Veritas 011 - The Lost Abbey

pmarlowe

California

4.63/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at 2012 LA Barrel Night.

A: Pours a cloudy golden color, with light tan, swirly, frothy head.

S: So much fresh nectarine. So good, wow. Just a kind of vanilla, sweetish cognac, and orange rind to add some complexity and round out the aroma.

T: Caramel and tangerine/nectarine, more fruit beer than barley wine at this point. Some hoppy citrus and grippy oak/vanilla on the finish, along with a bit of bitterness and moderate sweetness. Very little alcohol is noticeable.

M: Super smooth, like candy. Medium carbonation and body. Sticks to the mouth.

O: A delicious, unique interpretation of a barley wine. Basically like a mild fruited American barley wine. Usually not a style I like that much, but this really comes together.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2012 06:47:00 | More by pmarlowe

xraided81

California

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sampled at lost Abbey Barrel Night 2012 Sunday evening.
poured a deep, dark orange brown hue with a thin white head.
Smells of stone fruit, peaches , nectarines , apricots, light woody notes, and a hint of sweet boozy cognac in te background, gets better as it warms. Tastes tropical fruits, peaches, stone fruits , more fruit character than maltiness in taste
Medium body, easy drinking , surprisingly light for a 13% beer.
This was my favorite beer of the night, enjoyed the stone fruit character of this Barleywine , really have not tasted a more fruit forward Barleywine than this, this reminds me of a white desert wine.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2012 10:14:38 | More by xraided81

HopHead84

California

4.35/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

05/11/2013

Bottle into Lost Abbey stemware.

A: Dark orangish crimson with two fingers of beige froth. Lacing is scattered. It looks big and rich.

S: Ripe and juicy nectarines atop a formidable Barleywine. Notes of caramel blend with grape and plum. Port-like. Vanilla is potent and oak is detectable. Big cognac presence.

T: Caramel, bread, sugar, chocolate, grape, plum, and nectarines. Quite a tasty blend of flavors with many similarities to port wine. Cognac character is strong. Alcohol is very well hidden.

M: Full body lower medium carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel with ample warming.

Overall: I like this quite a bit. The Brett hasn't done much, which I'm happy about, and the fruit is still potent. A successful experiment.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 03:32:17 | More by HopHead84

MasterSki

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle thanks to Javier. Thanks dude! Served in a Russian River tulip at Jason's place.

A - White foam settles to a partial cap and thick collar, leaving behind spotty lacing. Murky brown body. Looks like Lost Abbey finally got their carbonation issues under control.

S - The aroma is kind of crazy, and revealed different facets each time I took a whiff. Initially there was a hefty dose of cognac spirit character, but the next time all I got was sweet stone fruits (I would have guessed peaches, but apparently it's nectarines). Finally the base barleywine makes an appearance, imparting a caramel backdrop. No obvious brett at the moment, although if it's brett clausenii I imagine it'll be masked by the nectarines for a while. Not a ton of oak either; just sweet and boozy cognac flavor.

T - The taste is a bit inverted, with more caramel and brown sugar barleywine sweetness on the palate, with complementary ripe stone fruits, and cognac booze and oak in the finish. There's perhaps a hint of nascent brett, but it also could be imagined at this stage. Alcohol is well-hidden once you accept the cognac spirit note as a flavor. Nectarines grow in intensity as the beer approaches room temperature.

M - Smooth, medium-full body, lower but adequate carbonation, and perhaps a bit of alcohol heat thanks to the cognac. Surprisingly easy to drink considering the ABV.

D - While not all of Tomme's experiments are a complete success I think this one works pretty well. Unsurprisingly it's a bit boozy, but not excessively so for the listed 13.46%, and everything else seems to work in harmony. I'm curious how/if the brett will manifest, as it's not really present at the moment. Nice to see a non-sour in this series, as we already know those are in Tomme's wheelhouse. Looking forward to my other bottle of this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 21:24:03 | More by MasterSki

Gobzilla

California

4.25/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: poured a burnt orangish brown in color with pale yellow highlights and a half finger of head that left some good wisps of lacing sticking to the glass.

S: lots of caramel was noticeable in the nose with a great nectarine, peach, apricot fruit aroma, with definite cognac booze, plenty of malty sweetness, good wood character and faint signs of brett.

T: peach, nectarine, and peach fruit were more apparent on the palate alongside caramel sweetness, wood oakiness, nice cognac barrel booze but was a little potent, mild maple syrup notes, a touch of vanilla but no real bretty presence on the taste.

M: the brew was medium to full in body with a fair amount of carbonation which had a boozy, sweet, fruity, woody and sticky finish.

O: I really enjoyed it more on tap at the barrel night party and thought it was more boozy in the bottle. don't get me wrong it's still a great beer either way.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 06:53:05 | More by Gobzilla

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.23/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer is mildly hazy and copper brown hued with a small tan head that leaves spotty lacing. The aroma offers apples, funk, yeast, oak. The flavor is a step up from the aroma. Delicious sweet, fruity malts with hints of oak and cognac. Lingering cognac barrel character in the finish. A tasty brew. Gotta keep my Veritas streak going strong. I enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 03:09:59 | More by Huhzubendah

drabmuh

Maryland

4.2/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks for sharing. Another great beer from Lost Abbey, served in a Lost Abbey Teku glass. Beer is dark brown and mostly clear, not carbonated, no head no lacing.

Aroma is strong. Boozy, sweet, cognac.

Beer is thin, the heat is all in the nose. It is warming, vanilla, sweet, nice finish. Basically the beer is sweet sweet booze and cognac. A nice beer that I would have again.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 05:24:53 | More by drabmuh

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.15/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle 019. Thanks to Rich for acquiring and GT for transporting. Served in a glass. Brett, barel aged, barleywine you say? I'm in. Marin's Dipsea accident and Idiot's Drool were both favorites! Hold on, what's that? Ok, checking reviews. Oh no...

Pours a cloudy amber-brown with a transient stale, off white head. Head fades to a thin bubbly collar and thin streaks of lace. Aroma is very warm and boozy; cognac up front, with a young raw and resiny barleywine. Lemon, tangerine, schnapps and sugar throughout. Aroma turns into rubbing alcohol as it warms. Thicker side of medium body, coats palate with a syrupy finish; soft and subtle carbonation. Chewy flavor, pulpy and resiny sugars with nectarine and strawberry fruit. Surprisingly no alcohol presence or burn in flavor, though finish is extremely warm. Brett hasn't done much yet, I sort of like the fruitiness and am happy to have tried this fresh. Happily this achieved the arduous distinction of being more enjoyable than Idiot's Drool.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 06:04:05 | More by yourefragile

mdfb79

New York

4.11/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 03/15/13 notes.

a - Pours a dark mahogany brown color, with maybe an inch of off white head and low carbonation evident.

s - Smells of dark fruits, roasted malts, chocolate, port/wine, oak, some burnt malts, caramel, and light funk. Nice though a tiny bit different than what I was expecting; can't put my finger on it, maybe the brett.

t - Tastes of roasted malts, chocolate, caramel malts, toffee, sweet dark fruits, oak, port, toasted and burnt malts. Taste reminds me more of a very good BA barleywine; I like it qiut e a bit better than the nose.

m - Medium to full, thick bodied barleywine, and low carbonation. Very nice mouthfeel; quite smooth.

o - Overall a solid beer, though not my favorite Veritas beer. Wish they would go back to making this series stellar sour beers, though this is a good barleywine style beer. Would have it again, wouldn't kill myself to get it.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 20:24:11 | More by mdfb79

Thorpe429

Illinois

4/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks to Moll for sharing this bottle. Served in a Lost Abbey teku glass. The nose has pretty heavy barrel character with some slightly sour fruit. A bit of booze. Flavor is slightly tangy with dak fruit and moderate barrel. I'd be interested to see how this one develops.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 20:10:11 | More by Thorpe429

UCLABrewN84

California

3.78/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottle pour for New Brew Thursday's 3rd Anniversary event held at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

Bottle # 119.

Pours a murky brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is sour and tart with malt, fruit, and acidic aromas. Taste is much the same with a fruity flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with some solid aromas and flavors.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 01:43:44 | More by UCLABrewN84