Ghosts In The Forest
The Lost Abbey - The Tasting Room

At the Church before heading over to Petco. Lots of oak barrel, big round woody nose that adds good things to the taste. Green apple that brings a little pucker, slight strained citrus juiciness, and some gentle floral orange blossom. Nicely balanced beer with modest complexity….extremely pleasant to sit and sip.

Home (Chicago, Illinois) 6/6/26. Can Notes: Purchased at store temperature in Beer on the Wall Park Ridge on April 18, 2026 for $13.10 including tax. Refrigerated upon bringing home until opening this afternoon. Oak-Aged Wild Ale, 6% ABV 12 oz undated can. Serving temp 40-45 F. Ghosts in the Forest brewed & canned by The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, California.

There's an aura of mystery that occurs when we close the doors to our barrel room. No one can say for sure what happens each night but it's obvious there are spirits [ghosts if you will] working their magic. We're not sure how many inhabit our oak forest. At present there are five large foeders and more than 1200 oak barrels for them to hide in, around, and behind.

To this day, no one has managed to see one during the day, but our night time brewers hear whispers and the sensation of unnerving drafts of win arriving out of thin air. It's as if the ghosts want to be seen or at a minimum acknowledged. After 11 years, we felt it was time to give them their due.

Appearance: New full can pour into a tulip glass yields a creamy full bright white head over golden yellow unfiltered base yielding heavy sustained carbonation. Generous creamy and soapy lacing, some dark brown floaters at the bottom. 4.5

Aroma: Funky full lemon and citrus backed by nice oak character plus wet horse blanket. Full strength, yes please! 4.50

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, tart lemon front and center, citrus and oak follow. Very strong focused taste pleasurable on my end. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Sustained slightly prickly carbonation. Drinks nice and easy. Tart lemon drops start to finish, tartness and light vinegar help balance out bursting lemon citrus sweetness. Excellence 4.75

Overall: Another great selection from The Lost Abbey. They do a great job, and despite the pricey can, this is a great value and excellent selection for those wanting a lemon citrus wild ale experience. Really need to hit their brewery next time in the area. 4.75

6/6/26 NBW #307, WBAYDN #4978.

 

On-draught @ The Church San Diego.

B / GOOD

Copenhagen 18/8 2019. 37,5 cl bottle from Mikkeller Web-shop. Lost Abbeys usual label design which looks like a Church window and a painting of ghost rummaging around a giant Oak Barrel on the label.

Pours unclear golden yellow with a small white head. Fairly stable. Settles as thin, patchy layer of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is strong, intensely sour with a nice fruity sweetness underneath. Light funky notes. Unripe, tart berries, green apples and citrus. Vinegar. Light odor of sweet fruit with a touch of sugar lurking.

Strong carbonation. Slightly thick, prickly yet soft texture.

Flavor has a light sweetness followed by a strong, acerbic sourness. Aftertaste is sour. Lingers for a while. Finish is dry.

Good, strong, vinous beer with a light touch of oak and funk.

Apple juice color, no head. Sour/horseblanket aroma. Some lemon and fruit with a strange black pepper finish. Very tart, very funky. Slightly flat. Not my thing.

Hazy yellow.Good-looking, white head. Oak, lemon, and other fruits in a slightly funky aroma. Balanced tartness in taste. Notes of wood, lemon, and herbs.

Bright gold, ample foam, spotty lace. Oak and lychee aroma and taste, sharp white wine vinegar on the back end. Lightly effervescent, touch of clover honey. Not bad, first new Lost Abbey for me in a long while.

Gold in color with exceptional clarity. As I poured the bottom of the can in it became cloudy. There’s a fingernail of off white around the rim and covering three quarters of the top. Moderate, soapy lacing. There’s aroma is of tart green apple and oak. I’m tasting Granny Smith apple and oak. The mouth is moderately carbonated and crisply refreshing.

 

Released February 2023; drank 8/13/24 @ the Yarchives.

Mostly see-through dull orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice white head; strong, frothy lacing remained.

Tart lemon & wood notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Tart lemon & well-preserved book flavors.

A bit too biting for me, but still a well-made wild ale. I'd have another.

No vintage information indicated on bottle or elsewhere; consumed on 7/18/2024

Pours a semi-foggy, dirty orange body topped with a finger of pillowy, eggshell-white foam; mediocre head retention leaves a paper-thin layer of cap, a wavy, frothy collar, and modest spattering of webby/soapy lacing clinging around the walls of the glass.

Aromas of expansive lactic funk settle to waxy rubber undertones, with a citric counterbalance of orange zest finding peach undertones and baked apple subtleties appearing over time.

Taste features funk popping effortlessly, accompanied by a slightly oaky must and orange zest into the mid-palate, where a level, lactic overtone trends to white vinegar in the distance and white wine finishes.

Mouthfeel brings a light body and modest fluff of carbonation, with an expansive tartness coating a moderate-high acidity to a refreshing twang on the finish.

Acidity trends high, though remains nicely tempered as zesty funk takes on an understated, orchard fruit inflection; intermittently high intensity yet consistently refreshing throughout.

 

a: some chill haze on this golden copper color, with a slight hint of burnt orange and some yellow at the bottom of the glass. poured a 1 finger white head that faded extremely quickly to nothing more than a thin film on the edge of the glass

s: quite a pungent vinegar and lemongrass hit right away. some earthy sweetness and big oaky presence behind that. lemons and a bit of horseblanket funk. dry finish on the nose

t: sweet lemon juice and vinegar dominate. some earthy funk and a bit of brett as well. dry crackers and a nice mild oak note which helps to balance some of the acidity. still very acidic though

m: lighter side of medium with high carbonation

o: well-made Wild Ale. oak is a nice touch, but it is very acidic still

 

Poured from 12.7-ounce bottle into a champagne flute. Hazy amber-colored body, with a center pour yielding a good three fingers of white head that eventually settled to a cap. Aromas of sour fruit and funk dominate. The sourness is almost overpowering, vinegary and citrusy in character. There is quite a bit of tannic astringence from the oak that culminates in a bitter and dry finish. The alcohol is quite prominent for the ABV, moreso after the beer warms from fridge temp. I might like a do-over on this after it has been cellared for a year or two. As it stands, though, this sample exhibited quite a bit of harshness that was not at all pleasant.

12.7oz bottle purchased off the shelf. No bottled on date and not sure when this was released.

Look: Pours a deep golden color, almost copper copper-colored, with nice clarity. Bubbles are slowly yet consistently rising up. There was a nice head that fizzled to almost no head, just a ring around the glass. After pouring the sediment at the end, it became quite hazy.

Smell: Smells very acidic and oaky - there's a nice toasty, wood aroma that also kind of smells like roasted nuts (I get hazelnuts, sometimes walnuts). Funky, lot of sulfurous notes that seem to be blowing off.

Taste: Wow, that's delicious. It is definitely acidic. However, that acidity is tempered and held in check by the oak aging that really rounds out the finish on this beer. Up front, it's super lemony with lots of lactic acidity and mouth-puckering sourness. But that strong acidity finishes with a more mellow acidity with a very nice toasty flavor that is very comforting and pleasant.

Feel: The mouthfeel is medium bodied, slightly creamy. The oak aging gives the mouthfeel a nice, mild chewiness. Perfectly carbonated.

Overall: Very well-made oak-aged wild ale. It's really tasty. The sour beer combined with the toasty flavors imparted from the oak barrels is done with masterful expertise. The tannins within this beer are so well-integrated and done with such restraint, it really works in harmony together with the sour, wild ale.

 

Fairly big pop. Pours a pale gold, with some white foam. Smells slightly sour, very oaky, some white grape. Nicely soft mouthfeel, just enough carbonation. Taste is pretty sour, but not very sharp. Some nice funkyness, good bunch of oak, and tart citrus.

Look: Pours a hazy yellow. Has decent head that dissipates over time. Lacing is moderate. Yeast floaties are prevalent but not in the weird, flakey way.

Aroma: A pungent smell of brett funk with hints of sour lemon.

Taste: Overwhelming taste of brett with lemon and maybe hints of grassiness. Lovely, especially as it warms up.

Feel: High carbonation. That's about all I can say with this one because I have a horrible time deciphering bodies of a beer...

Overall: Delightful, flavorful, special in many ways. I'd get again, but only for special occasions because I am not made out of money...