The Conduit
Stories from the Abbey
News and Events
2014 Barrel Night and the release of Veritas 014
San Marcos, CA — The Lost Abbey will be releasing the newest version of its exceptionally rare Veritas Ale next month during the 2014 Lost Abbey Barrel Night, November 8th. The latest batch, Veritas 014 will be a blended Oak-aged Sour Ale featuring Cherries.An exclusive exploration into The Lost Abbey barrel archives, Barrel Night will continue the tradition of unearthing hidden treats from the depths of The Lost Abbey Barrel Program to help kick off San Diego Beer Week.Barrel Night will be limited to 150 guests at $125 per ticket. The price will include samples of the barrel-aged rarities as well access to the core lineup of Lost Abbey and Port Brewing Beers including Red Barn and Mongo IPA.In addition, Two (2) bottles of the extremely limited Veritas 014 will be included with the ticket as well as a commemorative Lost Abbey glass. Paid guests will also have the opportunity to purchase one additional bottle of Veritas 014.Acclaimed chef Amanda Baumgarten, a former contestant on Top Chef as well as a respected restaurateur in San Diego will cater this year’s Lost Abbey Barrel Night, with a range of delectable foods, sure to please any pallet.Tickets go on sale at 12pm on Monday, October 13th at www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com. Tickets will be limited to a max of four (4) per person.The Details
- What: Lost Abbey Annual Barrel Night 2014
- When: Nov. 8, 2014 / 7pm to 10pm
- Where: The Lost Abbey / Port Brewing, San Marcos, San Diego County, CA
- How Much: $125 per ticket; maximum of four tickets.
- Tickets go on sale Monday, October 13th, 2014 at 12pm PDT and must be purchased online.
GABF Follow-Up
- San Diego Magazinehttp://www.sandiegomagazine.
com/Blogs/SD-Food-News/Summer- 2014/The-Best-San-Diego-Beers/ -
San Diego Daily Transcript
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U-T San Diego
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NBC 7
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San Diego 6
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Eater SD
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DiningOutSD
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Examiner
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LGBT Weekly
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San Diego Entertainer
2014 Pre-Stone Anniversary Brunch
We are all about traditions here at The Lost Abbey, so join us for our annual pre-Stone Anniversary Brunch. Once again we’ll be feeding the masses before the annual sojourn up the hill to attend Stone’s Anniversary Celebration. As in years past, the Tasting Room will open at 8:30am with an incredible carb-laden spread (including Veggie Options) and 42 taps of fresh Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey beers.But wait — there’s more! Reminiscent of last year, again Churchills and Executive Chef A.G. Warfield will be serving an epically and appropriately arrogant menu, perfectly prepped and paired for craft beer’s paramount party. Carnivore, Vegetarian or Omnivore, you’re guaranteed to be impressed and well-sated by a buffet as impressive as the many beers to come throughout the day. As always, the food is free and the beer regular price. It’s just our — and Churchill’s — way of saying Happy Birthday to Stone and thanks to all the craft beer lovers of the world! (We’ll have more details on the beers and food next week as we get closer to the big event.) Come early, come hungry, and be prepared for a day of stories from start to finish.
- What: Pre-Stone 18th Anniversary Brunch
- When: Saturday, August 16, 2014 – 8:30am to 11:30am (or till we run out of food)
- Where: The Lost Abbey / Port Brewing, San Marcos, San Diego County, CA
- How Much: No entry fee, but food will be limited to the first 350 people. Standard pricing for beers.
Specialty Draft List
- Spontaneous Cheer, Red Poppy, Cuvée de Tomme, Fuzzy Angels (Brandy Angel's Share with Black Tea & Stone Fruit blended for Stone's 18th Anniversary)
Vintage Case (On-Site Consumption Only)
- 2013 Duck Duck Gooze, Veritas 013
Annual Christmas in July Celebration - 2014
Our annual beer release and party to benefit the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Foundation!
++++++++7/23/2014 UPDATE:++++++++
Photos with Santa are now online! Check them out here.
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Special Taps for Christmas in July to include: Spontaneous CheerOlder ViscosityFramboise De AmorosaBourbon Barrel-Aged Santa's Little HelperDeliveranceGifts on the Giving Tree (for a $15 donation while supplies last) to include: Bottles of DeliveranceBottles of Red PoppyBottles of Amazing GraceBottles of Saint's Red BarnTickets to the 2014 Lost Abbey Barrel NightThe Lost Abbey Ultimate Box SetBottles of Isabelle Proximusand more...
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Join us for a day of Christmas time festivities, great food and beer to celebrate the release of bourbon barrel-aged Santa’s Little Helper and collect toys and cash to benefit the Marine Corp’s Toys for Tots foundation.
Meeting Set for Cardiff Tasting Room - June 19th
San Marcos, CA, -- Looking to continue to grow The Lost Abbey and Port Brewing’s offerings to even more Southern Californians, The Lost Abbey is taking steps to opening its first satellite tasting room, choosing the community of Cardiff.The new potential tasting room location, located at 2007 San Elijo Avenue in the Cardiff Towne Center Complex (Cardiff’s largest shopping center) will serve as an alternative destination to enjoy The Lost Abbey’s core lineup as well as beers from its award winning barrel-aging program.Throughout its 8 year history, The Lost Abbey has crafted beers focusing on small batches with unique identities, making the decision to open an intimate space in a community like Cardiff that much easier.“Cardiff has always been one of my favorite beach communities,” said Director of Brewery Operations Tomme Arthur. “We love its fiercely independent feel and a love of the local beaches makes it a special place for us.”The construction of the new tasting room location still has several obstacles to overcome. Port Brewing Co / The Lost Abbey will be reaching out to the Cardiff community for support in this venture. The biggest hurdle is the Planning Commission hearing with the City of Encinitas, taking place Thursday, June 19th at 6pm.The Lost Abbey is encouraging residents of both Cardiff and Encinitas to join us at the meeting (at The Encinitas Civic Center, 505 S. Vulcan Avenue) to help bring our award-winning beers to their coastal area and along the way, become an additional community center for the neighborhood of Cardiff.
The Lost Abbey looking at Cardiff for Tasting Room
UPDATE: Our meeting with the Planning Commission has been postponed, there was a last-minute issue with our application concerning our ability to have patio space, which will be resolved. We'll post another update in the near future concerning the time of the next meeting. Cheers! Looking to continue to grow The Lost Abbey and Port Brewing's offerings to even more Southern Californians, The Lost Abbey is taking steps to opening its first satellite tasting room, choosing the community of Cardiff.The new potential tasting room location, located at 2007 San Elijo Avenue in the Cardiff Towne Center Complex (Cardiff’s largest shopping center) will serve as an alternative destination to enjoy The Lost Abbey’s core lineup as well as beers from its award winning barrel-aging program.The construction of the new tasting room location still has several obstacles to overcome. Port Brewing Co / The Lost Abbey will be reaching out to the Cardiff community for support in this venture. The biggest hurdle is the Planning Commission hearing with the City of Encinitas, taking place Today (Thursday, June 5th) at 6pm.The Lost Abbey is encouraging Cardiff residents to join us at the meeting (at The Encinitas Civic Center, 505 S. Vulcan Avenue) to help bring our award-winning beers to their coastal area and along the way, become an additional community center for the neighborhood of Cardiff.In doing so, the new location would be equally beneficial for both parties; An opportunity for The Lost Abbey to showcase its local hand-crafted beers, year-long charitable donations and a shared appreciation for Cardiff and its residents.“Cardiff has always been one of my favorite beach communities,” said Director of Brewery Operations Tomme Arthur. “We love its fiercely independent feel and a love of the local beaches makes it a special place for us."
Veritas 013 Release Details
THE LOST ABBEY TO SELL VERITAS 013 ONLINE BEGINNING APRIL 4THSan Marcos, CA, -- The Lost Abbey will be releasing the newest version of its exceptionally rare Veritas Ale this month, continuing the trend of being a sought-after small batch of beers. The latest incarnation, Veritas 013, a blended and oak-aged American Sour with Peaches and Nectarines, will be made available to general public to purchase online beginning April 4th, 2014.“While we have made numerous sour beers with Peaches, this is the first one to combine fresh Masumoto Peaches and Nectarines from the Central Valley” Said Tomme Arthur, Director of Brewery Operations at The Lost Abbey. “The combination of the two stone fruits makes for an incredibly refreshing beer”Starting Friday, April 4th at 11am PDT, Veritas 013 will be available to purchase at www.LostAbbey.com. Transactions will be limited to 4 (four) bottles of Veritas 013 at $40 per bottle (plus CA sales tax and a $1 convenience charge per bottle) per person. Only 150 cases of Veritas 013 will be made available.The 13th edition of the Veritas series is an experiment using 3 separate strains of Brettanomyces, before honey, fresh Peaches and Nectarines from Masumoto Farms were added. The beer spent approximately 2 years total in French Oak barrels. Notes of Peaches and Nectarines, oaky wood, brown sugar and Toasted Granola come through with character from the Brett present throughout the experience.Selling Veritas 013 online will also come with a few restrictions. Whomever purchases Veritas 013, must also be the individual to pick up the bottles… NO EXCEPTIONS. Removing the option of proxies will help get the beer to as many people as possible and will allow a smoother pickup process. Consumers who do not pick up their bottles during their designated pick up time or attempt to use a proxy will surrender the bottles back to The Lost Abbey. A valid ID will be required to pick up the purchased bottles, as each transaction will be tied to the purchasers name. Any duplicate sales to the same name, email or credit card will be rendered null and void.The pickup for retrieving purchased bottles Veritas 013 will take place Saturday, April 19th. There will be both a morning and afternoon session (8am – 12am & 12:30pm – 4:30pm). To reiterate - if beer is purchased and not picked up during the designated pick up session, the beer will be surrendered back to the brewery. NO PROXIES ALLOWEDDirect links to the purchase page will be released the day of the sale. – Please note the sessions will not activate until Friday, April 4th at 11am, PST.
Veritas 013 On-Sale
Veritas 013 will be put on sale at 11am on April 4th, 2014 at www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com. Bottles are limited to 4 per person and are $40 (+ $1 convenience charge). The pickup window will be broken down to two sessions (early and late) on Saturday, April 19th at The Lost Abbey in San Marcos (155 Mata Way).By purchasing Veritas from The Lost Abbey, you are agreeing to pick up your purchased bottles during the session that you chose during checkout. If you fail to pick-up your bottles during your chosen session, they will be surrendered back to The Lost Abbey. We are not allowing proxies of any kind for the pickup (We apologize for the inconvenience, but this policy hasn't changed and was implemented to prevent individual consumers from ending up with more than 4 bottles). Any attempt to have a proxy pick up bottles will result in the bottles being surrendered back to The Lost Abbey (NO EXCEPTIONS).Veritas 013 – American Sour with Peaches and NectarinesThe 13th edition of the Veritas series is an experiment using 3 separate strains of Brettanomyces, before honey, Peaches and Nectarines were added. The beer spent around 2 years total in French Oak barrels. Notes of fruits Peaches and Nectarines, oaky wood, brown sugar and Toasted Granola with Brett character throughout.
Agave Maria
THE LOST ABBEY TO RELEASE NEW TEQUILA-BARRELED BEER: AGAVE MARIASan Marcos, CA, -- Inspired by the reverence the Jimadors in the Agave fields of Jalisco Mexico have for a local icon with divine associations, The Lost Abbey is proud to announce its newest addition to its seasonal barrel-aged portfolio, Agave Maria Ale.Continuing The Lost Abbey’s crusade to expand and experiment with new beers and barrel-aging techniques, Agave Maria’s base is a new strong-ale brewed with Agave nectar and aged in both Anejo and Reposado barrels for a minimum of 10 months, the first tequila barreled beer to hit The Lost Abbey’s entire distribution network. “When I first moved from the East coast to The Lost Abbey, Tomme and I talked about prospect of getting tequila barrels and it was so exciting when that happened!” said Gwen Conley, Director of QA and Production. “An incredibly smooth yet intriguingly complex beer, it’s a perfect representation of the terroir of the Agave Fields.”Agave Maria has hints of black pepper, sweet sugar, oatmeal, and oak with an earthy, bitter smoked chocolate on the finish. The base beer, a new Agave strong ale, was created specifically to pair with the spiciness of the Tequila, adding a sweet honey-like quality to the beer.The new artwork for Agave Maria was created by The Lost Abbey’s resident artist, Sean Dominguez (Sean has created all of The Lost Abbey labels) and depicts the Agave Maria mural, blessing Agave piñas as they pass through her outstretched arms, whilst candles illuminate her image, never being allowed to extinguish.Agave Maria will be available throughout the Lost Abbey distribution network beginning in April in limited draft and 375 ml cork-finished bottles with an ABV of 13.5%. Expected to be an annual release, look for Agave Maria to be released every spring.
2014 Cuvee de Tomme
With this year’s Cuvee de Tomme hitting the market very soon, we wanted to speak to some of the issues we’ve faced and how we’re going to handle them going forward.We produce Cuvee the same every year, beginning with our base beer of Judgment Day aging it in Bourbon, Brandy and French oak wine Barrels where it’s spiked with our house cultures and a generous helping of Sour Cherries, Cuvee will spend at least 12 months developing in the barrels before we blend. With practice comes improvement and we’re proud to say that our blending techniques get better each and every year. Throughout the years producing this beer, one facet continues to become evident: we’re creating a very complex, balanced, and consistent beer that is unfavorable to bottle conditioning yeast.Let’s look at the 2014 vintage of Cuvee, which may just be the best batch of Cuvee (in our humble opinion) that we’ve created. The 2014 batch has both high alcohol (the highest ever for Cuvee) and a low pH, requiring our bottling conditioning yeast to be Super Hero’s. We give them substantial new amounts of sugar and then place the yeast in a most inhospitable place and ask them to perform for us. Think about Batman without his gadgets or Superman without his powers having to fight the good fight. They just can’t do it! What we have found is that a majority of the yeast die within 36-48 hours of being placed into Cuvee.We have tried many different yeasts, including adding more Brettanomyces, and they all seem to perish before they can give us the magic of frothy effervescence, amounting it to our version of sour beer Kryptonite.In sticking with traditional bottle conditioning practices, we are starting with virtually no CO2 in solution of the beer (1.5 vols of Co2). For each beer we bottle condition, we have different “yeast cocktails” for scenarios (i.e. higher alcohols, lower pH’s, etc) that will allow for the desired CO2 levels to be reached in the bottles. Desired carbonation level will vary depending on the style of beer.Bottle conditioning, the process of adding a calculated amount of new sugar and new yeast to the beer prior to it being packaged into bottles, is one we’ve refined greatly over the years. Yet Cuvee remains our biggest problem child. Bottling yeast should convert the extra sugar into carbon dioxide, just as it does during primary fermentation. When the pH of the beer is too low (acidic), the yeast slow or stop CO2 production. In addition, yeast also converts sugar into ethyl alcohol during fermentation. As the alcohol percentage increases in the beer, the yeast slowly die from the alcohol. In other words, many die in Cuvee before they can even get started!Over the years, we have been fortunate enough to stock our lab with advanced tools to help us better understand the environments inside our bottles. We have tested previous years of Cuvee de Tomme and found it to have lower levels of CO2 in the bottles than previously thought. Since traditional bottling conditioning doesn’t seem to work for Cuvee, we are investigating other techniques to increase the carbonation level in future bottling (We prefer re-fermentation methods for its aging properties). Until that time, if you want to taste Cuvee with a higher carbonation level, we suggest comparing the bottles to draft. If you’re enjoying Cuvee de Tomme out of a bottle, we would recommend serving it at 55F to enhance the depth of the oak and red wine character in the beer. We really love the flavor of the 2014 Cuvee de Tomme and hope that you will too.
Tomme's Heading to Seattle!
Our Director of Brewery Operations Tomme Arthur is heading back out on the road to sunny beautiful Seattle, Washington. If you live in the surrounding areas, or you want to make a last minute trip, join him at:Thursday, December 12th @ 99 Bottles Beer Store- 4pm - 6pm- Pouring: Merry Taj IPA, Deliverance, Saint's Devotion, Carnevale, Gift of the Magi, Board Meeting, Santa's Little Helper and Mongo IIPAThursday, December 12th @ Bambino's PizzeriaPig Roast with Tomme Arthur- Starting at 6pm- Pouring: 10 Commandments, Lost and Found, Santa's Little Helper, Framboise de Amorosa, Cuvee de TommeFriday, December 13th @ Pike Brewing- 11:30am - 1:30pm- Pouring: Merry Taj IPA, Santa's Little Helper, Gift of the MagiFriday, December 13th @ Beer Junction- 4:30pm to 6:30pm- Pouring: Judgment Day, Merry Taj IPA, Old Viscosity, Mongo IIPA, Serpent's Stout and Angel's ShareFriday, December 13th @ The PineboxA Night with Tomme Arthur- 5pm- Pouring: Angel's Share, Mayan Apocalypse, Merry Taj IPASaturday, December 14th @ The BurgundianBreakfast with Tomme Arthur- Starting at 10am- Pouring: Angel's Share, Old Viscosity, Santa's Little Helper and Framboise de AmorosaSaturday, December 14th @ Chuck's Hop Shop- Starting at 12pm- Pouring: Older Viscosity, Red Poppy, Santa's Little Helper, Judgment Day
The Lost Abbey’s Ultimate Box Set – Reload and Wrap Party
Getting the band back together… one last time.SAN MARCOS, CA: The Lost Abbey’s Ultimate Box Set tour is coming to a close. To commemorate a year of The Ultimate Box Set, The Lost Abbey will have an Ultimate Box Set RELOAD. A one-time opportunity for Box Set owners to refill their existing Box Set or stock up on a few of their favorite tracks to stash away for the future. Sales of the individual tracks will commence November 5th at Noon PST for Box Set Owners.Any remaining Tracks will be made available Saturday, November 9th, to the general public for purchase online. This will be the first and only time The Lost Abbey has allowed tracks to be purchased and leave the brewery. Previously, all sales of individual Tracks were allocated for on-site consumption only. All sales (both Box Set Owners and General Public) will be pre-sold online at www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com.Ultimate Box Set Tracks 4 through 11 will be available (while supplies last) for purchase at $20 each and be limited to 2-3 bottles per track per person. (Full track availability at www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com)Pickup for the purchased bottles will begin Friday, November 22nd and last through December 1st (Thanksgiving Weekend). Hours for pickup will be limited to the tasting room hours (www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com/tastingroom). If the purchased bottles are not picked up during the 10-day window, the bottles will be surrendered back to the brewery. More info on the pickup procedure(s) can be found at www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.comIn addition, Saturday, November 23rd will be the final “Ultimate Box Set Wrap Party”, held at The Lost Abbey for all “Backstage Pass” holders (Original Ultimate Box Set Owners plus guest). A few special kegs and goodies will be on hand to help wrap the tour up. Each Ultimate Box Set owner will be contacted with further details regarding the Wrap Party.About The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box SetThe Lost Abbey Ultimate Box set includes 13 special edition brews (aka: “Tracks” 1 through 13), a custom-designed album sleeve with the full-sized art used on each of the beer labels and liner notes from the brewers — all packaged in hand-built, numbered metal road cases. The Box Set case and album sleeve were designed by Grammy® award-winning art director Matt Taylor of Varnish Studio in collaboration with John Schulz of StudioSchulz. Each of the Sets had a retail value of $450 and was not available to the general public nor is it available for purchase. The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set was the recipient of the 2012 Bev Star “Most Innovative Packaging” from the Beverage World Publication. Track 8 also received a Bronze Medal (Experimental Beer) at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival and came in 2nd place for Best of Show for the 2012 FoBAB Awards in Chicago.About Port Brewing / The Lost AbbeyPort Brewing and The Lost Abbey produces an extensive line-up of continental and American- inspired ales and lagers. Under the direction of visionary brewmaster and co-founder Tomme Arthur, the brewer has garnered dozens of awards in its seven year history including the 2007 Great American Beer Festival Small Brewery of the Year and the 2008 world Beer Cup Champion Small Brewery. 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.
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Christmas in July Photos
The Event[nggallery id=62] Photos With Santa[nggallery id=64]If you would like a higher-res version of one of the photos please contact ryan@lostabbey.com
Pairings: Vol 1
Thursday's are our favorite! We get to start thinking about the weekend and what we're going to do, what we're going to eat and most importantly, what we're going to drink!We're going to start posting some of our favorite food/beer combos to help make those decisions easier... this week we paired a feta/fruit salad, Roquefort Cheese and Pepperoni Hot Pocket... Cheers!
Meet Everyone - Vodcast #43
We don't have many employees here at Port Brewing & The Lost Abbey, though it is growing. Here is a brief look into all of the "behind the scenes" people that make this brewery what is it.Meat Everyone - Vodcast #43 from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
Cuvee de Tomme - Vodcast #42
Greg tells us a few facts about Cuvee de Tomme while he is stacking the empty barrels used for this year's blend.Vodcast #42 Cuvee de Tomme from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
Vodcast #41 The Build & Release Of The Ultimate Boxset
On Wednesday November 22nd we at the Lost Abbey constructed ALL of The Ultimate Boxsets; meaning we added two sets of foam inserts, all 12 Track beers, the sealed vinyl w/ artwork & liner notes, and the hand written serial number. Each Boxset was sealed, palletized, and wrapped up for the big release on Saturday the 24th.Vodcast #41 Boxset Release from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
Vodcast #40 Mayan Judgment Day
Last Friday the power went out. Many of us believe it is a sign. Maybe we shouldn't be making a beer in honor of the end of the world.
Vodcast #40 Mayan Judgment Day from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
SDBW Vodcast #39
We just finished up San Diego Beer Week. Below is a video of one night from the entire week full of events.Vodcast #39 SDBW from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.