Box Set Track #4 - Sympathy For The Devil - The Lost Abbey

MasterSki

Illinois

3.29/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Bottle shared by Todd! Thanks bro!

A - White foam settles to a thin collar, leaving behind wisps and tiny specks of lace. Dark brown body that's largely opaque.

S - Heavy brett presence here. An odd mix of chocolate, bourbon, sweaty horse, and musty basement. Oddly medicinal and lightly vinous.

T - The taste is evocative of a brett-fermented stout, with a mix of chocolate and dusty attic, along with a slight hint of caramel. Not as wild as the aroma was, but still vaguely medicinal and mineral. Only mild vinous sourness in the periphery.

M - Smooth, medium body, that seems smaller and too thin than the listed ABV. Pleasant carbonation, and a dry, crisp, finish. Probably my favorite thing about this beer.

D - Flavors clash and the brett overwhelms the things I liked about the component beers. I preferred the Veritas 009 and Hot Rocks we had next to this by a significant margin. Probably the worst beer in the set.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 14:36:50 | More by MasterSki

Todd

Massachusetts

2.49/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

Track #4. 12.7oz bottle. No date.

Look: Opaque, pitch black, no lacing

Smell: Funky cheese rinds, old pennies, bourbon, wet cardboard

Taste: Firm, flat, dark malts, treacle, blue cheese funk, metallic, spicy, peppery, red wine, boozy, bourbon, wood and a papery linger

You really need to let this one breathe and warm up a bit before judging it, but even then this is one outlandishly funky beer. The bourbon and red win barrels clash, oxidation has taken root and there's definitely some other undesirable characters that have come to show their sympathy.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 03:20:47 | More by Todd

Jason

Massachusetts

2.94/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12.7 brown caged and corked bottle, no freshness date.

Black hued brew, virtually no head. Dank aroma, blue veined cheese, wood, burnt grass, diaper, booze soaked cherries, pungent funk. Overly ripened fruit, white peppercorn spicy alcohol, funky, faint molasses, wood tannin, bourbon, vinous,

Serve this one at cellar temp please ... you regret it otherwise. ;-) Even then, this brew is a bit of a chore to even sip. The intentions were true but something is amiss here. Perhaps the bourbon & wine character just does not work here with the funk that it has. Let it breathe a bit and jump in ... different.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 03:15:50 | More by Jason

largadeer

Kentucky

2.75/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Dark brown almost black body with a wispy head. Manure-like brett aroma that's pretty unappealing. Lot of currant and red wine, a little acetone. Palate is odd - heavy on the red wine and currants up front. Full bodied. Becomes more roasty and chocolatey toward the finish. Lot of red wine in the finish, drying oak and more of that harsh medicinal brett flavor. Not a terrible beer, but not a winner.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2013 03:03:22 | More by largadeer

UCLABrewN84

California

3.84/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a clear reddish-brown with a foamy tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. No lacing on the drink down. Smell is sour and tart with some fruit, wood, and slight bourbon aromas. Taste is much the same with an alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild amount of woody bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that smells much better than it tastes in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2013 19:27:00 | More by UCLABrewN84

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.33/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

12 oz bottle.

Pours a still, tepid and stagnant bog like brown with a quickly fading light tan head. Aroma of soy, red wine, peanuts, licorice, and grape. Roasty flavor, interesting blend of peanut and earthiness with red grape, wine and light acidity. Medium thick and strong carbonation and slight tangy finish. I like this better than most others seemed to.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 18:18:19 | More by yourefragile

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

2.35/5  rDev -34.4%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2

Bottle shared thanks to starrdogg from an awesome trader in CA! Tried in order with all tracks in the series. I'm showing no sympathy with this beer, did not care for it at all. Totally a miss for me.

The beer has a nice look when poured, having a darker dark brown color and a ring of head.

When you smell this beer, it does not seem appetizing. To me, I interpret it as the plastic bag smell from your local supermarket, for me it's safeway here in DC. It's hard to nail down anything after I get that in my head, but you can still tell there are beer components beneath that. The taste at least has some interesting notes, but mostly it is not very good either with maple soaked malt and burned cherry. Corn product cereal notes and maybe a splash of bourbon. Chestnut?

Feel is ok, but this beer is a dud. Avoid.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 14:29:35 | More by Dreadnaught33

jeonseh

Indiana

2.88/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Bottle poured into a snifter. Had as part of a NWI tasting group Bourbon County tasting night.

A - Dark brown with a red tint to it. Small reddish white head fades quickly and leaves minimal lacing

S - Tart cherries, lemon, Brett, and light oak make a nice complex nose. It actually reminded a lot of Red Poppy in the nose

T - Tart lemon up front before a strong blue cheese taste comes up. Lemongrass and oak are in the finish but they can't cut the funky blue cheese that lingers on. There is just too much going on with this and, while it could be good, it just doesn't come together well. It is nowhere near as good as it smelled

MF - Lots of carbonation with a light softness that comes in the middle with the funky, brett and blue cheese flavors. Rather dry finish

O - While I'm happy to have this shared with me, it was a bit of a disappointment overall. I thought this one had create potential as I smelled it but once I went in for a taste, that's where the disappointment started to creep in. I don't mind funk or blue cheese flavors in beers but something in this blend just does not work as the flavors don't meld making this one taste off.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 04:00:21 | More by jeonseh

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.15/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Lost Abbey track beer tasting.

The beer is dark chestnut with a quarter inch of beige head that quickly fades to nil. The aroma offers alcohol, overly ripened fruit, cherries. While the aroma is suspect, the flavor is what you might call a hot mess. Lots of boozy fruity booze soaked fruit with booze. A touch of steak sauce perhaps. Light to medium bodied with moderately low carbonation. I wasn't too keen on this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 23:24:12 | More by Huhzubendah

starrdogg

District of Columbia

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Beer pours a dark brown/nearly black with hints of red and a thin white head. Smell is, um, interesting I guess? It's got some oak and vinegar, but the most pronounced flavor is that of over-ripe fruit, almost like a banana that has sat for too long. Flavor is interesting - it's got a bit of oak and hints of red wine up front, but finishes chocolatey. Unfortunately what comes in between is a weird dark fruit flavor that doesn't quite come together with either the start or finish of the flavor. Mouthfeel is actually quite nice, medium-full bodied with nice carbonation. This is a bit of a weird experiment that doesn't quite work as well as I'd hoped.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 23:22:06 | More by starrdogg

Gobzilla

California

4.38/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: poured a very dark brown in color with brown highlights and a thin head that dissipated quickly and left very little lacing sticking to the glass.

S: nice mixture of things going on in the aroma, chocolate and wine barrel notes being that upfront in the nose with sweetness consisting of a little toffee, caramel, hints of maple syrup, roasty presence, signs of booze and various dark fruit esters coming through as well.

T: the taste had a good tart bite alongside chocolatey notes, bourbon booze accents, semi dark fruity consisting of plums and raisins, great wine barrel character, a touch of vinous flavor but with sweet caramel, toffee, and very slight molasses.

M: the brew was medium in body with a moderate amount of carbonation which had a sweet, dark fruity, mild vinous wine barrel, chocolatey and tart finish.

O: very interesting beer all around that had a wide range of flavor and aroma. I was digging it.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 05:28:58 | More by Gobzilla

womencantsail

California

3.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Black in color with a finger of off-white head. Smells interesting. Strong licorice, burnt sugar, and molasses with a fair amount of vanilla. A bit of bourbon and definitely some red wine. The Hot Rocks gives sort of a metallic aroma. It’s also got an herbal component that reminds me of 10 Commandments. The flavor is intensely sweet for a "sour beer". Red wine, bourbon, vanilla, and oak are primary flavors here. Lots of licorice, sugar, and molasses, too. Moderate herbal notes with a touch of iron. Really not the best in the series thus far.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 18:51:56 | More by womencantsail

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appears a dark brown nearing black with a small tan head that slowly fades j to a gentle cap and collar. Scattered streaks are left around the glass.
Smell is of red cherries, wild yeast, Pinot noir wine, and dusty cocoa bars.
Taste is of the aromas with a burnt tar, raisins, charred wood, cherries, and perhaps some bourbon in the backdrop that is toned out by the red wine and vanilla.
Mouthfeel is chewy, full bodied, with tingling bubbles and tartness. Lots going on in this one. Delicious stuff that gets much better as it warms.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 23:58:25 | More by weeare138

ehammond1

California

4.4/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2012)

The Lost Abbey
San Marcos, CA

Nearly black with a moderately sized dark brown head and significantly more visible carbonation than all the previous Track series beer. This leaves the glass messy with irregular stick. Very nice.

The aroma is a wonderful combination and very unique as well: red wine, dark fruits, chocolate, roast, oak, red wine vinegar, and just a hint of alcohol.

The flavor is superb, incredibly drinkable, and incredibly complex. First comes a rich combination of ripe cherries, moderate sourness, oak, and maple, then after the swallow, flavors of roast, black bread, chocolate, and more oak linger. Complex and delicious. Alcohol is hidden very well.

Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation. Rich though incredibly drinkable.

One of the most interesting and delicious beers I've had in a very long time.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2012 01:05:09 | More by ehammond1

HopHead84

California

4.1/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4/21/2012

Bottle into stemware at Lost Abbey.

A: Black with an attractive light brown head.

S: A marriage of dark fruit and chocolate in the aroma. Plum accompanies grape, raisin, and prune. Quite vinous. There's a little oak with a good amount of leather and earth. As the beer warms up I detect a lot of cherry and vanilla with a little caramel and bourbon. The red wine characteristics are stronger than I expected. Very fruity.

T: Lightly tart and mildly lactic with a firm leather presence. Dark fruits are pronounced. I detect lots of plum, grape, and prune. Tannins blend with oak and a restrained chocolate presence. I get a little caramel as well as a touch of alcohol (in the finish).

M: Lower full body with upper medium to lower high carbonation. The mouthfeel is dry and tannic.

Overall: I was a little skeptical when I learned of the blend, but this turned out to be really nice. 

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 06:37:33 | More by HopHead84

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

4.53/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured into a lost abbey stemmed glass on 4/21 at the lost abbey

A: very dark almost black with a film of brown tan head...that dissapates quickly... A bit of brown on the edges when held to the light....

S: deep red wine hits the nose right off along with oak blending beautifully with Brett funk. hints of chocolate and bourbon... An very intriguing and inviting nose.... Nice sourness, with a hint of dark sour cherry, a great nose!

T: wow... This is delicious. The way everything works together here is beautiful. I get sour cherry and red wine, along with some nice oak, then on the end it blends nicley into dark chocolate and a touch of burbon... Again everything is so well balanced and workin together here... I love it.

M: medium bodied with tight medium carbonation, a bit dry red wine finish, the tannins are deffinatly there, drinks like a red wine with a touch of carbonation....

O: this is a great beer! So lucky to have gotten to try this.... A great blend of flavors and complexities... Awesome... Don't know what else to say.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 17:36:22 | More by PeterIngemi