Veritas 008 - The Lost Abbey

starrdogg

District of Columbia

4.33/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Part of the massive Lost Abbey tasting.

Pours a hazy golden color with a fluffy white head. Aroma is incredibly unique - has an interesting mix of spices and tea plus some oak and barrel funk. Flavor is also rather interesting - it's got a great blend of spices (that I can't quite put my finger on), lemon zest and tea along alongside a mildly sour/funky wheat beer. Mouthfeel is light and heavily carbonated. Overall, this is an excellent beer that I believe is criminally underrated just because it's very different from the other Veritas beers. It's damn good and an excellent experience.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 23:55:36 | More by starrdogg

spycow

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

05-12-2013 20:39:59 | More by spycow

jbuddle

New York

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

04-25-2013 13:36:30 | More by jbuddle

GrumpyOldTroll

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

04-24-2013 01:42:16 | More by GrumpyOldTroll

joel66

New York

4/5  rDev +6.7%

04-22-2013 18:47:27 | More by joel66

WillCarrera

Illinois

4.29/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750ml bottle, generously shared by ahalloin, thanks dude!

A- Pours a hazy golden color, produces a thin white head that recedes to a wisp.

S- Smells absolutely delicious. The aroma is dominated by a really complex, interesting herbal aroma, with tea and spice, a pretty prominent lactic acidity, barnyard sourness, stone fruit and oak. Awesome.

T- The taste is considerably toned down compared to the aroma, which is too bad, but it's still pretty good. Loads of lactic tartness out of the gate, some stone fruit and slightly sweet grain, finishes with a some bitter herbal and subtle tea flavors.

M- Medium-bodied, very dry with lots of carbonation.

O- A very nice beer, deserves high marks for the aroma alone, which I could happily smell all day. The vitamin/medicine/off aromas and flavors that others have complained of were completely absent here, perhaps some bottle variation or age issues are causing some of the huge scoring variations on this one. I probably wouldn't give up the ammo needed to land this, but I thought this was very tasty and enjoyable nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 06:29:51 | More by WillCarrera

ahalloin

Virginia

4.33/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Cork popped enthusiastically. Pours a straw yellow with big white head. Slightly cloudy. Tight head and lacing make for a nice looking beer.

The smell is fairly complex with dominant lactic sourness, barnyard funk and damp hay. Slight tea seems more subdued than previous reviews.

The taste is dominated by a strong satisfying tartness. Strong herbal bitterness on the back end. Lots of acidity but balanced very well.

Very high carbonation contributes to great effervescence.

Overall I'd venture to say this is highly underrated. Strong tartness and dryness make it very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 01:30:14 | More by ahalloin

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

bottle shared thanks to ahalloin, thanks Tony.

The look is nice, it has a really hazy look with a nearly fresh squeezed OJ look. small amount of white head.

the smell is complex, it has an overall tart lactic note to it, but with the calming herbal tea hitting at the end of the aroma as well, with some light skinned fruit and touch of sweetness in the middle. i get some peach like aromas. very nice.

This beer tastes really nice, some great tartness, citrus and peach fruit notes and then some of the herb tea at the end, it actually tastes really nice and works very well. overall a very nice sour that seems very calming as well with the tea additions.

Feel is good, nice carbonation and medium smooth feel, it rolls over nice on the palate. A very interesting, unique and underrated beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 01:24:37 | More by Dreadnaught33

popery

California

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

01-28-2013 01:47:31 | More by popery

drummermattie02

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

01-22-2013 18:51:45 | More by drummermattie02

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev 0%

01-16-2013 15:13:49 | More by yourefragile

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

12-12-2012 04:26:39 | More by t0rin0

funkel81

California

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

11-03-2012 16:52:46 | More by funkel81

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks, Matt/CJ! I loved this.

Hazy light yellow with a dense, white head with excellent retention and lacing, this was the best-looking beer of the night. The nose is bright, and fruity with a blend of mango, citrus and stone fruit. The black tea lends a moderate flavor and some bitterness, but the blend is excellent. Very fruity (I've underlined very in my notes) with ripe, fleshy, pulpy oranges. A little vanilla is noticeable too.

The palate is over-carbonated, but otherwise, very tasty. Black tea notes up front with bright citrus make for a refreshing beer. This is a brilliant riff on a witbier - bright, fruity, spicy and unique with the citrus notes lending an exceptional structure on which the flavors are layered. Sourness is light, mildly lactic. Exceptional structure and balance here, this beer is very refreshing and comes with high recommendations, despite the poor scores.

Fans of the Zwanze 2010 should check this out. IMO, this beer stays true to the Veritas lineup in being experimental, and actually nicely done.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 20:49:00 | More by DefenCorps

raveskdr

District of Columbia

4.43/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Courtesy of a joint trade between Starrdogg and myself. Had to complete as much of the series as possible. Poured into a mini snifter.

A - Very light golden straw color with solid amount of head. The thin white head sticks to the glass halfway from beer to top.

S - Very small bits of mango and pineapple accentuate funky barnyard. Slight wheat like esters prevail as well.

T - Very light and crisp passionfruit along with other tropical flavors right up front. Tart acidity in the middle which follows through slightly to the end. Very little bit of tea in the middle and a bit more through the back end.

M - Very "fluffy" when finally drinking it. The tartness sits up front instead of attacking the back of my mouth.

O - This beer gets quite the bad wrap. No, it's not v004 or v005, but its a step outside the comfort zone in regards to beer in general, and especially sours. This finished way higher than I thought it would amongst the Veritas series.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 23:46:10 | More by raveskdr

emerge077

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bunzfest2012: Make it so... Thanks Patrick for sharing!
Quick review from written notes, served in a mini-tulip glass.

Spotty lace around the edges, good coverage on the surface. Body is a hazy gold, looks a bit like carbonated lemonade.

Big lemon and lime zest in the aroma, fresh and fruity with a hint of citrusy tartness.

Tart citrus flavors, lemony with a light effervescent dry feel. Crisp and clean, zesty carbonation with a citrus forward flavor. Good rendition of an Arnold Palmer, though a little bit one dimensional. Not especially funky, it was highly attenuated. Definitely refreshing to sip around noon on a saturday in the mid-80's.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 03:27:49 | More by emerge077

scottfrie

California

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks again Jeff! Snifter.

A: Steady stream of foam on this one after the cork popped. Pours a cloudy lemon color with a billowing bright white head.
S: I definitely smell the tea but it's not potent. Doesn’t smell bad actually. I smell straw and a bit of golden fruits as well.
T: Green tea powder, hay, yeast, slight funk, and a bit of green apple. Not bad really. Golden fruits and a bit of citrus come through in the finish.
M: Medium body, soft carbonation, slick and easy mouthfeel. Goes down smooth. Not much tartness.
O: Much better than I expected. I might actually want to drink this again. The tea was noticeable and worked well. Thanks again buddy.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 03:17:20 | More by scottfrie

oline73

Maryland

4.3/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I was able to try a pour of this beer at Sour and Bitter. Poured into a stemless wine glass.

Appearance: Pours a very cloudy golden color with a finger of white head that faded to a layer on top of the pour.

Smell: Reminds me of dried apricots. There is a slight tartness and some herbal notes. Bright and sweet citrus.

Taste: Not as sweet as the smell would suggest. Apricots and other sweet citrus notes. There is a slight funk to the beer and a mild citrus bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with fluffy carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: This beer really surprised me. I really enjoyed the apricot notes. I would definitely have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 21:17:19 | More by oline73

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.53/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Consumed with all ten Veritas beers on April 14, 2012. Shared by Thorpe429, who had this shipped to my house last minute to ensure it would be there to complete the vertical. You rock, Mike.

The beer is straw yellow with a light haze. Atop the beer is a small head that fades within a few minutes. The aroma offers herbal notes, tea, lemonade. Certainly an atypical scent from a beer of this ilk. That said, I enjoyed this beer, though I found most of the other beers in this series to be much more complex, intriguing, and flavorful. Tea and lemonade flavors prevail, with only subtle hints of tartness / sourness. I'm glad to have tried this, but I doubt I would have it again.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 01:36:38 | More by Huhzubendah

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev 0%

04-16-2012 17:39:52 | More by ygtbsm94

madtowndmb1

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

04-14-2012 13:58:07 | More by madtowndmb1

largadeer

California

3.8/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle at Toronado.

Hazy straw-hued body with a lasting half-inch of frothy head.

Really funky nose, a ton of bretty barnyard, a little sulfur, a lot of lemon. Strangely herbal (thyme?) with a definite tea character that's not particularly offensive.

The palate is pretty decent. Mild lactic sourness up front, a lot of lemon flesh tartness along with mild lemon rind tannin, slight pale grain flavors, some phenolic funk and a rather integrated and unobtrusive tea flavor. Strange but pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2012 18:59:53 | More by largadeer

CheapBeerBuzz

California

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

02-15-2012 17:12:24 | More by CheapBeerBuzz

Callmecoon

California

4/5  rDev +6.7%

02-10-2012 19:09:22 | More by Callmecoon

vissai

California

4/5  rDev +6.7%

01-16-2012 21:18:09 | More by vissai