Lost Abbey Yellow Bus

Formerly brewed at Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
San Marcos, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

bottle at LA, glass shared at the brewery, then the rest shared at toronado sd. very difficult to find flaws with this beer, and very difficult to find a beer of this style with more flavor, density, texture and length. Popping acidity, some funk, yet all this sour / acidity and still huge on the palate, great finish. must see some new oak as there is almost a sweetness, oak, vanilla body and grip on the finish that is very long. 30+ second finish and not like a stout that stains the teeth, this is from the expansive flavors in the beer. outstanding beer. 5-10 more years of life I’d guess. guess it could funk up and develope more complex flavors?...drinking outstanding on this nite. bottle from vintage tasting room ect.

Bottle split with Shyam at the Lost Abbey tasting room. I broke a boycott to have this and am a little embarrassed I did so. Nose is much fuller than the usual sour ale bouquet - fruit rind, white tannin, slight white pepper and every now and again the diaspora of a ripe peach. This bottle was 2007 and the fruit flavor has faded some I imagine - I was expecting more than the glimpses of peach that I got. When those do come, however, they are brilliant. The very funny thing is that they happen at non-intuitive times over the course of a bottle. Aside from them there is a very fat quality to the body of the beer that is very good - very thick with yeast at times. Would certainly try a newer bottle if given half a chance.

UPDATED: DEC 13, 2009 Pours a fairly clear straw yellow with a fast growing fizzy head. Nose has hints of peach, probably wouldnt have noticed had I not known to look for it, hints of barnyard funk, very mellow nose. Taste is extremely balanced between lambic tart sourness and acetic vinegar. Slightly fruity, nice slightly puckering from the sourness, the vinegar adds a perfect heat that mimics a higher abv offering. It might be one of the more well balanced sours i’ve ever had. Taking into consideration the amount of hype surrounding this beer, and the pricetag, I have to say it is not worthy, not even that close, but still a fantastic beer.

UPDATED: AUG 19, 2010 My contribution to an epic sour/wild tasting hosted by Alex. Thank you to myself for letting me try this. Sean, you are awesome! Poured from 750ml bottle into Bell’s tulip. A - Pours a mirky orange with a very faint white head that quicky vanishes into a bubble here and there around the rim of the glass. No head leaves no lacing behind, which is kind of a bummer. Not the greatest looking sour I’ve seen. S - This is where the experience turns epic. A nice whiff of this one leaves me in a state of tart-awesomeness. I also get some sweetness as well, which I contribute to the peaches that this was brewed from. Nice oak/wood notes follow up both the sour and sweet notes and round this one out nicely. I didn’t take a drink of this one for quite some time, as I wanted to just keep smelling it. T - Not as sour/tart as the nose suggests, which I like. I can enjoy the peach notes a lot more without a huge amount of funk. Don’t get me wrong, there is funk, but not enough to hide the sweet fruity notes. I’m thinking I should have just drank this one and got wasted by myself in my basement (kidding, to my new Chicago buddies, of course). M - Fizzy on the palate. The look of no carbonation isn’t true, there is some. Leaves a nice tingle with a dry finish. D - Holy crap do I need another bottle of this. Sadly, don’t know if that’s possible. Oh well, mark this one down as out-freakin-standing. Lives up to the huge hype.

(Draught) Pours a cloudy golden orange body with a small white head. Aroma of lemon, mustiness oak, peach, and horseblanket. Flavor of tart lemons and fresh peaches. Excellent mouth puckering acidity with a dry oak finish. This sour ROCKS!!

Bottles pouring at the Night of the Funk event in Boston. I had been eager about Cable Car and had planned on that being the first thing I had, but Yellow Bus was a welcome surprise. Pours a hazy golden amber with a thin white head. Big funk, lots of brett, lemon, and hay. Smells gorgeous. Nice carbonation, soft and subtle. Big lemon flavor with some sour funk. Mouth puckeringly acidic, but remarkably balanced. Finishes up with a long and lingering tartness. By far the star of the entire event. Amazing.

Bottle at Night of the Funk that I had to wait on an obscenely long line for. Lost Abbey’s got quite the racket going with this beer. It seems to show up everywhere again and again, yet they’ve kept the bottle release so pathetically low that the demand is through the roof, even though they bring cases and cases of it to fests. So, I’ll admit, I really wanted to hate this. I hate the hype, I hate the artificial demand, I hate everything about this beer... except the beer itself.

I was let down at first — or perhaps relieved — that the aroma was lackluster. A touch of wheaty tart, almost berliner weisse like, with some acetone getting in the way of things. But it hits your mouth and wow — you are instantly tasting one of, if not the closest American beers to a traditional Belgian gueuze that’s ever been brewed. It could sit in a blind tasting easily and none would know better. Deep, punchy sourness, lightly citric, dry as the shitty heating in NYC that is currently ravaging my skin — this has it all. Well, besides availability, of course.

Sampled at Night of the Funk 2009: Beautiful deep hazy golden with a dense white head. Richly funky aroma- old aged cheese, lactic tartness, tons of horse blanket, leather- reminiscent of an authentic Belgian Gueuze. Perfectly fluffy body with a sharp lactic acidity. Some citric acidity as well of lemon-rind qualities, tons of rustic funk- cheesy, horse blanket, bone dry with a cherry pit sharpness as well. Earthy, sour, infinitely complex. Combines the effervescence of the best American sour ales and the funky complexity of the traditional Gueuzes of Belgium. A masterpiece.

From an unlabeled bottle at Night of the Funk. Poured a cloudy yellow colour with a respectable white head. Fresh mouthwatering aromas of passion fruit and peaches with a healthy amount of funk. The flavor is truly excellent with more fruit, tart funk, and a refreshing yeasty finish that balances out the sourness and funk. This is so well constructed and carefully balanced - Amazing!

Sample @ BBF Night of the Funk - I feel very fortunate to have tried this before it ran out. Pours a hazy yellow with a small white head. Nose is bread/biscuit, light fruit/citrus, and heavy heavy on the funk. Taste is a little malt up front with a heavy, fruity funk that whacks you over the head as you finish each joyous sip of this beer. I think I recoiled and cursed very loudly (in front of Tomme Arthur - score one for me!) after trying this because I was so blown away by how amazing it is. I love these guys, I really do.