing, and it was, but we were not sated -- we wanted more more more. I don’t know that they could ever make this beer available on a permanent basis, but I think there’d be many happy people if they could.