Red Poppy Ale - The Lost Abbey

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BA SCORE
95
world-class
-
953 Ratings

rAvg: 4.28
pDev: 10.28%
Reviews: 489
Hads: 464

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Brewed by:
The Lost Abbey

California, United States

Style | ABV
Flanders Red Ale | 5.50% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (460), on-tap (28), cask (1).

Notes:
Perhaps no country embraces the use of fruit in beers more so than Belgium. Numerous traditional as well as regional specialty ales are infused with every sort of fruit imaginable. In this way, the flavor of the fruit becomes especially prominent.

Red Poppy Ale is a veritable celebration of Sour Cherries in an explosion of aromas and tastes. Brewed from a brown ale base and aged in our oak barrels for over 6 months, this beer is not for the faint of heart.

View: Beers (44) | Reviews (46) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by bfields4:

bfields4

Colorado

4.43/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark ruby brown body. Nice frothy light brown head.

Very sour notes. Vinegary funk, oak, tart cherries. Also some sweet Belgian citrus I was surprised to find.

This is one very complex brew. A dry winey tartness accompanied by cherries. Also picking up the oak. Somewhat of a fig/berry flavor in it as well.

Awesome brew. Good variety of flavors. A little light on the body, but not really in a bad way. This might give the duchess a run for its money in my book.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 02:45:46 | More by bfields4

More User Reviews:

Zive

Hawaii

4.14/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Vintage 2012 bottle, cellared for fourteen months, poured into champagne flute.

Appearance: Looks like a classic brown ale with a half finger of khaki head that dissipates quickly. When held up to light it takes on a more amber/deep ruby red hue.

Smell: Oak and vanilla at first, the sour scent associated with most wild ales is present to a lesser extent. The cherry aroma has faded considerably, most likely due to cellaring, and is barely detectable.

Taste: First taste is a mild tartness, though not puckering like many other sours due to the mellowness of the barrels and the sweetness imparted by the cherries and malts. There's no doubt that the base beer here was loaded with dark malts which lend a caramel character to the taste. I was concerned that this would be overly fruity, but between the barrels and cellaring that's not the case.

Mouthfeel: Silky with lots of small CO2 streaming from the base of the glass. The acidity from the wild yeast strains adds to the stinging feeling of the carbonation. A bit more mellow on the palate than most wild and sour ales I've had (Lindeman's, Cantillon, etc).

Overall: I enjoyed this beer mostly for its uniqueness. The brewing process was well thought-out here, balancing the acids produced by the wild yeast with the mellowing and sweetening effects of barrel aging and cherries. I would be interested in trying this beer either from a fresh bottle or on tap for comparison. Although this is an excellent beer and worthy of much of the hype surrounding it, I don't believe it's great enough to justify the $20 price-tag.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 08:28:01 | More by Zive

gamanley

Connecticut

4.5/5 rDev +5.1%

05-22-2013 02:53:52 | More by gamanley

PlinyBeMiney

California

4.5/5 rDev +5.1%

05-21-2013 23:14:18 | More by PlinyBeMiney

Busker

Connecticut

5/5 rDev +16.8%

05-21-2013 18:10:16 | More by Busker

GuinnessAtRogerWilco

New Jersey

4.48/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

375ml corked bottle poured into a small Chimay chalice.

AP: Rusty brown colour with a 1/2" cream/tan head that dissipates to 1/4" with bubbles still escalating to the top. Nice lacing on the glass when tilted.
AR: Has that classic Flanders Red Ale aroma that I associate with German sourdough pretzels (the hard kind). Apple cider and other fruits like white grape and tart cherries are discerned as well with Belgian yeast funk.
T: Very very nice. A lot of what I got in the nose with grape and cherry skins prominent on the finish and tart apple flavour weaving in and out from start to finish. The sour note is just about right, not too strong but vivid enough for instant recognition and enjoyment. It starts strong at the beginning then softly fades but lingers throughout. Well done.
M: Assertive carbonation, acidic, dry and tart on the finish but does coat your tongue and teeth nicely with what bit of sweetness there is.
OV: A very well done Flanders style Red Ale that would match any from the region itself and I've had my share of them being a fan of sours. The flavours on this are very tasty and the sour note is just right with acidic tartness and not too much of a vinegar aspect. A definite sessionable sipper that offers good flavours and cleanses your palate at the same time.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 04:23:50 | More by GuinnessAtRogerWilco

marine1975

North Carolina

4/5 rDev -6.5%

05-21-2013 02:15:44 | More by marine1975

Geno206

Washington

4.25/5 rDev -0.7%

05-20-2013 01:13:03 | More by Geno206

Kreko7

California

3.75/5 rDev -12.4%

05-19-2013 15:52:16 | More by Kreko7

Boilerfood

Indiana

4.5/5 rDev +5.1%

05-19-2013 15:20:02 | More by Boilerfood

jakeox

Illinois

3.5/5 rDev -18.2%

05-19-2013 00:50:54 | More by jakeox

muletrane

Pennsylvania

4.5/5 rDev +5.1%

05-19-2013 00:49:44 | More by muletrane

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4/5 rDev -6.5%

05-18-2013 21:24:44 | More by Photekut

itsthepleats

Ohio

4.25/5 rDev -0.7%

05-18-2013 18:26:52 | More by itsthepleats

jtladner

District of Columbia

3.5/5 rDev -18.2%

05-18-2013 13:38:33 | More by jtladner

ajzy

Wisconsin

5/5 rDev +16.8%

05-18-2013 03:25:43 | More by ajzy

hannydawg

Illinois

4/5 rDev -6.5%

05-18-2013 00:30:38 | More by hannydawg

kscaldef

Oregon

2/5 rDev -53.3%

05-17-2013 23:30:59 | More by kscaldef

vonnegut21

New York

4.25/5 rDev -0.7%

05-17-2013 18:05:38 | More by vonnegut21

GilGarp

Colorado

4.21/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

375 ml corked bottle served slightly chilled into a tulip glass.

There's no date or batch number on the bottle but I would guess I've had it in my cellar for about 2-3 years. Strangely, there isn't any loose sediment but I do see it stuck to the bottom of the bottle.

Red Poppy Ale is a deep redish brown with tight off-white head. It settles fairly quickly but maintains a thin layer on top.

The aroma is enough to make my throat tighten. This is going to be sour! Sour cherries and the oak barrel aging comes through.

The flavor is exactly what I expected after that aroma - hugely sour and tart with the tannins that hit right in the back of he mouth. The cherries are there with a hint of vanilla from the oak. The malt base is along the lines of a brown ale but it is really the wild yeast that stands front and center.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied nicely carbonated like a bottle conditioned Belgian would be.

Overall a stunningly powerful beer. I would like to try this side by side with La Folie as they seem to have similar characteristics, from what I remember.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 23:56:31 | More by GilGarp