Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Rated Nov. 2008. 2007 vintage 0.75L bottle picked up at the brewery January 2008. Pours hazy copper to orange with thin tan head. The aroma is fruity and herbally with fresh meadow, light colored fruitiness, flower pedals, bushes and shrubs. I guess I’m smelling myrrh. A moderate level of alcohol on a full draw is detectable too. The taste is much the same but starting with hop tart bitterness moving into a variety of light colored fruitiness that are melded together and tough to discern. Floating above those notes are herbal fresh flowered shrubs. It gets fruity into the finish and some light colored fruity tartness hangs on into the after taste.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

The sample I got fizzed like champagne, so have a towel ready! What did come out was a barely transparent warm golden brown with a very thick and fluffy, and somewhat persistent, light tan head. Aroma is malty and fruity, the latter mainly pear with a little apple, and inviting if not strong. Malty, fruity flavor has an earthy undertone and quite a fierce alcohol bite for 10% ABV. Sorry, a point off there. Full-bodied texture is edgy and a little tingly. OK, not exactly golden (maybe frankincense or myrrh?) but still a worthy brew.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Honey brown no cap, just a sad pathetic looking bubble island floating in the middle. Mild funk in the nose, pear, mild sour, vinegar but not, my blond friends says he smells honey…..i do not but I’m trying. Beer not to complicated fairly straight up flavours, breadiness, pears, hints of funk with never becoming funky, wood, sourish but not, something I’ll call dark lemon. I taste some astringent……to bad. Whatever good beer not mind blowing like I thought it would be though, easy to drink.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

1 pt. 9.4 fl. oz. corked bottle, vintage 2009, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Reddish colour, big off-white head. Aroma of slightly stale berry jam, also some "horseblanket" notes of brettanomyces. The flavour is very sweet with berry fruit and some vinous notes, moderately spicy, noticeable alcohol, distinct hoppy and spicy bitterness in the finish. Warming mouthfeel.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

I was excited to try this for some reason? .. Pours a hazy dark yellow brown .. foam was everywhere .. . muddled sweetness with a background spice? .. a weird beer that doesn't know what it is ...or rapies..

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled@Chriso Gaylord Tasting. Amber colour, small beige head. Aroma is spices, earth, herbs some slight yeastyness as well as mild fruityness. Flavour is quite much the same in a rather nice balance. Tasty.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Poured a nice darker orange color with big foamy head. Aroma was bready, caramel a tea smell as well. Flavor followed well balanced little bit of a acidic mouthfeel. Good beer to try.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

compared to the only other Biere De Garde I've ever had, also a lost Abbey (Avant Garde), this was was bigger, hoppier, maltier, heavier, tastier, and just way more complex. The Bret was there, but not predominant. That's what I ended up liking the most from this beer, the equal parts malty sweetness, hop bite, funky yeast, and alcohol kick...which was definitely there at 10%. This may be the barleywine of beire de gardes. poured a cloudy dark orange color, similar to some West Coast Barleys with the exception of the hughe amounts of yeast on the bottom of the bottle, with a very thin white head. The aroma is hoppier than the taste, although you still get some malt and fruit/spice from the yeast...and alcohol. the flavor is full and fairly complex...expertly balanced. Dry spicy hoppy lingering finish. Kind of an odd beer, but good nonetheless. May have to get another to age. This was an '08 vintage.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This was a very earthy brew. Smells of earth and spice when poured. A bit too cloudy for me on the pour with a good amount of head. Mouthfeel was a bit weird, it did not hurt the beer, but it was different for some reason. When talking to the brewer He did tell me there was Frankincense and Myrrh in the beer. How cool is that? Pretty F'N Cool.... Good beer don't know what it was about the palate??
Food Paring Roasted Acorn Squash Soup with Thyme Croutons and Caramelized apples

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml bottle. Pours an amber orange with a white head that quickly goes to a thin collar.

The aroma is hard to pin down - sweet malts, some bretty yeast, a little fruit and some spices and bubblegum.

The flavor is similar to the aroma. Some sweet sugary/buttery malts, a little acidic yeast, some spices (pepper) and a decent amount of bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation.

Overall, an interesting Belgian.