Pizza Port Mother of All Beers

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

This was the biggest beer made at Pizza Port, and sadly it is no longer made. A deep reddish-brown pour with a thin tad had. Lots of malt, sugar, and dark fruit in the aroma. The flavour was a complex mixture and malty and fruity sweetness with a good hoppish kick in the pants to finish.

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

Pours a cloudy brown with a decent head. The aroma is of dates and brown sugar. It has a fairly malty flavor with a bit of heat from the alcohol. This is just Ok.

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

This Belgian quad pours a deep mahogany color from a 750ml bottle. Large sized white foamy head. Aroma is dark fruit, cherries, brown sugar, candi sugar, yeast and chocolate. A medium to full bodied quad. Malts are fruity, caramel, chocolate and sweet. Some roasty malts as well. Very complex, there is earthy and wood, floral and tartness. The lactic/tart/sour flavor intensifies as it warms but then so does the chocolate maltyness and the dark fruits. Add the cherries and oak aging and I can see where this beer becomes the nectar that CdeT is. Lively carbonation. Hides the 11.5% alcohol well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter and tart.

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

A beer that I've had around in my cellar for quite a while now -- a little over a year ago I purchased two 750's of this from the Pizza Port (Solana Beach). On bottle was shared with the Foam On The Brain crew around the Vail Lake campfire at the 2005 Southern California Homebrewer's Festival. Was enjoyed by all, but I confess not to have much more than a hazy recollection of that sampling! Kinda forgot about the other bottle, until May 2006 rolled around, and I dug this out of my so-called cellar for another campsite drinkable. Never got around to popping this one open this year, so brought it back from Temecula, and enjoyed it all for myself on a quiet Friday night.

First of all, the bad news with this beer. Not sure I dig the chalky dryness in the middle and the backend of this beer, or in the mouthfeel all around. No deal-breakers here, for sure, but definitely something I have a hard time ignoring, too.

But, that having been said, the rest of the story is all thumbs up, IMO. Love the intricate flavor profile of this one, with something of a "mellow chutney meets raisin meets fig newton meets cumin" aspect to the character of the beer, that really does bring up more questions than it answers. In short, a very nice winner here...!

Hard seeing this being the base beer of the infamous Cuvee de Tomme, since this beer (without any special tricks) is no slouch of a beer in it's own right. Kind of a shame it's such a rarity to see this beer in it's rawest state. This would be a very worthwhile addition to the "Lost Abbey" series, IMHO. Recommended.

Music: Spiritual Beggars' "Ad Astra"
//TB

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

This beer was sampled at the 12 Hour Belgian Beer Festival 2005 in Pizza Port Carlsbad and comes courtesy of CQuiroga. This beer pours a cloudy murky brown color with a soapy head and a little lacing on the sides of the glass. The aroma smells sticky with caramel, twigs, oak, wood and alcohol present. The flavor is full bodied and medium in carbonation level. The flavor is solid with sweet hints of caramel and vanilla with hints of dark fruit, balanced nicely by oak hints and those hints of carbonation. Definitely a beer that could get very good with aging. Dry finish, sweet but oaky

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

on tap, pizza port solana beach reddish brown body, one finger creamy head, The flavor has lots going on: tangy, sweet, vinuos, w/ a dry finish

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

This was my first ever Pizza Port beer. I had heard a lot of good things about them, so when I saw it at Monks Cafe on draught, I had to try it. Unfortunately, I was let down. Making a quadrupel is a very daring task to undertake, yet most of the ones I've tried were very good, though probably because they're usually by experienced brewers. With that being said, I found it tough to give this a very good review. Appearance was quite good, with a dark red-brown color, a thin tan head and some lacing. Aroma was not inspiring for a quad. Dark fruit, pear, yeasty, very malty and some off banana flavor with lots of alcohol in the aftertaste. Can't blame some of that for a beer of 11%, but I really think it needed to sit and mellow out. Had a full bodied, creamy texture that could probably improve over a few years.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Draft... Poured a prunish red color with a small, light tan, creamy head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of black cherries, dried fruits, yeasty brett, and cheese. Taste of chocolate, dried fruits, light smoke, alcohol, and a short dry finish.

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

Bottle from the Rare Beer Club. Hazed rust colored brown. Small thick tan head. Nose is dark fruits (black cherries, plums), flowers, yeast notes, light spice, and hints of wood. Taste is more dark fruit, but leaning towards black cherries and maybe a hint of blueberry, lots of yeasty notes, blooming flower bed, light wood, lots of spice, and a hint of caramel. Light toasty malt notes as well. Very complex and rich. Full bodied and very carbonated feel to it. Lots of dry spots in this as well. Finishes with more dark fruitiness, yeast, stronger wood notes, light caramel, more flowery notes and light toasted breadiness. Nice beer!

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

Pours with a dark brown body topped by a medium thick head with great lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and malty with notes of caramel and dark fruit, as well as, notes of yeast. The flavor is similar with an added roastiness. Full bodied, yet smooth and a touch dry.