Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

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

2008 Bottle shared by mreusch. Pours a cloudy brown with a light tan head. On the nose are mildly funky, sour cherries, oak and a faint bourbon note. Uber-dry up-front, medium-bodied and tannic with a dry, woody finish. The flavor follows the funky cherry nose. It’s a tasty brew, but I wasn’t as blown away by this one as I’d hoped I would. Nevertheless, I’m very thankful to have had the opportunity to try this one. Thanks again, Matt!

2008, 375 ml bottle acquired from ironchefscott, thanks! Poured into RR glass. Brown color, very slight head. Smells sour, but not overly so. You get a decent sour in the taste, but also some of the bourbon barrel that this beer was aged in. Alcohol was decently hidden, but I felt the bourbon burn in my throat for a long time after. For me, it doesn’t get a lot better than this. A beer with sour elements aged in bourbon barrels. Love it. Really glad I got the opportunity to try it.

2008, 375ml bottle from Sinners. Pours a cloudy brown with ruby highlights and a thin tan head. Aroma is sour cherry, light oak, light bourbon and funk, and some general tartness. Flavor is more sour cherry, oak, and a bit of funk. There’s a nice, yet indiscernible finish on this that’s a bit of cherry skin maybe. This is a solid beer with nice aging potential, but a little "young" right now. I’m interested to see what the brett funk can do to compliment the sour cherry in a year or so...

Black label 05 bottle shared by miketd, thanks homie. Poured a murky brown color with reddish highlights and a thin beige head that diminished to a ring. Sour cherries dominate the aroma with some light oak and funky brett yeastiness. Moderately tart, sour cherry flavor with some funky, almost cheesy flavors and some more sour funk from the brett and some nice oak character on the finish. Nice mouthfeel with a good drying character on the finish. Thanks for sharing Mike, it will be nice to compare this too the new release.

Very good beer, but I had such high hopes for this one. Opened this right after taking the CFA as part of my reward. Pours brown, with a thin head. Nice aroma, I was actually thinking it would be a lot more sour. Hides the ABV very well. I really liked it more as the blend in the Veritas 003. Very good though.

Bottle at Noogfest Four-O. Pours cloudy red orange with beige head. Aroma is sourness, blackberry, and plenty of farm. The flavor is soft cheese, a nice mellow sourness, and distant berries. This here is delicious.

2008 sampling courtesy of BA Barleywinebrewer..Thanks! Pours brownish amber, almost opaque, with a crimson tinge on the edges. Zero head or lacework. Perfectly clear legs on the glass. Aromatics are intense and complex. Tart cherries, brandy, bourbon, vanilla, raisins, and a touch of balsamic. Plenty of boozy alcohol and sour fruit. Medium bodied, a bit syrupy and chewy. Pretty much flat with a hint of carbonation. A concentration of sour cherries, brandy, bourbon, and balsamic steeped raisins lead off the pallet. Warming and plenty of lingering sourness. A wine-like vineousity contrasts the boozy alcohol nicely. Dry and juicy, with plenty of oak and vanilla that struggle to follow through. Finishes with lingering balsamic, cherry stones, and warming booze. I don’t like to reference other beers when reviewing, but the intense balsamic sourness reminded me of Earthmonk. Add the Cherries and the bourbon/brandy character and this beer is in a class by itself. I think Tomme needs to work on the carbonation issues of his beers though. If this beer was carbonated the aromatics would have been more intense, and the pallet could use some liveliness.

2008 Release; Sampled June 2008
A somewhat soft pour produces a 1/4-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a very dark, burnt-amber color that shows a lightly hazy, deep red color when held up to the light. As I am pouring this beer I immediately notice aromas of Bourbon and oak as well as a rich fruitiness. A more focused inspection of the aroma yields a sourness that is reminiscent of fruity balsamic vinegar, light Bourbon aromatics (including a bit of hot alcohol), ample barrel notes of spicy wood and buttery oak, some soft vanillin and a touch of something like an oaky zinfandel wine. The Bourbon, while noticeable, thankfully does not completely overwhelm everything else. Having said that it is hard to pick out the base beer notes from the overall barrel character.

Softly carbonated, but still a bit prickly; the carbonation is actually just about perfect for this big beer. This is quite tart tasting, my mouth even puckers a bit as I take my first sip. A tannic character seems to accentuate flavors of cherry skins and also coats the teeth and palate like a strong tea. The barrel flavors contribute a soft, buttery oak component, just a touch of vanillin, and a lightly spicy woodiness as well as some light Bourbon notes; I like how light the Bourbon is in the flavor, it is much reduced compared to the aroma. Pretty darn near bone dry tasting, it does have a viscous fullness to it that shows there is residual sugars & malt here, but this is almost completely tempered by the sourness and barrel flavors. The finish has a touch of heat to it from the alcohol and barrel influences though it is somewhat soft.

As the beer warms up a bit some dry raisin flavors become more noticeable, essence of prunes also is found as is a noticeable tart cherry pulp flavor. I really like how the sourness melds with the fullish body; the combination just seems to work quite well here.

This is probably a bit tastier than the black label (Russian River) version I had before this, but I get the feeling that prior versions achieved a closer-to-perfection result than this; such is the vagaries of experiments with bugs and barrels. I look forward to sampling future vintages in the coming years.

Black Label, Sampled August 2005
4.1 7/4/8/4/18
Pours an opaque, deep amber color that shows bright, lightly murky ruby highlights when held up to the light. The head is tan colored, frothy and fairly thin though it sticks around throughout the entire 750ml bottle. The aroma is enticingly tart as soon as I pop the cork with notes of cherries. As I go in for a deeper draught of the aroma the oaky bourbon barrel type notes. There is a nice fruitiness under the barrel character; I get notes of raisins, figs, palm sugar, hints of molasses, tart cherries, vanilla, and caramel. The aroma is quite complex, the more I smell the nose the more different scents and aromas come to the fore. Quite a nice aroma.

The body on this beer is quite thick, though it finishes fairly light with a bourbon note. The taste is tart and funky with notes of moist earth, musty leather. The finish is lightly hot with alcohol, though this may be the barrel character more than the beer itself. Again the beer is quite complex, this would age gracefully for many years (probably improving quite a bit) and I really wish I had another bottle of this. This is definitely quite interesting, I am not too sure that the level of barrel character here is correct, I wish it was a bit more subtle so that I could taste the tantalizingly complex beer underneath. Don’t get me wrong this is quite good and quite enjoyable, I just wish that the barrel character was a bit less. Having said that, as the beer warms up it starts to become a bit more in balance; the tart sourness (a mix of tart cherry and hints of rich balsamic vinegar) begins to reign in the barrel character. This beer has enticing notes of toffee, a bit of molasses, whisky, bourbon, vanilla, and tannic oakiness.

This beer is quite complex, and that is what saves this beer in the end for me, there is so much going on with every sip it is just too intriguing, despite the heavy handed oak. Up front I get some really sweet cherry notes, despite the fact that this beer is not really very sweet. There is a thick maltiness here that gives a sort of rich sweet character. As it is this beer is quite the experience, very worth spending an hour or two contemplating the flavors and complexity. I need to get another bottle of this.