Warehouse Sale at the Brewery!

02.21.18Hey all! Lots of changing coming to the brewery. One of the most exciting is an expansion of our barrel program. We are already starting to get in new barrels and filling them with delicious beer for the coming years. Unfortunately (or fortunately??) our warehouse is packed with boxes of beer, merchandise, and glassware. To make room for everything, we're holding a Warehouse Sale this weekend! We're breaking out cases of 375's and selling them for $10. We're reducing pricing on select glassware and apparel. There is also an opportunity to buy some of our recent rare bottles, like Veritas 020 — originally a Barrel Night-only release.Specialty drafts on tap for the weekend:> Board Meeting aged in Pappy barrels OUT> 2014 wine barrel-aged blonde sour with grapes> 2015 Track #10> 2017 Foeder #1 blonde sour> 2013 spontaneously fermented PX3Non-vintage 375ml barrel-aged bottles on sale for $10:> Agave Maria> Angel's Share> Deliverance> Dead Man's Game> Ex Cathedra> My Black Parade> Santo Ron Diego> Track #8Here is the list and cases available ("CS LIMIT"). Bottle limits are 2 per person for each beer except for the beers with only 10 or less cases available (1pp). DM us on FB or IG if you have any questions or reach out to orders@lostabbey.com. See you this weekend. Cheers!Updated, SOLD OUT:2008 Angel's Share

The Lost Abbey to Release Genesis of Shame — Oak Aged Brett Ale with Peaches

San Marcos, CA – The Lost Abbey announces it’s newest seasonal release, Genesis of Shame, a blended Brett Ale partially aged in Oak.Beginning with a blonde sour with Peaches aged in Foeders for the past 18 months, Genesis is blended with a fresh Belgian-inspired blonde ale, resulting in a light and refreshing brew with just a hint of peach goodness.“We’ve been waiting patiently to start to use some of the beer that’s been resting in our foeders,” said Co-founder and COO Tomme Arthur. “I think the resulting brew is a great blend of oak and Brett that will continue to age gracefully in the bottle.”Genesis of Shame, 6% abv, will be released on July 14^th at both Lost Abbey tasting rooms and will hit limited distribution the following week.About Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey / The Hop ConceptFounded in 2006, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey produce an extensive line-up of continental and American- inspired ales and lagers. Under the direction of visionary brewmaster and co-founder Tomme Arthur, the brewery has garnered dozens of awards including the 2007 Great American Beer Festival Small Brewery of the Year, The 2008 world Beer Cup Champion Small Brewery and the 2013 Champion Brewery at the San Diego International Beer Festival. The company’s beers, many of which are aged in oak barrels for 12 months or longer, are universally recognized for their complexity, unique flavors and bold boundary-pushing styles. For more information, contact Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey / The Hop Concept.155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069 | call (800) 918-6816 | email customerservice@lostabbey.com

Condolences

As brewers, employees and owners we get up each and everyday and head to our brewhouses. For many of us, brewing is in our blood and we are blessed to have a job that brings so much joy to many.We also know that brewing is a hazardous occupation and daily we work together to ensure the safety of our staff, patrons and brewery visitors. We're not always successful in preventing the smallest to the largest accidents but make no mistake, all of us in the business of beer want nothing but the best for everyone in our buildings.On Saturday, I was having beers with two Stone employees at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. During our beers it came to my attention that an accident had occurred at Stone Brewing and they were gone in an instant. Clearly an incident requiring the attention of many had taken place.I awoke Sunday morning to the news that an employee of their great company had perished in a tragic accident. It was only after searching the Internet that I came to learn a friend of Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey would no longer be visiting us.Yesterday was a tough day. When accidents happen they can affect us all. The San Diego brewing community was clearly shaken by such an unfortunate incident and one that took place in our backyard.I personally will miss a young brewer who was just getting his wings underneath him while working for an A+ company. He will no longer be stopping by our brewery on Friday nights to discuss his day at Stone Brewing. That sucks in more ways than I can speak to. Life is precious and sometimes it takes a moment like this with a beer in hand to remind us of this.Matt C. you will be missed. Greg, Steve and all of Team Stone our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you all. On behalf of our Port Brewing and Lost Abbey family of brewers, I raise a glass of amazing beer in the honor of one who left us all far to soon.- Tomme Arthur(on behalf of Port Brewing and Lost Abbey employees and patrons with the heaviest of hearts)

Quack!

Father's Day Bundle at The Lost Abbey

This Father's Day, save the trouble of shopping for the man that has everything... Stop by The Lost Abbey Tasting Room now through Father's Day and pick your Dad up our special "Father's Day Bundle"!For only $20, you'll receive a brand-new (empty) Growler, a $15 gift card (to fill said growler) and two pint glasses.What better way to celebrate Father's Day than sharing a pint with the guy!

Track Repeat Weekend at The Lost Abbey

With Summer right around the corner, we thought we'd relax this weekend and set some "Tracks" on repeat! Starting Saturday (11:30am) at The Lost Abbey Tasting Room, we'll be putting tracks 4 through 9 and 11 through 13 into our Vintage case for purchase. The bottles will be available on a first come first serve basis and must be consumed on-site.Track 4 - Sympathy for the Devil - black blended beer comprised of two barrels from the one of the base components from 2011's Veritas 009, and two barrels of Hot Rocks aged in French Oak red wine barrels with their own unique Brettanomyces.Track 5 - Shout at the Devil - a blend of two fruit beers — Red Poppy and Framboise de Amorosa bumped with additional fruits and sent to rest in French Oak prior to bottling.Track 6 - Highway to Hell - blend of brandy barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout and bourbon barrel-aged Angel’s Share (v. 2009), this one is dark and leathery with plenty of wood notes accented by hints of vanilla.Track 7 - Devil Inside - A remixed track, Track 7 is Veritas 006 blended with raspberries, cherries and a touch of mandarin orange zest.Track 8 - Number of the Beast - A base of Judgment Day aged in freshly emptied bourbon barrels then spiked with liberal additions of cinnamon stick and dried chili pepper.Track 9 - Knockin' on Heaven's Door - A remixed track, Track 9 is Cuvee de Tomme bumped first with currants and then bumped again with extra Brettanomyces.Track 11 - Devil Went Down to Georgia - Angel’s Share sent to fresh Heaven Hill whiskey barrels for 9 months, spiked with fresh peaches and Black Tea and a touch of BrettanomycesTrack 12 - Heaven and Hell - A non-fruited sour made from a blend of Avant Garde, and unreleased sour brown and Gift of the Magi aged in oak barrels.Track 13 - Message in a Bottle - A new barleywine brewed specifically for this Track, the base was sent to freshly emptied cognac barrels and aged with sour cherries and orange zest. 

Suds County, USA Screening at The Lost Abbey

Join us November 9, 2012 at 7:30pm for a screening of Suds County USA, a film that tells the remarkable story of this brewing renaissance and covers the inextricable connection between the local pro brewers and home brewers who made this transition possible. You'll have an opportunity to meet the filmmaker and discuss the inspiration behind this extraordinary film.The Details

• What: Suds County, USA Screening at The Lost Abbey
• When: Friday, November 9, 2012 - 7:30pm to 11pm
• Where: The Lost Abbey / Port Brewing, San Marcos, San Diego County, CA
• How Much: $5 at the door (all proceeds go to support the film)

The length of the film is 120 minutes with a 20 minute intermission. The event is open floor seating only, so blankets, pillows & small camp style chairs are encouraged.  The Tasting Room will be pouring all beers at normal prices.

Watch the Trailer

CRAFT from SUDS COUNTY, USA on Vimeo.

GABF 2012 Beers and Thoughts

Each year we gather up a set of beers and work hard to slot them into the best category so that they may succeed in the competition.Given the range of expression we produce here at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, finding the right spot for each beer can be a challenge. The reward for getting it right is when the beer does well in the competition.For 2012, we sent 16 total beers (6 from Port Brewing and 10 from The Lost Abbey). Last Friday, we sat down and opened sample bottles of the beers we sent off to the competition. There are always some clear cut favorites and this year was no different.Here are the results from our tasting and the categories in which that our beers will compete.

Port Brewing

• Old Viscosity - Category 13 Other Strong Ale
  We have never sent Old Viscosity to this competition and given how great the beer is, we are left scratching our head as to why. That being said, this is a wide open category and who really knows what the judges will be looking for. Entered in Sub Category B as an American Imperial Porter. Nice Cocoa and sweet caramel notes in the sample had us all nodding this beer tastes as great as ever.
• Hot Rocks Lager - Category 16 Indigenous Beers
  This used to be called Out of Category Beers. We have won multiple GABF medals for this beer and it continues to showcase our brewing techniques well. The current batch really displays the stein beer portion of the brewing process. The sample we tasted was crisp and clean and perhaps a tad too dry for the judging. Still a nicely built beer.
• Churchill's Finest Hour - Category 23 Wood and Barrel Aged Stout
  From the land of crapshoot, this beer showcases all the qualities one would expect in a barrel aged stout. Yet, this category remains one of the craziest and one that we have not historically done well in (never won a medal here). Boozy and chewy -- great attributes for this category -- are what we found. Not really rolling the dice on this one. But we always remain hopeful for Churchill's to do well.
• Mongo - Category 52 American IPA
  This year marks the first time we are not sending Wipeout. While we love the way Wipeout drinks, it just lacks a balance of hops and caramel malts. So it gets ditched in favor of Mongo being our IPA entry. We all had huge hopes for the bottle we tasted but find there's just too much green onion from the hops expressing themselves. Taking on pass on this one doing well in what historically is the largest category at the competition.
• Hop 15 - Category 53 Double IPA
  Probably one of the biggest surprises at the tasting was how great this bottle expressed the hops and finish one expects in a double IPA. No stranger to the awards stage in Denver, Hop 15 continues to give us hope that we can compete in this category.
• Shark Attack - Category 55 Imperial Red Ale
  We rarely enter Shark Attack into competitions but when we do, the beer has provided some nice results. This batch was fermented with our La Cruda yeast which slays on beers like this. We found the bottle sample to have bright hop quality and the malt finish was very balanced and well built. We have history with this recipe in this category so wouldn't be shocked at all if this beer went forward.

The Lost Abbey

• Track #8 - Category 14 Experimental Ales and Lagers
  We have a solid track record of doing well in this category and much of what we do at The Lost Abbey falls into this camp. Track 8 was Bourbon Barrel Aged Judgment Day to which we added Cinnamon and Dried Chiles. The impression of an oatmeal raisin cookie was executed in this beer. I love the way it smells and tastes. Hard to know if there's enough "experimental" beer here. This category doesn't "Love" barrel aged versions so it all comes down to the judges finding our beer truly experimental.
• Red Poppy and Framboise de Amorosa - Category 19 American Style Sour
  Both of these beers have previously earned hardware in the category. Framboise is much bigger and bombastically fruited than Red Poppy. So most of the brewers and crew are banking on the raspberry to carry the load. That being said, the Red Poppy oozes great balance and a rounder acid profile. Both could do well but as Framboise did well last year, we'll hang our hat on this one.
• Track #6 - Category 23 Wood and Barrel Aged Stout
  This is the same category as Churchill's Finest Hour. While we don't like doubling up beers in tough categories, it happens when the beers deserve it. This reverse Deliverance Blend has great flavor and the blend of Imperial Stout and Barleywine may give this beer an edge over single batch and barrel aged beers. We liked this beer in the tasting but didn't see it going the distance.
• Track #7 - Category 24 Wood and Barrel Sour
  This category can be tough and this beer has some serious competition to get past. Many of the beers will showcase wood flavors and aromas. As we were hoping to emulate Sangria in this Track release, we really are lining up with Tannins and Red Wine flavors being the driver here. Might not be enough wood or too heavy on the acid. Either way, the judges will have lots to contemplate here...
• Carnevale - Category 69 Belgian and French Style Saison
  Coming off the wins with the Gold Medal at World Beer Cup and Best of Show at the San Diego International Beer Festival in June have us feeling a bit smug with this one. Bottle tasted amazing and the Brett quality stayed true. Carnevale has won a Gold before and almost all of us we're unanimous in pronouncing this a great example for the category.
• Saint's Devotion - Category 70 Belgian Style Ale
  It's been a while since we have entered this category. Saint's Devotion has all the hallmarks of a great beer in this category. Historically, Brett beers are received well. We love the way this one has developed in the bottle all summer long. Concern for me was a bit soapy nose on the beer and perhaps too much hop in the finish. Still the beer should stand out on the table.
• Cable Car Kriek and Track # 3 - Category 71 Belgian Style Lambic
  A couple of years ago, a new batch of something we call Duck Duck Gooze stormed its way to the Gold Medal. Many of our brewers see the same texture and aromas in the Track 3 we are sending. I am pleased with the beer (especially the nose) and believe the only thing holding us back would be the viscosity of the beer. Pretty Heavy. Contrasting this heaviness is the Cable Car Kriek. An explosively fruited Kriek Sour, we may have finally found a home for this one. All of our guys will be circling this category as a place we hope to do well.
• Serpent's Stout - Category 81 Imperial Stout
  Back at the San Diego International Beer Festival this same batch of beer pulled down a Silver Award. A little bit of aging has not hurt this beer at all. Another one of the very difficult categories we don't historically do well in. That being said, this is the finest batch of this beer we have ever packaged. Fingers crossed for sure as this is one of the last categories in the competition and the in which category we have entered a beer.

So that's it. Another year and another great tasting. We make great beer at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. They aren't all World Class, so we'll go ahead and state any win would be great for our crew. With 16 beers total in the competition we have a great chance to be part of the continued success of San Diego based breweries at the GABF.Best wishes to every brewer and brewery who has sent their beers out for evaluation. We're in for another great year.

There's Steve...

At one point or another, we've all had the pleasure to speak to Steve Burchill... usually its more listening than speaking as he has amazing thoughts running through his brain. Here's a little insight in to what makes Steve tick.

1. If you were stuck on a cruise ship and forced to make toilet wine to survive… What would be your ideal ingredients?  Orange juice and some bread.  Fermented in a bag.
2. You account for 68% of Anime watching in the western hemisphere… Which one is your favorite and why? Follow up question: How great of an ice breaker is it to quote picachu when you’re on a date? While I will admit to being a huge nerd, I don’t watch anime.  My favorite nerdy show is Star Trek (TNG) because Picard is the best.
3. You’re really into golf… but golf is boring so I won’t ask you a golf related question – Favorite horrible move to watch when you pretend to be sick and stay home? As far as bad movies go, I like disgusting action movies.  I guess if I had to choose one it would be Delta Force starring Chuck Norris.
4. You’re brewing pretty much everyday, how do you fill the other 16 hours?  I usually don’t do too much during the week, but sometimes I’ll try to sneak in a round of golf.  I’ll usually end up playing video games at some point during the day as well.
5. We’re all aware of your fascination with Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” song… But what have you been listening to lately?  Sleep - Dopesmoker
6. Favorite App on your phone?I’d have to say the ones I use the most are the ESPN Fantasy Football app and the new podcast app I just downloaded.
7. If you had a chance to be on one game show, which one would it be? Definitely Jeopardy.

A Directors Journey... or There and Back Again

Ryan took some time out of his busy schedule of posing in tuxedos to answer a few questions regarding his trip to Cannes. How was the flight?Flight was horrible! I always check in too late and then get stuck with the middle seat. I pee a lot, so it's a problem :(What was the first thing you did France? I got lost. A bus took me from Nice to Cannes and once in Cannes I had an address, but I had no clue where to go.  Streets are frickin' confusing as heck there! I walked around the city lost for two hours until I decided to turn on my data roaming on my phone, and man was that expensive. Eventually called my service provider and got an international plan ... TOTALLY WORTH IT!It rained almost every day my first week there.  I was cold and wet and lost for a good majority of my time there.  Week two was much more pleasant.How did the Screening go? My screening went really well.  Jam packed room.  I met a lot of great people and got some interesting offers. Best movie you saw? (besides your own)Only saw six films while I was there, because I was so busy going to panels and meeting with people, but the new Cohen brothers film, Inside Llewyn Davis was definitely my favorite.Any celeb sightings?LOTS!First celeb I saw was Thor (Chris Hemsworth), then Will Forte, James Franco, Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, Steven Soderbergh, Zoe Saldana, Christoph Waltz, and more I'm sure more.What did you primarily eat?I ate a lot of pasta and bread ... and BARELY gained any weight.  Lot of italian food in France .Any crazy beer?Sadly, no.  I went to a couple of places to scope out the draft list and nothing really crazy at all! People bought me a beer on two separate occasions and they were both Leffe.  Surprisingly way better than the Leffe I've had in the states.Drank a lot of Champagne, and scotch though :)Champagne and wine is frickin cheap there!

Meet Matt Webster

Matt Webster: Lead Brewer for Port Brewing and The Lost AbbeyMatt came to Port Brewing Co. a year and a half ago from North Coast Brewing where he brewed for two years.  Before that he graduated from Metropolitan College of Denver where he majored in Business Management.  College is where he found his love of good beer and where he learned to homebrew in his garage.  Before college he spent four years in the Marine Corps Infantry. To further get to know Matt, we asked him some random questions we found on the internet:1. What's your Spirit Animal?My Spirit Animal would be a Wolf2. Favorite Movie Quote?"I wish it were winter, we could make it into ice blocks and skate on it! And then melt it in the springtime and drink it!" (Beerfest)3. Favorite Preparation of Pork?Pork Belly4. During the Zombie Apocalypse, where would be your dream spot to set up camp?The Lost Abbey Brewery, because of the water filtration capabilities, grain storage and easy roof-top access. Or the Playboy Mansion, because they would have good security and I could (comment removed by management)5. Picture this: It's been a long day, you've been in heels for 8 hours straight, you just want to go home and take a bath... which cd are you playing in the background?I'm playing Dido in the tub, with a glass of vino and some scented candles lit6. Fries or Onion Rings?Seasoned Fries of course! 7. Let's say your beard is akin to Samson's hair (your source of power), who would be your celebrity Delilah?It's common knowledge that my power IS in my beard, and my celebrity Delilah would be Jessica Rabbit.  That's Matt Webster in a nutshell! Cheers! 

Reader Poll: To Hop 15 or Not To Hop 15?

We have a quandary of sorts.As you may know, we're supposed to brew and release our epic double IPA, Hop 15, a couple of times a year -- August and February. Well it's almost February now, but we're doing so well with our other double IPA, Mongo, that's it a little difficult to justify tying up major tank time to brew a batch of an IPA that is, uhhh... let's just say not for the faint of tongue. So there's some back and forth going on behind the scenes as to what we should do.Some of the crew says "Mongo be damned, we need to brew a big, fat batch of Hop 15 and get that hop monster out to our customers far and wide." Another faction says "we can't go without Mongo, let's skip Hop 15 this time and maybe we'll brew it in the summer."And then there's a third, middle of the road group, that thinks brewing a smaller batch and sending it into limited (read: no bottles and who knows who will get it) distribution is the best solution.Needless to say, we're kind of at an impasse. So we're kicking it to you, the consumer and asking what you think. Should we go whole-hop, half-hop or skip it altogether? Vote in the poll below and let us know.

Hop 15 or Not? -- You decide

[poll id="2"]

Boos n' Brews 2011 Photos

[nggallery id=1]

The Lost Abbey Beers (Part 2)

On the Lost Abbey side of things, there are always too many beers when it comes time to making decisions as to what we should send.  Some years, it's easy.  We have a whole bunch of new beers.  Other years, the process takes more work as there are crowd favorites, brewers favorites and my favorites to be considered.  This year we didn't even send Cuvee de Tomme for the first time in almost 10 years.  But that doesn't mean we didn't send some amazing beers.For the floor each session we're pouring 4 different barrel aged beers along with Carnevale.  This means that all of our beers are either barrel aged or Brett beers.  And for that, I am sure there will be many extremely happy consumers waiting in our line.  We entered a total of 8 beers under The Lost Abbey umbrella.  New this year for us is that we have not entered the Experimental Category or anything in the Belgian and French Ale category as well.  These are a bit of a departure for us.  However, we have entered many of the sour categories where we have seen success before.  Here then without further ado are the beers we have entered.  This is the order in which they would be announced for the results.Framboise de Amorosa - Category 18 American Fruited SourWe LOVE this years batch of Amorosa.  It has a depth of Raspberry flavor and aromas.  It certainly is sour as all get up and very much suited for this category.  My biggest fear here is that the category doesn't really want oak constituents in the flavoring of the beer.  We thought this problematic last year as well and then Red Poppy went on to win a bronze medal.  As this will be our first Lost Abbey Category, we will have HIGH hopes for this beer.  Amorosa hasn't reached the same competitive level of accomplishments like Red Poppy but you gotta start winning somewhere.Carnevale - Category 19 American Brett AleAfter many years of trying to define the role of American Craft Brewers and their use of Brettanomyces, it appears the category and descriptions are in our favor.  We think Carnevale absolutely fits this mold and expect the skillful use of Bretta to be part of the success of this beer.  There will be numerous beers that may have a "bigger" Brett character but the subtle integration in Carnevale (Brett Anomolus vs. Bruxellensis) makes this one special beer.  In years past, we have won in back to back categories.  This one sets up for us to do the same if the judges see things our way.The Angel's Share (Bourbon Finish 2011) - Category 22 Wood and Barrel Aged Strong AlesSometimes you have to send beers into battle even if you think you're bringing a butter knife to a samurai convention.  Angel's Share has never been overwhelmingly supported at the judging level.  But that being said, we like to think someday we'll get it right.  Until then, we just think it's great to keep showcasing the beer on the festival floor.  Won't be crossing our fingers too heavily on this one.Veritas 008 - Category 23 Wood and Barrel Aged SourThis is exactly the category for all sorts of beers we make.  We believe that Veritas 008 (and not Cuvee) gave us the best chance to succeed this year.  For those unfamiliar with our Veritas series, they are one time one place beers designed to showcase the brewer's art of blending.  Veritas 008 might just well be our most polarizing Veritas release ever.  Made from 3 oak barrels of sour base beer, our brewers added black tea and lemon zest to the beer before packaging.  This has to be one of the most refreshing beers we have ever released.  Let's just hope the judges are in need of some loving refreshment as well.Serpent's Stout - Category 24 Aged BeerOne of our Ten Commandments is that "Fresh Beer is Good.  Aged beer is better."  We at Lost Abbey believe this to be the case.  So we're going to knock the dust off these bottles of 2-3 year old Serpent's Stout and make a run for it.  The beer tastes almost too fresh for this category.  Hoping for the best but we may need to wait longer for this bottling to hit its stride.Road to Helles - Category 25 Keller BiersI confess, I drink a lot of Road to Helles.  It's such an easy beer to throw down.  The problem with our version of a classic Helles is that we add a wee bit more hop then we probably should.  As we're not striving for authenticity, we've never been concerned about that minute detail.  We entered this beer last year as a Pilsner where it was determined we needed more hops.  Go figure.  So this year, we're gonna try the unfiltered category.  This category allows for a bit more yeast notes and hop character since the beer isn't filtered.  We're not trying to set the Lager world on fire at Port Brewing.  But from time to time, we have some nice beers that should be given a chance to shine.Red Poppy - Category 70 Belgian Lambic and SoursAfter years of moving Red Poppy into all sorts of categories, we're just going to plunk it down here in the Flanders Red/Oud Bruin sub category.  This batch of Red Poppy has all the merits of a go the distance Field of Dreams like sour.  I for one am not much of a betting man but if I was...I'd be more then all in on this one.Judgment Day - Category 71 Abbey AlesWay back in 2007 we entered Judgment Day in the Great American Beer Festival where it received a gold medal for Specialty Beers (Unique fermentable being raisins).  Apparently Raisin beers are not longer unique enough as they just aren't winning anymore.  So this year, we're running the beer in  the Abbey Ale category and making no mention of the raisins.  As Quads go, ours is very dark.  It's been a while since this beer won in a pure Belgian Category but this seems like a great beer to test the judges.  This is a hugely contested category full of all manners of world class beers.  As we specialize in Belgian Inspired Beers, it would be great to have this feather in our cap.  Fingers crossed.That's it for now.  We're always confident that the beers we have sent will compete well.  This year is no different.  With over 4k beers in the judging, the odds continue to be stacked against us.  It's what drives us to work harder and continually work on improving our beers.  Best wishes to the other brewers we're competing against.  Everyone shares in the joys of winning and turmoil of not. 

Denver 2011 and GABF Entries Part one

Ladies and Gentlemen,It's September 29th which means that the GABF officially opens later today. This is the first GABF in 15 years that I will not be attending as Sydney's new sister Lexi Morgan Arthur was born on Tuesday at 2:35pm.  All are doing well and  I am sure Lexi is dreaming about her first Duck Duck Gooze as we speak.Each year before heading off to Denver, we the brewers at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey sit down and appraise the entries we are sending (essentially we open one sample bottle held back from each bottling for the comp).  This year we are entering 14 beers (6 Port Brewing and 8 Lost Abbey beers).  Word on the street is that over 350 breweries registered more then 4,000 beers in the comp.  I also see there are 176 judges slated to make the determination which beers are medal worthy. Normally I relish the opportunity to be one of those judges.  But at 4,000 beers man they have the work cut out for them!I'm sure many of you (like me) are curious how our beers will do.  Let's take an inside look at the beers we're sending and the categories they'll be judged in.  Since there are less Port Brewing Beers, we'll start there.Panzer Pilsner - Category 13 Other Strong Ales and LagersYou may recall that Panzer received a Silver Medal in this same category last year.  We weren't enamored with the batch last year and while this one is good, it's hard to know just what the judges will want in this category.  Rarely does it seem that beers consistently win in this category so we'll hang our hopes elsewhere.Hot Rocks Lager - Category 15 Indigenous BeersHot Rocks was literally on fire last year.  It won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup and a bronze at the Great American Beer Festival.  It was a great validation for our brewers that this beer "rocks."  The category gets a new name this year but it's still a game of this beer is out of category and awesome!  We love this batch of Hot Rocks but it may be a bit too bitter to stand up to the judges scrutiny.Churchill's Finest Hour - Category 22 Wood and Barrel Aged Strong StoutFrom one of the most hotly contested categories at the festival comes our stealth entry.  The only Port Brewing Beer not being poured on the festival floor, Churchill's Finest Hour Imperial Stout has a layered texture we don't normally see in our barrel beers (Older, Angel's and Santa's).  There is a higher residual extract as well which means the beer has great silky body.  While I would love to see this beer do well for multiple reasons, it's one of the most contested categories at the fest.Wipeout IPA - Category 51 American Style IPAYou really have to love a category that shows no signs of getting smaller.  Last year, Ernest took it home for Pizza Port San Clemente in ridiculous fashion.  While Wipeout remains our best selling beer, it rarely gets invited out of the first round and onto the next flight of tables.  We don't care.  It's brewed the way we want to drink it and most assuredly the way we always want to drink it.  Bottle smelled and tasted fantastic.  But again, one of the toughest category there is.  Not liking our chances here.Mongo IPA - Category 51 American Style IPAWe're guilty of entering a beer down here.  At just over 8.0% ABV Mongo is a true tweener.  It's really not big enough to stand out in Double IPA land so we'll take a stab here.  Love the body on this beer and the aroma is pretty spot on as well.  Mongo may not do well at GABF but don't be surprised if the Alpha King Challenge finds a love for this our 2nd best selling beer.Hop 15 - Category 52 American Style Double IPAEvery year we brew a batch of this mean beer and send it off to the judging table.  Some years it excels others not so much.  A 3 time medal winner at the GABF and multiple Podium dweller at Alpha King, Hop 15 is a awesome expression of what hops can do for you.  Bottles tasted great on Monday.  Not sure there won't be 70+ beers in the category but we like the beer to do well.This wraps up our beers on the Port Brewing side.  As the Abbey ones are a bit more distinctive, we'll wait until tomorrow at around 1pm to release the tasting notes as to ensure that we don't divulge too much about our beers and the categories they are in.

Memorial Day Weekend Updates

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.

Sinners and Saints Clubs - 2011

Best Wishes and Holiday Greetings from The Lost Abbey.As many of you have recently contacted us about the Sinner's and Saint's club renewals, we felt it was time to make the announcement about our club status for 2011.It is with sadness that we report, there will be no Patron Sinner's and Saint's clubs in 2011.When we launched these programs in 2006, we were one of the first breweries in this country to do direct-to-consumer mail order shipments for beer.It was an ambitious program that required us to develop a membership and order fulfillment system from scratch and commit a third of our workforce to the customer service side of the club. Many of you got to know the club managers, Ruby and David, quite well from your communications and pickups.But this isn't why we're ending the clubs. (We're 12 full timers and 4 part timers now -- a veritable army compared to the old days.) The biggest reason for shuttering the clubs is the numerous changes at the state(s) level for shipments direct to consumers.It's been a tough few years for states economically and that's caused direct-to-consumer-shipment regulations to turn into a constantly shifting landscape which had us adding and/or removing states from the do/don't shipment mix as we worked to comply with all the various laws and rulings. Other regulatory burdens and reporting issues also compounded our troubles in keeping current with the demands each state places upon alcohol producers. As a result, we concluded that continuing to operate the Sinners and Saints clubs is at best a risky venture, and the smartest course of action is to suspend the clubs until a more favorable environment presents itself.We apologize for the delay as we realize that many of you use the Sinner's and Saints programs as Christmas Gifts (lucky those people who got a membership in their stocking). Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. On the upside, David and Ruby still call Lost Abbey home and we're actively pursuing angles that will allow the clubs to rise from the ashes in a new form in the near future. Keep an eye out for an announcement some time in early 2011.We thank you for your support and look forward to delivering even more epic beers to you in the future.Thanks,Tomme & The Lost Abbey Family

The New York Times...

This morning, my phone roared to life as it does each day when it awakens from a short but well deserved slumber. Google Mail alerted me that the New York Times had indeed published the article detailing our week long conversation with members of the Pagan Community. And unless you have been around the brewery for the last week, you might have missed these conversations.You see, they started last Friday October 15th at 12:01 AM when a slew of emails hit our Lost Abbey in box.  Many of them were of the cut and past variety and they all were sent to detest our "New" Witch's Wit label. We thought this odd since the label was first produced in 2008 and has never once inspired anyone to contact us to express their displeasure.Turns out that recently a very famous member of the Wiccan Community "found" our beer in a store. She was immediately appalled by our use of 16th Century images featuring a Witch being burned at the stake. Blogs, Facebook and Twitter were all employed to mount an assault on our systems. An email campaign was also started and a barrage of very similar emails filled our in boxes for the duration of the weekend.Many of these emails labeled our Marketing and PR Departments as ignorant, woman hating Cretans. Some claimed that no sane person in their right mind would use an image of a buxom Witch being burned at the stake for commercial gain.We have a stack of emails asking whether we would show Jews being gassed or African American's being lynched. Of course not was our reply. Others seemed to think we were responsible for recent incidents in Darfur as well. It was amazing chain of events to say the least.Apparently, many of the emailers didn't bother to spend time researching our branding and the positioning of our beers. In blindly denouncing our original art and the satire of our labels, most of the emailers failed to connect with our brands. Looking at these emails, it was obvious that in our desire to tell a great story, we had forgotten to get that information on our website in a meaningful way.Sitting in my office, I can honestly say it was hard for us to see the forest from the trees.Since day one, The Lost Abbey has been about original artwork, original beers and original back label stories tying them together. I know this because it's been my job to develop the beer, commission the original artwork and write the back story for the label. This has been no easy task. Yet, I am very proud of our labels. They are cohesive and constantly work at pushing the boundaries of beer as art.But we're still missing some of the storytelling aspects on our website. So we'll be adding this to our list of things to do in the not so distant future.But getting back to the Pagan and Wiccan brewhaha that ensued is why I am blogging today. Sage was tasked with answering the communities and in his response he emplored the emailers to approach our beers as a collection of original artistic pieces displaying the struggle between good and evil. As soon as this email began making the rounds, some members of the pagan community responded with more positivity; others were still not placated.Each day last week, I came to work and wanted to communicate this situation to our Lost Abbey Clergy. I felt it was important to share this with the consumers of our beers who support the artistic direction of this brand. Ultimately, I decided against it as this because I didn't want to fan the flames of this little wildfire. This was incredibly difficult for me as I received some memorable emails and quotes like this one: "Screw you, you fat ass beer slugging alcoholic Christian Ass Hole."But now that the New York Times published a story in today's paper detailing our situation with the Pagan and Wiccan communities, I typed this blog post to share my thoughts with you. Please go read the New York Times piece. Then please go read the notes I published about our Witch's Wit Label on our website. When you're finished, you can use this forum for comments about this beer. We'd love to hear what you have to say about this.At this time, the only decision that has been made about this label is that we have agreed (as owners) to discuss this label controversy at our meeting in November. We remain committed to the art of story telling and using beer as our medium and hope to keep delivering more amazing beers and stories for years to come.NOTE: We have enabled comments on this post so the subject may be discussed openly. However, comments that contain profanity or libel or personally threaten anyone -- Lost Abbey employee or comment contributor -- will be immediately deleted. Thanks.

And away they go 2010 GABF Beers

As is the annual tradition for the GABF, I am here to give you a bit of insight as to the beers we sent, categories entered and our reasoning.  It's Friday morning and I just finished judging.  Most of my judge friends are finishing up their last rounds as we speak.For the 2010 Great American Beer Festival we again have two booths and sets of beers on the floor.  On the Port Brewing side, we have entered the following beers:Wipeout IPA-  This is entered in  Category 47- American IPA which remains the single largest category at the fest.  We love Wipeout, and it's our best selling beer.  But seriously, I don't know if this beer has enough aroma to slog its way to the final round of 12.  It's just that tough.Mongo IPA- A first year entry at the GABF this fall.  We LOVE Mongo.  It's in great shape and along with Hop 15 is entered in Category 48 Imperial IPA.  We have won three medals for Hop 15 over the years.  But this year, I'm choosing Mongo as the victor for this race.Hot Rocks Lager- Fresh off a Silver Medal win at the 2010 World Beer Cup in Chicago, we are again entering this beer in #13 Out of Category- Traditionally Styled Beers.  This is a new batch of Hot Rocks and we  think the bottles tasted amazing.  Clearly it has a tough road ahead of it.  This is category is growing in size each competition.  The batch that won in Chicago had a little bit deeper Melanoidin character and this one is drier so I just don't know.Panzer Pilsner has been moved out of the Pro Am side of the competition and is now entered in the Other Strong Ale and Lager Category 11.  The draft tasted awesome last night.   The bottles we opened at the brewery a week a go...not so much.  Definitely not going to be hopeful here.The last of our 6 Port Brewing entries holds the most hope.  This year they have split the barrel aged strong beer category.  This means that barrel aged Imperial Stout like beers have their own place.  This is great.  I saw from the registrations that there were only 33 beers entered.  As this is the best batch of Older Viscosity we have ever made, it could do very well.  Perhaps Terri will have to accept the award (if it wins) since it's her favorite beer of all time.On the Abbey side of things, we have expanded the offerings to 9 beers entered in the competition.  I think there are some real opportunities to do well here.  Remember that last year we took home dual gold medals for Carnevale and Duck Duck Gooze.We have entered both of these beers again.  The Carnevale is the 2010 version of the beer and it lands in category 65 Belgian and French Specialty.  We love this years batch as much as last years so fingers crossed.The Duck Duck makes a return appearance to the Category 66 Lambic or Sour Ale along with Framboise de Amorosa.  It might be tough for the Duck Duck to repeat its gold medal ways.  But the bottle I shared with my dad the other night was pretty special.  Framboise was entered as a sour brown with raspberries added.  It's a bit sharper than I would like it to be.  However, the raspberry character is so amazing, it can't be overlooked.  We will need one of these beers to do well this week for sure.This year we are not pouring Cuvee de Tomme nor have we entered it in the competition.  Taking Cuvee's place is Brouwer's Imagination #2.  This is a blended sour ale that was carefully put together after a very laborious tasting session after the Stone Sour Fest in July of 2009.  We LOVE the wine barrel expression in this beer.  It's got an amazingly long tannic finish.Bragging rights will be on the line in this category as Dave Keene brings Cable Car 2009 to the table.  If it's any indication after last night (keg blew in 2 hours) this one is legit.  Rumor is Matt Bonney and Dave Keene have a side bet going as someone could walk away victorious.  The Cable Car is perfect right now.  The acid to wood balance is stunning.  So let's hope both of them win and they figure out how to settle that bet.The awards ceremony gets real for us at category # 7 which is the specialty beer category.  We won the Gold Medal in 2007 for Judgment Day here.  It's been a while since I loved a batch of Judgment Day as much as I love this one  Let's hope we hit the ground running with our first beer category of the afternoon.After Judgment Day, we'll have a short wait before the American Wild Ale Category gets called at #16.  We entered Red Poppy here this year.  My fear is that there is too much oak on display in the beer.  Everything else about the beer is fantastic.  The category specifically states no "Vanillan" so let's hope the judges are boneheads here.For the very first time, we will dip our toes in the water of Lager Land.  As you know from visiting the brewery, we have been working on a new beer called Road to Helles all summer long.  It's fantastic.  The first batch was a bit too hoppy for style so it's been entered as a German Pils.  Every bottle I opened in the last two weeks has been great.  Here's hoping we shock the world Lager Style in category 25 German Style Pils.And last but not least, we have returned to the GABF with Angel's Share in hand.  Specifically, this is the 2010 batch of Angel's Share Grand Cru.  For what it's worth, I adore this beer.  I think the depth of flavors is silly.  I don't expect this will pull its weight.  We love it.  Our patrons love it but I fear the judges will think otherwise.  If this thing catches lightning in a bottle, I for one will be very happy.That's it from Denver.  We're about 25 hours away from the biggest beer award ceremony ever.  I'm already counting down the hours and know I won't be sleeping much tonight. It's a great feeling knowing we have so many chances to succeed on the biggest stage possible.  It's Denver and we've brought the noise.

On Litigation

I can't actually remember the first time I met Arne Johnson or had one of his beers. I do know that White Knuckle is still one of my favorite California Beers. Back when I worked at the Pizza Port in Solana Beach, there were always stops at Marin Brewing Company on our way to Booneville and the Anderson Valley Brewing Company for their beer festival every year.On these same trips, we would also stop in Santa Rosa and visit Denise Jones when she was brewing at 3rd Street Aleworks. Denise made excellent beers in Santa Rosa and has continued that brewing excellence working at Moylan's Brewing Company. They are both Head Brewer friends of mine. It's quite possible (as of today) that they USED to be Head Brewer friends of mine. Filing suit against their employer has a strange effect on friendships. I'm pretty sure of that. I also know that Head Brewer's don't sue other Head Brewers. However, from time to time, Breweries are forced to protect their intellectual property and branding. It's the ugly side of the business that breweries (and all small businesses) hope to avoid.On Thursday, we heard from hundreds of Craft Beer Enthusiasts who were outraged that we needed to sue anyone let alone another Craft Brewery. It was one of the most gut wrenching vitriolic laced days I have ever been a part of.Did we want this to happen? Hell no. But after all manners of conversations dating back to April of this year, we had reached an impasse. So last week Port Brewing LLC filed a Lawsuit for Trademark infringement against Moylan's Brewing Company. The North County Times (a San Diego based newspaper) published an article detailing our filing and the reasoning behind it. Since Thursday is behind us and so much of the hate continues to fester on, we have decided to put some of the facts about our decision here online.We understand and respect that Moylan's Brewing Company has been using Celtic Based themes and images for the past 15 years of business. This has never been part of our concern. It was also detailed that Moylan's had at one time used a Silver Cross as a tap handle design. This is a picture with the original Moylan's tap handles here (photo courtesy of Moylan's Brewing Company):You'll also note that on the right side of the picture, there is a newer version of a Celtic Cross tap handle. This is the tap handle that Port Brewing LLC believes infringes on our Trademark in as much as we have been using a highly stylized Celtic Cross tap handle since 2008 for our Lost Abbey beers.From the moment we first contacted Moylan's Brewing back in April, it has been our intention to settle this amicably while at the same time not having our trademark put at risk or devalued. Their new Celtic Tap handle has been our singular concern as we believe it was only put into service earlier this year. We asked for (and never received) any assurances that the new stylized handle predates our first usage of our Lost Abbey Celtic cross design early in 2008. We searched their website, facebook page and even the internet to no avail. We could not find an earlier usage for the stylized Celtic Cross tap handle which looks like ours.Yes, it's true. The Moylan's silver cross handles (on the left of the photo) predate both the founding and creation of The Lost Abbey and our highly stylized tap handle that we put into use in 2008. We have never once disputed this fact. This was part of our original conversations. What has never been answered in our numerous dialogues with them is when they ordered and began using the tap handle (on the right side of the picture) that violates our trademark.Please check our FAQ's which we compiled to address this issue. At this time, we are waiting for a response from Moylan's Brewing Company and still are open to a resolution that neither weakens nor devalues our Lost Abbey Trademark stylized Celtic Cross Tap Handle. Tap handles are a big point of our branding for both our Lost Abbey as well as our Port Brewing beers. In fact, we have actually applied for the trademark to protect the "Flip Flop" tap handle design that we use for our Port Brewing beers as well. The bigger and healthier the Craft Brewing business gets, the harder it is to be unique and distinctive. Intellectual Property is something that all breweries (small and big) need to value. It's one of the biggest assets we can own.Lastly,filing paperwork with the Federal Courts does not mean we are obligated to sue Moylan's Brewing LLC. I can tell you that we at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey are not giddy with excitement about this filing. When I look out my office window, I know the 12 people who work at this brewery aren't high fiving each other about their owners decision to do this. But they understand that Intellectual Property is a big part of this brewery and the beers we sell.So yes, Port Brewing LLC filed suit against Moylan's Brewing LLC. We understand that owning a Craft Brewery comes with a spirit of Collaboration not Litigation. And paying lawyers to settle things isn't a great use of hard earned profits. Every brewer I know would rather use the money to add additional capacity to brew more award winning beers. But this is a business. And sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. This is not an issue of Goliath suing David. Rather, at this time, it is a solely two small passionate craft breweries who happen to disagree looking to protect their intellectual property. Ultimately, a compromise that doesn't involve the courts may be reached. And then we can all go back to focusing on doing the things we do best.