Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

I got one bottle from Zathrus13 and one from fordest. First I need to say I loved that beer from the first time I had the chance to try it. This was on December 3rd 2005 at the Strong Ale Festival in Carlsbad which was supposed to be from what I heard the wildest version (red foil). Then I had a second chance to try it at a local ratebeer tasting. That time it was the silver or the black foil (can’t remember which one exactly). So here we come with this first lost abbey release… Pours dark brown with no carbonation or any head what so ever. The nose is intense! Decadent caramel, molasses, raisins with strong woody and brett/lacto aroma. I would smell this one for hours! This is a very complex with all kinds of flavors all well integrated together; sweet and sour (actually sourer then I remembered) with strong cherry and oak character. I could not resist to the temptation of pouring the dregs to my second batch of ABT aging with brett Lambicus. I will keep the second bottle for a later tasting and hopefully I will be able to put my hands on a bottle of the next release so I can make some comparison. Many thanks Jeff and Sean for these two bottles!

From bottle at Lost Abbey before RBSG on 08/02/2008.Clear red-mohogany body with a small white head. Sweet spice, caramel, rum-soaked fruit, light sour. Big caramel flavor with a sour background. Medium full body with moderate carbonation. 9/4/9/3/17-4.2 Bottle on Mar 14, 2008 at the 2nd Richmond Industry Gathering. Hazy brown body with a light tan head. Heavy caramel flavor with light sour hints. Lightly sour flavor with oak, caramel, fruitiness and some spice. Original Rating: 7/4/9/4/17-4.1

poured dark brown with no head. nose was cherry cough syrup. the flavor was very strong medicinal cherry. might be good to relieve a sore throat, but i didn’t find it amusing as a beer.

375ml bottle purchased at the May anniversary party. Dark red with zero carbonation. Sour cherries dominate with a nice bourbon and oak character balancing this out. First taste is a large dose of sour cherry. Small bourbon and oak come through. The lack of carbonation help this one as it balances out the extreme flavors. Palate is a thick and chewy. All together this is really a masterpiece from Tomme. This really shows what he can do and why he is one of the best in the industry. .

NorCal Feb ’08 - Wow. Yeah, this beer is that good. It deserves a double Wow. Just incredible. Really had to put into words how delicate and tasty this beer is. I mean reading it doesn’t do it justice, you gotta taste it. An aroma of sour cherries, sitting in a chocolate rum/wine sauce. It really is decadent smelling like a fine dessert. Appearance is dark brown in color, opaque with a small white head with quick dissipation. Flavors are sour cherries, chocolate, raisins, dark rum, old leather....all wrapped up incredibly well. It’s like a damned epiphany when you taste something this good. I knew it was highly rated, but this is one of those beers that clearly deserves it. Mind blowingly good.

Bottle at the Laid Back Brussels Tasting (Feb 9, 2008)
Deep, brown body. No head whatsoever. Nice aroma of wood, fruit, peach, malts, wine, cognac. Moderately sweet, lightly bitter flavour. The bitterness disappears fastly, while the sweetness stays. Port like. Very nice, but not that much as beer. Anyway I don’t mind too much. One could say lambic is different from any other beer as well ...

Big thanks to metallitone1 for the bottle. Nice corked and caged bottle, pours totally still. Color is woody red. Aroma is complex with vanilla, fruit, and oak. The barrel-aging seems to contribute a spicy and toasty aroma. Cherry and raisiny fruit flavors abound in the taste. Vanilla, red wine, and bourbon weave a nice pattern throughout this beer. The wild yeast is smoothly integrated into the overall flavor profile. Full, coating mouthfeel. Drinkability is limited only by the extremely low availability.

Wanted to try this one for a very long time, thanks again to Brad. Pours a syrupy, dark red-brown... No head, just a few bubbles. Looks like port. Also smells like a port, sweet, fruity and boozy. Flavor is quite tart, fruity, oaky, goddamn that hits all my sweet spots. Mouthfeel is viscous, coating the tongue. Unique, interesting and delicious.