The Lost Abbey is a brewery in San Marcos, run by Director of Brewery Operations Tomme Arthur. The Lost Abbey specializes in producing Belgian-inspired beers, barrel-aged beers and sours. The Lost Abbey, Port Brewing Company and The Hop Concept beers all come from the brewhouse within The Lost Abbey. It can be a bit confusing when referring to three different breweries that are technically located under the same roof, but there’s a reason why it’s done this way. The beers that come from these three brands allow the brewery to experiment in different ways without confusing or overloading the consumer. Wouldn’t it be weird if The Lost Abbey made a dank-bomb IPA? Yes, it would be. You can’t really find a bad beer from any of these three brands as you will discover drinking today’s beer flight, Craft Beer Crosscut 5.10.18: A Flight of San Marcos.
The Lost Abbey Red Barn
6.7% ABV
Saisons were originally brewed in France as a thirst-quenching pick-me-up for the field hands working the harvest. The Lost Abbey makes a killer farmhouse ale called Red Barn that strikes the perfect balance between complex and refreshing. Striking orange and lemon peel scents entwine with white pepper and coriander. Lemon rind notes stream down the tongue over a bed of crackerlike malts, meeting juicy orange in the middle; light black pepper bristles the tongue along the way.
The Lost Abbey Serpent’s Stout
11% ABV, 55 IBU
The Lost Abbey’s beers are never shy on flavor or intensity, and this certainly lives up to that expectation. It’s a big, bold, black beer that opens with forward scents of roasted malt, fudgy chocolate, raisin, prune and licorice. Those notes carry through to the flavorful but surprisingly approachable palate, with light carbonation and a pleasing astringency that lends a chewy texture to the finish. Flavors of caramel, molasses, burnt brown bread, fig paste and mocha espresso abound in the mouth, ending with a flourish of Bourbon-soaked oak.
The Hop Concept New Hop Smell
8.5% ABV
Uncomplicated hoppy beers from the people who know how to make them. This is the tagline of The Hop Concept, a new, third brand for the multifaceted production brewing arm that is Port Brewing Co. / The Lost Abbey. It’s a bold statement, but director of brewery operations Tomme Arthur and company have earned the right to be so self-assured. The Hop Concept’s quarterly release program received a new twist when New Hop Smell dropped mid quarter. Brewed with Lemondrop, Denali Galaxy, and Experimental Hop 06927 hop varietals, this IPA has a fruity, malty, grassy, citrus, hoppy floral aroma that transfers to the taste. Guess what? It has a fruity, malty, floral, hoppy, citrus finish.
Port Brewing High Tide Fresh Hop IPA
6.5% ABV, 60 IBU
Tomme Arthur grabbed enough fresh hop Simcoe and Amarillo to can his High Tide Fresh Hop IPA, which he ages in the can for a few months to help the hops blend seamlessly. The nose is still strong with green hops. It’s a citrusy IPA drenched in notes of tangerine and stone fruit from the judicious amounts of Simcoe and Amarillo hops, finishing with a crisp hop bite and a smooth piney finish, thanks to Centennial hops.
Port Brewing Wipeout
7.5% ABV, 78 IBU
Tomme Arthur’s version of a West Coast India Pale Ale brewed in the San Diego style; Wipeout IPA gets its attitude and flavor from Amarillo, Centennial, Cascade and CTZ hop varietals. While the hops are vibrant and dank, there is just enough pale malt to balance the resinous finish. It’s a classic West Coast Amarillo/C hopped IPA with fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/pine hops and moderate bready malt flavors with a aggressively bitter/drying finish.
