Red Poppy Ale
The Lost Abbey

 

I'm not usually the biggest fan of sour beers, but this one is exactly hits the jackpot where it is sour but not too sour. Some Brett funk mixed with the acidity of the cherries makes this an excellent beer for the fall season after a nice hike into the woods.

Tart cherry flavor with good carbonation. 2 finger lasting head.

 

 

1900
Name: Red Poppy
Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Location: San Marcos
Style: Barrel-Aged Wild Ale
ABV: 6.5%
Date:
I have searched for this beer for quite a while; I stumbled upon it about two years ago. Climbing to 1900 reviews should be something special to drink. I have been wanting to drink this and Cable Car. Using a tulip glass, I served the beer at around 48 degrees. The pour created an off-white frothy one-fingered head with poor retention. The quick dissipation left no lacing on the glass. Looking at the murky color in the cup, I would chart it around SRM 26, dark rusty brown. The appearance is about average for this style.
Nosing the glass, I smell barnyard, cherries, horse blankets, fruity sweetness, acidic acid, wine, oak, and a fruity tartness.
I taste tart jammy cherries, barnyard funk, straw, oak, acidic acid, winey, slight fruity sweetness, herbal, lightly floral, and yeasty.
The mouthfeel is puckering and tart, finishing dry. The body is medium with a medium-plus carbonation.
This is a fantastic beer! The cherries are bright, vibrant, and tart, with a wild yeasty flair. This could be too much pucker power for some people, but I find it delightful. I would love a few more bottles of this and let it age for several years to see if the pucker power is tamed. Overall, great beer; glad I got to consume it.

 

2013 vintage.

The nose is fantastic; oak & jammy cherry; puckering. The palate hits with sour cherry, medium tannin, and dry oak. Carbonation is completely gone, which is a shame. Without it, that acid comes on a little too strong. Opened to honor our daughter, Poppy!

2022 vintage. Can to wine glass.

L: Pours a minimally reddish muddy brown with a foamy beige head that leaves plenty of lacing. Lots of fine floaters.

S: Ripe sour cherries and poppy seeds. Yeasty, funky and slightly vinegary.

T: The sweeter notes are less present than in the smell, but they are definitely there in a fresher form. Tart, yeasty and very earthy. Hints of fruity red wine.

F: Quite soft and smooth despite its strong carbonation.

O: Very good American take on a classic Belgian style. Fresh and fruity with the barrel coming through really nicely. Great balance. Subtle complexity. Already looking forward to try some older vintages.

 

Red Poppy pours a vibrant ruddy brown color with a massive tan head that dissipates quickly and unevenly, producing a short-lived rocky effect that’s quite pretty while it lasts before leaving a film-like cap, a thick crown and some spotty strands of lacing.

It has a nice aroma of vinegar and cherry with both leather and some slightly creamy notes behind.

That great vinegary Flanders quality continues to the taste, with the edges nicely rounded by the fruit and perhaps by age. There’s a definite red wine element to it also, which provides some depth I enjoy. The taste closes with a fairly tart, drying finish that lets just a little of the cherry juice linger.

The feel’s medium bodied and soft with soft carbonation.

This is a really well-made beer. The cherry doesn’t pop as much as, say, Alexander, but it’s a pleasant undercurrent throughout and counteracts the acidity. Can’t really say what the poppy seeds added, but they certainly don’t detract from the beer in any way.

I couldn’t find a clear bottling date anywhere on here, but there’s a raised, unobtrusive “19” on the glass, making me think that’s when the bottle and/or beer was made.

Purchased in November 2021 from HopHeads in Altona, on the outer western edge of Melbourne, in Australia. Drunk in July 2022.

Pours a bright burgundy colour. There's no evident carbonation and no head.

The nose is strongly sour cherry and balsamic vinegar. There are hints of vanilla. The aroma already has my mouth watering, but it's already presenting as something that's going to be overwhelmingly sour and acidic. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it...

The taste, oh my, the taste. It's bracing. It's like the first time I had a Warhead lolly, with an immediate reaction of "wow, that's sour". In fact, it's extremely sour, like a mouthful of sour (Morello) cherries. There's also a sharp, dry kick at the end. As it warms it mellows slightly but develops tannic notes and grape or cherry skin highlights, to the point it begins to resemble a red wine, but with a residual vinegar aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is sharp, and it's almost stinging on the way down. Not terribly enjoyable for mine.

Overall this is too sour and then too much like I'm drinking a glass of red wine. I've read a number of reviews and none seem to mirror the harshness of my experience with the beer, which was not an enjoyable one. Maybe I had a bad bottle or it had been treated poorly before reaching me? Not sure, but I can only go on my evidence.

Cheers!

 

 

2022-05-08
Skinny can served in a little glass.

Pours dark purple-red. Small head, lots of carbonation. Smell is moderate wood, a little cherry skin.

Taste is tart, cherry, tannic. Some fruit skin bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light. Overall, pretty good.

 

 

Pours a ruddy amber auburn. Light aroma, with a faint cherry tinge. Lightly tart, sharply effervescent, completely delicious.
Tried this with at least a year and change on it, possibly a lot longer. Held up well.

 

Not able to try Lost Abbey often, but this was gifted me in a recent Can-Cans BIF so I got to try it.
Mixed reaction, glad to be drinking it, bummed I can't go to the store and buy any around here.
But that's not a review-
Poured from 12 oz "stovepipe" can into a stemless teku glass. Color brown, like a strongly brewed iced tea, but the tan head that quickly builds and faded to mere lacing assures me this isn't tea.
The aroma is definitely cherry forward, but backed by malts of unknown origin. Unexpected but very pleasant.
Taste leaves everything I experienced with this beer in the rear view. Tart cherries strongly edge a malty base and combine in a way I've never experienced in a sour before. Really something. And really good!
Feel is tingly, but not from carbonation. crisp and smooth, how that's simultaneously done I may never know.
Good beer. Bummed its only 12 oz now.