Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale

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

#400. Bottle, 2009 (drank 02/07/09). Pours a deep red strawberry juice color. Aromatic sour cherry, caramel, brown sugar. Wonderful sour cherry flavors, tart is just the right level. Nice oak undertones Mouth is smooth and easy to drink with a long sour finish that nicely makes your tongue roll. This might be trouble, sours are growing on me!

375 ml bottle 2009 vintage. Poured straight down the middle of the glass and still a very thin head. A murky dark reddish orange color. Aroma is pleasantly tangy and vinegary, nice funky barrel and a bit spicy, a hint of brown sugar sweetness. Apple-cinnamon comes through as it warms. Plenty of cherries and oak in the flavor. Sourness is nice, not overwhelming at all. Very, very drinkable. Medium bodied and quite twangy mouthfeel. Finish is a nice lingering musty wood dryness. Super tasty. I’m afraid my other three bottles won’t last long.

idk where this bottle came from but it’s been in my fridge for a year now (2008). muchas gracias to the soul who left it behind...

it’s been sitting so long that the cork bomb was no issue... dark orange brown color with no head and lots of clumpy yeast.

smells a bit like pickling spice/pickles or that strange funkiness that a lot of red burgundies get before they get a chance to open up... cinnamon, wet cement, fruity/cherry tart though not quite sour and malty sugars yet it’s very dry.

it tastes very ’green’ from young barrels and quite tannic. though i’m not sure whether the tannins dominate from the wood or cherry skins (it really doesn’t matter)... also, faintly malty and oaky with a cinnamon-y brett-like stink on the finish which lingers on. medium body lacks a bit of richness. the mouth feel it is prickly and dry as it cleans the palate entirely.

not a whole bunch going on... seems as if something is missing. though, it is in no way a bad beer! 7/4/7/4/15/3.7

Bottle 2009 vintage. Sour cherries and apples. Slight funk and sourness are well balanced with the background caramel sweetness. Finished dry.

On tap an Lost Abbey. Pours a nice hazy red, with a white/reddish head. Lots of sour cherries, sweet malt, bread, tart apples, and sour funkiness. Notes of oak and citrus. I even get some buttery taste. Complex and very drinkable. Mmm good. Not as good as the double cherry release by a long shot though.
Earlier Rating: 1/24/2009 Total Score: 4.7
This rating is for double cherry red poppy. I loved this sour, one of my favorites! I have not tried the regular red poppy, but this beer was amazing. Deep cherry red color with a beautiful tan head. Tart cherry pie, oak, earthy sour, Belgian yeast and hints of spice and funk. Extremely drinkable, I could drink lots of this. It makes my mouth water. I’m glad I was able to try this!

375ml bottle. Light red/orangish pour, no head whatsoever. Sour cherry aroma. Flavor is more tart than sour, very easy to drink and very tasty.

On tap at the brewery for the release of this. Hazy brown with the smallest of head. Smell is sweet. Taste is complex. Bitterness mixed with sour. Should have had this one before the sour Phunky Duck. I think my taste buds were still reeling from that sour, and I couldn’t really appreciate the nuances of this. Still, really really good.

Bottle from Fordest. Pours dirty brown with small tan head. Aroma of malt, oak and cherries. Sour cherries are more expressive in the flavors with the oak and some maltiness which I feel gives an unusual sweetness to this style and may play on the sourness which is not as high as expected. It’s a good beer but something is missing to make it stand out. Thanks Sean!