Abbey Scribe | May 27, 2011

With a little under 24 hours before the Moment of Truth, we though it’d be a good time to update everyone on all the other changes going into place for the summer starting today (May 27, 2011). Here you go:

Extended Summer Hours

Starting Memorial Day weekend and running through Labor Day weekend, we’re extending our tasting room hours so that more people have a chance to drop by. Our extended weekend hours for summer are as follows:

• Friday: 3pm to 9pm
• Saturday: 12pm to 7pm
• Sunday: 12pm to 6pm

The tasting room will still be closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and open from 1pm to 5pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays for bottle sales & growler fills only. (Don’t complain. The brewhouse crew needs the room so they can make all that liquid magic we love so much.)

Open Memorial Day

In addition to the longer hours starting this weekend, the Tasting Room will also be open on Memorial Day — Monday, May 30 — from 12pm to 4pm so you can roll in for a few tasters and pick up some bottles and/or a growler fill for your holiday barbeque.

Oh — and speaking of Memorial Day weekend, we’d be remiss not to mention that this Sunday, May 29th, is Terri the tasting room manager’s birthday. Make sure to tell her happy birthday if you stop by!

Barrel Room tasting bar now open

If you haven’t dropped by in the past couple of weeks then you probably don’t know that we recently opened a new tasting bar in our Barrel Room. Tucked in among the barrels awaiting the Angel’s to give their blessing, there’s 20 taps (just like the main bar) loaded with Port Brewing & Lost Abbey goodness. If the main bar looks a little crowded or you’d just like to enjoy a taster or two in a really cool atmosphere, make sure to check it out!

Special Beers on Tap

Back in Mak Porter — This weekend we’ll also have a couple of special beers on tap perfect to kick off summer. The first is “Back in Mak”, a robust porter that you may already know as Makanudo or La Cruda Porter. It’s a beer that dates back to Tomme’s first gig as a professional brewer way back in 1996 (and the first beer for which he earned a GABF gold medal). Tomme, his old boss Troy Hojel and Skip Virgilio (a founder of Alesmith) all met to brew the beer together for the first time in 15 years. Most of the beer is being bottled as La Cruda Porter, which will go to attendees of the NHC next month (read: no distribution). But we’ve got a few kegs we decided to put on tap as “Back in Mak” so you’ll have a chance to taste it even if you’re not attending the conference.

Dawn Patrol — Dawn Patrol Dark is an English Mild Ale that we actually brew as the base beer for Red Poppy. We don’t distribute this beer, but it’s a wonderful, low ABV beer perfect for an afternoon session, so we decided to put on one of the remaining kegs (the rest has already gone into the barrels), giving you an opportunity to taste Red Poppy before it’s, well, Red Poppy. (Red Poppy is also on tap, so try them side-by-side and check out how the beer is transformed in the barrels.)

If you’re into the barrel-aged specialty stuff, we’ll also have Brandy Angel’s Share, Older Viscosity, Ad Lib and Red Poppy on tap for as long as it lasts!

BYO Growlers

Unfortunately, we had a mix up with the glass company and we are completely out of growlers until June 6th. If you’re looking for a growler fill, please make sure to bring your own growler. (And remember we can only fill growlers labeled Lost Abbey or Port Brewing. We’re not allowed to fill any other brewery’s growler by law, so double-check your bottle and make sure it has our name on it before coming in.)

Veritas 009 Release

Finally, this weekend is the release of our much-anticipated Veritas 009. There is only 100 cases total of this and we’re limiting it to 4 bottles per person. We will be opening at 10am for Veritas bottle sales (the full tasting room will still open at noon) and we expect this one to sell out in a couple of hours, so if you’d like to pick up bottles, we recommend that you arrive sooner rather than later. All the details on Veritas 009 can be found here: Veritas 009 Release Announcement.

Category: Brewer's Blog, News and Events, Tasting room | Comments Off
Tags: hours, memorial day, special, Tasting room

Abbey Scribe | May 23, 2011

The Lost Abbey’s latest barrel-aged rarity more than three years in the making

The Lost Abbey will release the next in its coveted Veritas small-batch barrel-aged beers on Saturday, May 28, 2011. The most complex and time-consuming beer released by the brewery to date, Veritas 009 took more than three years and periods in bourbon and wine barrels to create. With only 100 cases available, Veritas 009 will not reach general distribution and will be available for purchase directly from the brewery only. The 750ml cork-stoppered bottles will be $35 each and strictly limited to four bottles per person.

Veritas 009 is a substantial departure from earlier members of The Lost Abbey’s small batch experimental program, which were generally sour beers aged in French oak barrels for 12 to 15 months. Begun in late 2007 as dark base beer, it was sent to freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Kentucky’s Heaven Hill Distilleries. The beer aged for 15 months before it was moved into French oak barrels previously used for wine (primarily Syrah). Sour cherries were added and the beer was left to rest for another year and three months. Finally, in mid-2010, it was pulled from the barrels, blended, bottled and sent off to condition for an additional 11 months.

“It’s one of the most complex beers we’ve ever created,” Arthur said. “Veritas 009 has strong notes of cherry, red wine, cedar and dark cocoa accentuated by a pervasive acidity that makes for an incredibly deep finish. It’s an amazing beer and easily one of the most cellarable produced at The Lost Abbey. I have no doubt that it will drawn fans from both the craft beer and wine worlds.”

Interestingly, Veritas 009 came close to never being made available to the public. Begun as a private project of Arthur’s, the existence of the beer and the details behind it were kept secret until last year. Even after news of the beer leaked to the public Arthur declined to discuss it beyond acknowledging that he did indeed have a barrel-aging project referred to only as “KT”, a reference to the secretive order of the Knights Templar. It wasn’t until a sampling session that Arthur decided to move the beer into Lost Abbey’s public small batch program and release it as Veritas 009.

“There is so little and it took so long to perfect we actually considered issuing it as a private release, or not at all,” Arthur said. “But after sampling last week, we decided that it was just too good to keep hidden and the public should have access to it.”

A total of 117 cases (12 bottles each) of Veritas 009 were produced. 100 cases will be made available to the public on release day. More details are available below.

Veritas 009 Release Details

• When: Saturday, May 28, 2011. 10am – 6pm
• Where: Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey – 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069 (click for directions)
• Total release: 100 cases (1200 bottles)
• Format: 750ml cork stoppered bottles
• Price: $35 per bottle
• Limits: Four (4) bottles per person maximum

Category: Beer Releases, Events and Appearances, News Releases, Tasting room | Comments Off
Tags: barrel-aged, beer release, bourbon, sour cherries, veritas, wine

Abbey Scribe | May 17, 2011

It’s the End of the World as we know it.

Or maybe it isn’t. Based on your personal beliefs, May 21, 2011 could be a) your ticket to heaven, b) the beginning of the end, or c) just the third Saturday in May.

Regardless of what happens, however, we’re hard-pressed to come up with a better way to enjoy the day than with our gold medal winning Judgment Day Belgian quad-style ale.

So all day May 21 we’ll be celebrating Judgment Day with tasting room specials, drawings and events. Here’s just a few of the things on tap for the End of Days:

• Judgment Day Specials: Pints – $4, Growler Fills – $12, Bottles (375ml and 75ml) – 20% off
• Prize Drawings: We’ll be holding drawings throughout the day for The Lost Abbey clothing, headwear and our cool new Lost Abbey flags
• Costume competition: Come dressed ready for the Apocalypse (horseman, avenging angel, demon, sinner, saint — it’s up to you) and be eligible to win stuff suitable for sinners and saints alike!
• Judgment Day Art: We’ll have the original Four Horsemen painting that is our Judgment Day label on display. Come check it out in all it’s doomsday glory.

The fun starts at 12pm and carries on until 6pm (by then we’ll probably know if the world is coming to an end or not). Admission is free and open to both Sinners and Saints alike. See you there!

 

Songs playing at the brewery during the event:

Highway to Hell – ACDC

Still Alive – Portal

I Just Died in Your Arms – Cutting Crew

Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

Mad World – Tears for Fears

Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry

Judgment Day – Van Halen

Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind

The Final Countdown – Europe

Waiting on the World to Change – John Mayer

We Will Become Silhouettes – Postal Service

Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees

It’s the End of the World as We Know It – REM

The Call of the Ktulu – Metallica

The Four Horsemen – Metallica

Apocalypse Please – Muse

Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears

Four Winds – Bright Eyes

Fire and Rain – James Taylor

When the World Ends – Dave Matthews Band

Should I Stay of Should I Go – The Clash

God’s Gonna Cut You Down – Johnny Cash

Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash

Don’t Fear the Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult

End of the Road – Boyz II Men

Time is Running Out – Muse

I Think We’re Alone Now – Tiffany

Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden

How Am I Supposed to Live Without You – Michael Bolton

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye – Steam

Dead – They Might be Giants

Last Dance – Donna Summer

Mona Lisa – Nat King Cole

The Winning Side – Oingo Boingo

Robots – Flight of the Conchords

I Don’t Want to Wait – Paula Cole

Nowhere to Run – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Thoughts of Dying Atheist – Muse

O Death – O Brother Where Art Thou

Let the River Run – Carly Simon

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day

Bye Bye Bye – N’Sync

Dancing in Heaven – Robert Plant

I Will Follow You Into the Dark – Death Cab for Cutie

Heaven is a Place on Earth – Belinda Carlisle

I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

Till the World Ends – Brittany Spears

Ride of the Valkyries – Wagner

Where Do Bad Folks Go – Nirvana

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow – Carole King

Category: Beer Releases, Events and Appearances, News and Events, Tasting room | Comments Off
Tags: apocalypse, beer, belgian quad, Judgment Day