Lost Abbey Judgment Day

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
San Marcos, California USA

Bottle@Home. Raisin, grapes and madeira aroma. Ruby color, beige tiny head, few lace. Sweet, light bitter, raisin, figues. Alcoholic like a liquor. Not bad, nice flavors, bit out of balance and a bit like it was still too young.

Bottle from BevMo, La Mesa. Dark in color with a ruby outline. SWeet bubblegum aroma with quite a bit of dark fruitiness. A hint of alcohol as well. Fig and raisin. Strong banana/bubblegum flavors. Some bitter qualities along with the dark maltiness. Alcohol is well hidden.

Bottle at the RB Rochester Gathering, Sept. 09. Thanks, Shadey! A sweet, strong, warming brew with a rich malt character, with enough hops to lend a distinctive flavor. Quite tasty.

Pours a hazy deep amber/brown with a minimal beige head. Aroma is moderately sweet with raisin, prune and light alcohol. Flavor is raisin, plum, pomegranate, caramel and dark chocolate. Sticky full body with low carbonation. Finish is dry and very woody.

Full draught glass at PP 12 hour fest on 3/24/07
Let the glass warm and breath for about 45 minutes while I was in line for pizza, I think this helped a lot. Not much of a head to speak of, though I’m sure that will change with the bottle (maybe). Dark brown with violet-burgundy tints on the edges and a medium-low clarity.
Rather sweet, but not a malty sweetness dominating; guess it’s the raisins. Regardless, there’s ample Belgian yeast, giving it more of a Belgian Dark Strong feel. Light banana/vanilla and lots of tart prune and black pepper notes on the finish. Hazelnut skins and light roast, almost in the quantity seen in some dubbels, it helps further add balance in concert with the phenols. Warming and vaporous alcohol is moderately present on the finish. Definitely different and not quite as polished as MOAB, but it’s also very young.
Sweet and malty, with an ample adjunct sugar presence (candi sugar, raisins), it still manages to pick up a fair amount of vinousness (prunes, concord grapes) and light roastiness, to offset the caramel/toffee sweetness. Lightly tart yeast notes sit on the finish, rather pleasantly but there is a strong blandness or sort of tannic-like dryness, perhaps you might say breadiness, that sticks to the palate and cuts in to the livliness of the flavors. The carbonation is low and though not really loose, does give the beer a bit of a heavy feel to it. Alcohol is perceivable, with warming and definitely makes itself felt, but at least helps cut some of the chewy toffee and raisin sweetness. Interesting stuff, and no doubt it should develop in to a better beer with some aging, as the raisins relax the strong hold they have on the beer and the yeast produces some deeper complexities. Will revisit, of course.

Bottled. Murky reddish brown coloured. Medium sized dense light brown head. Aroma of prunes, chocolate, raisins and alcohol. Flavour as well full of ripe fruits like raisins and prunes. Has a spicy and sweet touch and is very heavy on the alcohol. Medium to full bodied. Quite dry. Ends on a roasty quite sweet and fruity note. Very warming on the palate. The alcohol is almost too much for me in this beer, but still a very decent beer.

Date: May 22, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Mail Order
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: dark muddy brown with ruby edges, wispy beige head, touch of drippy lace
Flavor: sweet malt flavor with lots of dates and raisons and other ripe dark fruits plus a hint of alcohol after warming a bit
Overall: rich malt flavor, lots of ripe fruit, balancing roasted bitterness is a bit too much and distracting and should fade with age, only a touch of sweetness comes with warming but the bitterness holds it back from being all it should be, richness continues to grow and picks up some chocolate along the way

Date: December 31, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2007
Score: 3.9 to 4.1
Appearance: clear dark brown with ruby edges, fine tan head, bits of lace
Aroma: rich and sweet fruity aroma, light spicyness
Flavor: rich fruity flavor, caramel sweetness brings out the rich ripe fruity esters, light bitterness still present but has subsided allowing the fruit character to emerge, nice spicyness, fleeting hint of alcohol
Overall: age is helping this one along nicely

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

Date: September 01, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewery
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: clear dark brown, fine tan head, bits of drippy sudsy lace
Aroma: sweet caramel and brown sugar aroma with lots of fruityness, a hint of chocolate
Flavor: rich and fruity flavor, lots of dark fruits, dark caramel sweetness brings out the fruity character, hint of chocolate adds complexity, little to no bitterness