#318: The Lost Abbey » Red Poppy Ale 2012 (Flanders Red Ale)

The Lost Abbey » Red Poppy Ale 2012 (Flanders Red Ale) | ABV: 5.5%

I finally found the right evening to crack into this wonderful sour from The Lost Abbey -- the brew that truly launched my feverish interest in sour and wild beers.

Red Poppy starts life at Pizza Port's Dawn Patrol Dark session Brown Ale. After fermentation and during barrel transfer, it's blended with Port Brewing's Amigo Lager. Cherries are added and put through a second fermentation, than aged six months.

The result is a vibrant nose, blooming with bright sour cherry flavor and subtler notes of grape and apple, supported by a transparent nuttiness and soft, earthy funk.

Red Poppy hits the palate with a chewy, decedent, and full-bodied mouthfeel that remains elegant, never dipping into weighted tubbiness. It's puckering, with an expert balance of sour cherry and chocolate.

Further through, a venerable cornucopia of flavors peak through at every turn - lemon pith, grape skin, mineral characteristics, all with a touch of funk, rummy finish, and an afterglow that is sweeter than most sours.

Absolutely a superb beer.

#114: Uinta Brewing Company » 20th Anniversary Birthday Suit (Sour Brown Ale)

True cause for celebration....

The Brewery: Uinta Brewing Co. (Salt Lake City, UT)
The Brew:  20th Anniversary Birthday Suit (Sour Brown Ale)
Availability:  Bottles, draft, etc (limited)
ABV: 7.4% // IBUs: 20
Rating: 9/10
Location: Home
Found: Fingerlakes Beverage Center

The Story? As previously mentioned, Uinta have been killing it with their year round and specialty brews. Consistent quality, full flavor, and powered by 100% renewable energy, they're an easy choice to pick up. When I heard they were issuing a sour brown this past spring, I snatched a bottle as soon as I found one and set it in the stash to mature a bit further.

The Beer? After a smooth pour, Birthday Suit's light brown fizzy head quickly fades. The body is bubbly with a root beer-like appearance. The nose is rooty with hints of apple, but otherwise fairly transparent.

The taste on the other hand is full of big, juicy flavor and mid-level puckering taste and mouthfeel with a quick sweetness in the finish and mild coating on the tongue. There are even flavors of sweet chocolate, roasted malt, and cracker, making for a very unique sour brown.

Overall, Birthday Suit is solid take on the sour brown style - pleasant and only mildly astringent, making it an excellent starting point for anyone getting into sours or an easy go-to for those more well versed. The chocolate and bread/cracker notes int he finish really make this one pop for me personally.

#076: Deschutes Brewery » The Dissident 2012 (Flanders Oud Bruin)

Praise the beer gods...

(it gets dark outside at night...)

The Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
The Brew: The Dissident 2012 (Flanders Oud Bruin)
Availability: Draft (limited)
ABV: 11.4% | IBUs: 18
Rating: 10/10
Location: The Reservoir (Waterbury, VT)

The Story? After our meal and drinks with our friend Lidia down at Prohibition Pig, we decided to enjoy the beautiful night (the whole trip was clear skies and warm weather) by taking a walk around the neighborhood. We passed by The Reservoir and I recalled someone mentioning the place in one of our earlier beer stops. I recommended we check it out for our final stop before heading out of Waterbury.

Amidst a bustling Saturday night crowd and staff, the gastropub offered great ambiance and a charming environment - the wall of VT license plates was a great touch - with a bottle case that rivals the high-end beer selection of some beverage centers. I was grateful they had a draft beer menu, as the bar was quite crowded at the moment. I was politely given a spot at the bar white deciding, by a couple waiting for their order when my eyes spotted it - The Bruery's Mischief. An easy choice for the last round, but I was soon informed the keg kicked just moments before we arrived... not my luck again. I figured something decent would be going on in it's place, so I asked. Deschutes Brewery's 2012 sour brown ale known as The Dissident.

The Dissident has only been release three times (2008 and 2010 previously) and is Deschutes only wild yeast beer, brewed with Brettanomyces and aged partly in Pinot and Cabernet barrels. This marvelous brew won "The America’s Best Oud Bruin" at the 2013 World Beer Awards. I couldn't believe my luck that this had just been tapped. I ordered my glass of this lauded nectar and we headed out to the deck.

The Beer? Pure sour beer bliss. Deep brown color with hind of ruby in the evening light with a tuft of leggy white head. The taste is beautifully tart and incredibly smooth.

Juicy, sour red fruit flavors dance with mild funk and earth notes augmented by a rich, velvety mouthfeel. Wet and dry at the same time. Aging this sour brown in Pinot and Cabernet is genius. The red-wine influence provides some tannin notes in the nose and taste, while rolling off some of the high level of sweetness typically found in a Flanders.

Distinct sour cherry notes are present deeper through the glass, while the oak notes providing further influence along with a touch of vanilla. All of these complexities bring out the best in each other, equating to a highly drinkable, elegant beer weighing in over 11%.

Highly recommended for any beer enthusiast.

#069: New Belgium Brewing » Lips of Faith: La Folie (Flanders Oud Bruin)

A gift of mouth******* tartness...

The Brewery: New Belgium Brewing (Ft. Collins, CO)
The Brew: Lips of Faith: La Folie (Flanders Oud Bruin)
Availability: Draft and bottles
ABV: 6.0%
Rating: 9.7/10
Location: Home

The Story? After a six-year hiatus, one of my favorite bands, Melt Banana put up their latest release for streaming last night. With a night in, I had a rare opportunity to just have a sit and listen to the new album straight through. I needed a brew wild enough to keep up with the sonic chaos and knew just the thing...

I picked this one up in Baltimore, after regretting to do so when I was in Chicago.  La Folie is New Belgium's original wood-conditioned beer, fermented in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being bottled and is the brainchild of Peter Bouckaert - formerly of Rodenbach. With inspiration from their fabled sour red ale, La Folie emulates the spontaneous fermentation beers of Peter's beloved Flanders.

The Beer? La Folie is presents itself in an ominously opaque shade of dark brown with a touch of ruby, topped with a touch of laceless head, and accompanied by a potent nose of big, tart black fruits - cherry, black currant, and grape - and green apple.

This is a full-force Flanders, packing an astringently sour punch to the face. Incredibly tart, but with a quenching mouthfeel and finish. Big, juicy sour with no funk, earth, or barnyard involved. There's a distinct red wine and acetic nature to it as well. Perfectly complimenting, mid-level carbonation.

The whole way through, it's huge green apple sour flavors, in the direction of sour candies and soda, with elements of cherry and raspberry and subtle oak in the background. One of those flavors that I want to keep tasting and tasting.

Overall, a must-have for any sour fan. I'd put this up there with Oude Gueuze Tilquin à L'Ancienne as one of my favorites and a perfect dark, sour brown counterpart to that master brew.