Lost Abbey Carnevale is ready for a summer party

Big news in the Walker household today. And by household I mean me and my beer, because David is in NYC. I changed phone providers and am now the proud owner of an iPhone 4. I have a first generation iPhone in my desk somewhere and I'm excited to rejoin all them cool kids with their fancy phones. Keeping in with the celebration, I'm popping a Carvevale Ale from Lost Abbey! Here's to acquiring as many free applications as I can possibly stomach.

Carnevale is a 6.5% saison/farmhouse ale that pours an enormous head several fingers thick. It smells musty and earthy and once I sloth through the foam I'm tasting one spicy dish. Herb and pepper notes dance around the barn with citrus flavors. What stands out is how much is going on, yet, the beer stays light and refreshing. My palate personally enjoys saisons much more when they're not very tart or fruity, and this has several flavors familiar to a belgian blonde, which I enjoy. It's incredibly drinkable and although they say it's a winter beverage (Carnevale is in February), this would be more suitable for a Mid Summer Night's Dream performance in the park. THE ROCK rating.

Lost Abbey Lost & Found is beer 350 but isn't the only big event of the night

Today is a milestone for our blog, but three particular noteworthy events happened tonight:

1. David and I enjoyed our 350th beer of the year
2. We hung out with our friend Cassie, who we haven't seen in at least 6 months
3. Someone was shot in our apartment complex

Whoa, whoa, what? Yeah...Let's start with the beer of the day.

The marked up calendar to the left will be our road map for the remaining 15 days. We've plotted out a few random brews, but for the most part we will be drinking 11 different trappist beers from 5 different breweries and some of the highest regarded beers in the world.

The Lost Abby Lost & Found was one of our favorite beers from our May San Diego trip. It is a Belgian Dubbel brewed with raisins and the label on the back serendipitously sums up why I, personally, started the blog - to give myself a renewed purpose and creative outlet - and in the process discovered a new community and passion for beer. On top of that, our friend Cassie is over sampling home brew and catching up on the last half year. It's getting all sorts of sentimental up in here, so let's drink to the Lost & Found.

Here is the label, which I'll type out below:

"A Life worth living is full of discovery and we are reminded everywhere there is opportunity. All it takes is desire to seek out and find those things, these moments and everything in between. We brewed Lost and Found Abbey Ale to pay homage to the great monastic breweries of Belgium. Like us, we hope you'll take the time to discover a beer that breathes aromas of figs, raisins and candied fruits. Please join us by raising your glass as we offer a toast to patience, perseverance, and all the things we have lost along the way and we somehow lucky enough to find once again."

The perfect beer to pour while reminiscing upon an incredible year with friends, right? This is an 8% dubbel. The raisins add a complexity to the dark fruit flavor not possible through using just grains and the result is a sublimely balanced beer between the dark fruit, sweetness and raisins. The carbonation creates a really crisp beer, nice Lost Abbey! This is a very unique beer and is something you should try. THE ROCK rating.

I could tell you I saved this beer for the 350th milestone months ago when it was purchased, or maybe that I planned this out on my chicken-scratch calendar pictured above a couple weeks ago, but then I'd be a big fat liar instead of a nerd and a gentleman

Truth is, this was all chance. I picked our beer tonight by looking into the refrigerator for a good 30 seconds and randomly selecting Lost Abbey. And fortuitously so, it was the perfect beer for the occasion. Like so many events this year, in particular the night before our halfway point, an experience that reminded me of our beereveryday mission in a unique way: Lips of Faith Erics Ale reunites me with old friends (the point I'm referring to is just under the beer picture).

My point is, you really don't know what's around the corner. We live in Marin del Rey, right on the water (as you can tell from many of our pictures). It's an extremely quiet community dominated by large complexes that are fairly disconnected from the energy of Venice. We also don't have any crime. Up until tonight I thought the Marina was Pleasantville. Right after we'd popped the bottle on the Lost Abbey, the three of us heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots (4-5 of them). The problem was, we couldn't tell you where they were coming from because everything echoes off the water. We go back to drinking, a little disturbed but unable to really do anything. Then we heard sirens.

I'm not gonna go into too much detail, but basically our complex sits above an open carport style garage and there's about 20 yards of asphalt in between the building and the sailboats for parking, specifically for boat owners. The woman was shot right by the car port on the other side of the complex, maybe 80 yards away. After the police and paramedics arrived, I went out on my balcony and if I peered through palm branches, could see her from the edge of my deck.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Woman-Shot-in-Robbery-Attempt-in-Marina-Del-Rey-126007118.html

Thankfully and luckily, she survived. What's really shocking about the experience, is how it happened. She gave the robber her purse and then was shot in the back while walking away. She did everything right and still got f**ked. Yikes. They still haven't caught the guy. Looking back I wish that I would've run out to the balcony and tried to glimpse the attempted murderer, but we had no idea where it was. There were people above us on the third floor who were asking us what was happening, and they had a better view of the street.

It's scary stuff and she was very fortunate the robber had horrendous aim and was only shot once. As you can see in the news photo, there were multiple bullet casings near the body. We the ambulance leave for the hospital and peering through its window, she didn't look good. Pretty soon we bid Cassie adieu, locked our doors sliding glass doors to the balcony and turned in.

Milestone 350: You never know what's around the corner, and if you lose something, maybe what you'll find will be something even greater.


That reminds me of...

“But that’s life. One minute you’re on top of the world, the next minute some secretary’s running you over with a lawn mower.”

                                                Season 3, Episode 3: “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency” 

Lost Abbey Inferno weclomes Karl and his gift of the world's highest rated beer

Our good friend and frequent drinking collaborator has brought back the Holy Grail of beers from his European trip, The Westvleteren 12 (and his two brothers). It is quite simply the highest rated beer on any beer review site Beer Advocate. Why is this such a HUGE deal? Why does we love Karl so much right now (as always)? Because it's virtually impossible to buy this beer in the United States.

I'm not yanking your chain. The abbey monks only brew a finite amount of beer per year (a number that hasn't changed since the 1946) and the demand is so high, they don't allow wide distribution of the beer. Karl had to rent a French car and drive out to the abbey in order to buy a case of the stuff.  Sales are limited to one order a month per person per license plate and phone number and they only distribute a few days a month. They only make 60,000 cases a year. From Wikipedia:

"Buyers of the beer receive a receipt with Niet verder verkopen ("Do not resell") printed on it. The abbey is very much against resale of their beer, and it is their wish that the beer is only commercially available at the two official sale points. To this end, any Westvleteren beer which is sold anywhere else in the world is grey market beer, as no wholesalers or pubs are supplied with the beer... In an interview with The Independent, monk Mark Bode explained that the abbey had no intention of increasing its production, despite demand: "We make the beer to live but we do not live for beer."

Can you imagine how sad we would be if Karl wasn't able to return with this rarity? Well, there was a close call during Karl's flight back. The windows were frosting up and Karl was worried there would might be catastrophe occurring in his luggage below. The luggage he received was soaked through. SHIT. Please be a Blonde, don't be a #12, please be a blonde, please be a blonde (not the first time you've said that, eh Karl?). Unfortunately, a beer had exploded. Fortunately, it was a blonde. Hip hip hooray! God was smiling upon Karl that day.

We're still contemplating whether we'll taste this next week or at the end of the year in celebration. In the meantime, how does the highest rated beer in the world taste to Karl? He describes it not as a mind-blowing/reality shattering beer, but it is the perfect execution of a belgian quad. As always, Karl is very eloquent and dead-on in his critique, and it serves as a very good reality check for something so highly revered and rated. Without knowing this, I would drink the beer with exorbitant expectations and I'm glad Karl steered my away from the mindset.

While Karl regaled us with stories of his travels to Paris, Bruges, and London, we thought it fitting to open a bottle of Belgian Strong Ale we bought during out San Diego trip, the Lost Abbey Inferno.

So many Belgians, so little time...

Karl's stories included drinking a Westvleteren 8 for breakfast, a Westmalle Trappist for lunch and a Rochefort 10 for dinner -  some of the world's greatest beers, all for under 4 Euro. Ridiculous. He spoke of the picturesque scene in Bruges, wine festivals in Bordeaux, crepes in Paris and schwag parties in London. Thanks Karl, for proving how awesome you are, can we drink some beer yet?

Lost Abbey was a brewery David and I weren't in love with before our San Diego trip, but we returned enthusiastic supporters. The Inferno smells and tastes like spicy yeast, bread and apples. The flavor is a strong golden ale with spicy notes and a bitter aftertaste. David compares it to Duvel but with an imperfect finish. The Inferno is a beer with character and I'd love for my daughter to marry him, but I'm not going to invite my the guy to poker night. TRANSFORMERS rating.

San Diego Brewery Trip Sunday and Port Brewing's Older Viscosity

 After some amazing Lemon Ricotta Pancakes at Torrey Pines (I finally know how a cloud tastes), we head to Stone. I've referenced the whole trip as being a pilgramige to Mecca, but if I were to chose a single brewery as THE Mecca, it'd be Stone. Stone is an landmark in the craft brewing world. They defined the current era of outrageously hoppy IPA's. 

Their ambitious beers are matched by an ambitious team, led by Greg Koch. I know their facility not only has brewery tours and a tasting, but a bistro and a bar - an entire operation. They are the only American craft brewer who is building a brewery in Europe (plan to start on a Belgian factory in August) to bring their beers to another continent. David and I tallied the beers we've drank this year by stone, and the number is 18, by far the most of any brewery. It's the only brewery we felt it necessary to tour.

Oddly, their are no signs marking the brewery and we actually drive past it the first time by. The path to the facility (above) is guided by stones and a jungle like atmosphere. Everyone agrees that it feels like a nature reserve.

I see bamboo like structures and hope there are pandas here. David and the parental units believe if any animal lived here, it would be Giraffes. Pandas are drunk on the time because they're allergeic to the only food they eat, eucalyptus, but whatever, Giraffes are cool if you're into eating the top of trees off.

Sadly , there are no animals but this scenery is spectacular. There is a big lot, maybe an acre big, that includes walkways through a botanical enclave. It's incredibly peaceful here and if I lived in the area I would find myself here often. Friend Lindsey B who we're meeting up later at Pizza Port said the Duck Tacos and Tilapia are amazing. Next time Walker, next time.

Getting tickets for the tour happens 2 hours in advance, on the hour, so we each sample a beer that we won't taste after the tour. I have a glass of Cali-Belgique, which as a Belgian IPA is my favorite beer style. David chooses a Sublimely Self-Righteous, a dark ale with a name only bettered by Stone's Arrogant Bastard. Mom and Dad split a Ruination IPA (Double IPA, intense!) and a Levitation, their amber ale. All are verified as delicious by the thirsty parties.

We hangout in their zen garden drinking until it's time to get a 2pm tour ticket. At noon the tickets are ours and we head to Lost Abbey/Port Brewing to kill the two hours before the tour. 

Lost Abbey/Port Brewing

We're coming to the brewery a day after Lost Abbey's 5th Anniversary party and even though Lost Abbey's brews have not been on David and I's favorites list, I'm glad they decided to stay open today because tasting their full selection flipped my opinion.

Here's what I sampled:

 

Red Barn - spiced saison made with ginger. Very intense spice but well balanced. David thinks this is interesting, but I'm not sold on it. He also wanted to have a child with Bruery's Gunga Galunga, a brew also made with ginger. I always thought David shared the same distrust for red-heads as me, but apparently his true colors showed through so I'm just gonna say it: Ginger Lover. We'll probably resort to fisticuffs after he reads this. Calling him that name is like telling your girlfriend she's fat in three different languages.

Judgment Day - a Belgian style quadruple with raisins. I really love this. The raisins mellow and sweeten beer. Love this strong but mellow fellow.

Older Viscosity - this is an Old Viscosity, an imperial stout, aged in whiskey barrel. At 12% alcohol, the flavor profile is rich dark chocolate and as Lost Abbey says, "a bit sludgy." Apparently, I love me some dark sludge. The alcohol is apparent but forgotten by its richness. I am doing this beer a disservice in describing it as a liquid chocolate beer, because it is so much more. It is simply phenomenal. BAD BOYS rating. I would buy a bottle to take back with me but it's $15 for a 375 bottle. That is what oilmen call 'black gold.'

For the next two bottles, we benefited from the disinterest of another customer. Someone's girlfriend said she didn't like most beers, so our server Molly, a salty and likable woman, took it as a personal quest to find a beer she licked. We were the beneficiary of two beers that weren't being poured today (their taps ran out during yesterday's celebration).

Inferno - strong belgian ale. It's sweet and malty, pretty damn good. Bought a bottle. 

Lost and Found - Belgian Dubbel with Raisins. This is a Last Judgment that's 'halved' (8%). Only, it's easier to drink than Judgment Day. It's not as complex but it's smooth and drinkability is high. This will rate highly when we officially review it. 

We tasted but tasted but not pictured - Shark Attack red ale, Avant Garde Beire de Garde, 5 year Anniversary, Hot Rocks German Brown Ale.

There were very few remnants that a huge anniversary party had taken place 24 hours earlier with over 900 attendees, except for a huge white board they allowed people to write all over. Below are pictures of several hilarious quotes it is necessary to share, for the sake of comedy and humanity.

Can't argue that quote. Also, love how Ewok is terriblly misspelled.

"Tactical Nuclear Penguin" HA

Their Christmas Ale is called "Santa's Little Helper." This is precious

HAHAHA

Platt and David have a staring contest.

 'SUP

Aww, Ma and Pa and Walker.

We traveled back to Stone for our brewery tour, which was led by the funny and knowledgeable Ken.

They use hundreds and hundreds of lbs of grain in each batch, as much as 1000 LB. I used 5.5 lbs in last week's partial mash.

Interesting fact I learned, craft brew in America didn't get started until Jimmy Carter's administration passed a law allowing homebrewing. So a tip of my hat to that fellow.

These fermentation tanks are massive. Those pipes going down into the white barrels you see are known to home brewers as 'blow off tubes.' The process stays the same, just the machinery and technology changes. As you can see by the various pipes in the above pic as well as the below, Stone has invested an incredible amount of money and energy into creating a very clean and efficient brewing system. David and I have never seen such a clean industrial place.

To give perspective, those cases of beers on the right are around 30 ft tall. The tanks behind them are at least 4.5 stories tall.

After the toured ended, we were lead to the first of four tasters. First one was Stone Pale Ale, followed by their IPA, Arrogant Bastard and the Smoked Porter.

My parents had to catch a flight, so we bid farewell to an incredibly wonderful weekend. It's so much to do these things with my parents, and I'm very fortunate they are this cool. And can hold their liquor. David and I stayed after the tour left and chatted up Ken, which in turn led to a free taste of their Russian Imperial Stout. Influenced by their awesomeness, we purchased a growler of Arrogant Bastard and on a suggestion from Ken, proceeded to a brand new brewery, Iron Fist.

The story of this brewery is a fascinating. The brewer is 21 years old. His parents were in real estate and the market tanked. Well, said their son, I make pretty good beer maybe we should do that? So the parents pump some money into a beer setup 7 months ago and their barely legal son brews beer. And guess what? It's pretty damn good! I'm impressed.

Renegade Blonde Kolsch style ale - I used kolsch yeast with great success in my honey wheat and so I'm pretty hot on beers made with it. Here they used caramel malts with great success to create a sweet but crisp (kolsch yeast) beer that doesn't belay a tartness found in kolsch yeasts. I think he really nailed the malt. David said one of the drawbacks is the use of a singular hop, which is an interesting note. But I loved this one and brought a bottle home.

Golden Age golden Strong Ale - it's sweet, yeasty, a very belgian-style beer that is tasty without trying to be more. It's really close to a Pranqster. The sophistication of this beer compared to the brewer's age, is really impressive.

Dubbel Fisted Dubbel Belgian - sweet caramle malt, light, very drinkable not complex - reminds me of a better version of the St. Clairvoux Sierra Nevada Dubbel collaboration, only better.


Iron Fist Oatmeal Stout - I've drunk a before at the Surly Goat and it's fantastic. The 'teenage version' of Port Brewing's Older Viscosity. It's pretty damn great. We bought a growler of it to take home.

This is definitely a family run business. The mom and dad poured our tasters. The brewer's wife refilled our pretzel bowl. The brewer himself was taking a break - in the back office playing Xbox (where men should be) - but he came out and shook everyone's hand a little later. As a family unit, this is their life. Working 7 days a week, brewing and promoting beer. This family believes in their product and live it. Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of energy and dedication. People ask if I'd ever want to brew for a living and it's something I've thought about.

Two brews we bought, they really awesome growlers

But...I'm basically of the perspective that it's a 50 week a year, 7 days a week and 10 hour a day job is not the lifestyle I want to have, at least right now. Entrepeneurs have to live and breathe their product, and I'm not ready for that. Maybe when I make phenomenal beer that I'm so incredibly passionate about that I will never want to stop sharing it with the world every hour of my life, then I will change my mind. But still, watching this family interact highlighted the qualitative positives of working together all the time I hadn't thought of. There is something to say about a family spending time together and the joy of creating something together. Something to ponder whilst I wonder.

One side of their tasting room was one big doodle bored and it kinda highlighted the shared experience that could happen. That and hilarious dragons and the octopus from the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

We'll be back here soon and I'll be damned if I don't add something inappropriate to their wall.



Pizza Port Carlsbad - this is the capital of the Pizza Port restaurant chain. Bigger than the others and they have a pretty impressive beer bottle shop next door.

Beers on tap.

An old college friend Lindsey B lives in the area and stopped by while we enjoyed some pizzer and There & Here Belgian golden - which was crisp and delicious.

After a little while Lindsey left and we were chatted up by some evangelicals, who were nice but definitely pushed their agenda a bit. I wanted a beer before hitting the road, so I went to the bathroom and ordered a hoppy pale ale. Then chugged it outside the men's room, because looking like an alcoholic frat boy in the present company, I just didn't have on my agenda.


Back home, we celebrated our bounty from the breweries and the Carlsbad Bottle Room.

I know right?!! Awesome. No better way to end a weekend than killing a growler of Arrogant Bastard and catching up on SNL, which featured an Ace and Gary skit and was hilarious.

And that's how you end an incredible weekend. Thanks parents and David for being awesome, this was an incredible post birthday weekend and it couldn't of gone better. To beer!

Lost Abbey Devotion inspires me to do exactly that - next time

I have 10 minutes to run into the Surly Goat before grinding my way through Hollywood traffic for a free screening of HOP (not a documentary on my favorite beer component, Hops, but rather that Easter Bunny movie starring Russell Brand). It's hard to say NO to anything with FREE in the subject line, even after college.

9 minutes and counting, the quarterback is going with a hot route and looking for some Devotion from the Featured Beer board.

I see many Lost Abbey beers but have never really tried them. The Devotion is a Belgian Pale Ale with 6.25% alcohol. 7 minutes and counting. It has a hefty belgian body and it's kinda how I expect the movie to go - mellow and relatively smooth, pleasing with your standard doughy notes.


3 minutes. Towards the end, I'm realizing how sweet it is and I'm picking up some great spice. The spice saves this beer and makes it different from other Belgian Pales. I'm glad I slowed down and was able to taste it. I like this brew, it's worth taking a glass on it. TRANSFORMERS rating.

(I was totally on time for the flick but wasn't a fan of it. Guess I finally grew up and I'm not a Toy-R-Us kid anymore)