Red Poppy Ale
The Lost Abbey - The Tasting Room

375ml bottle poured into a snifter
No bottle date but as long as I've had this, I'm guessing that it is at least 8 years old

A- pours brown in color with a ruby hue, a one-finger foamy off-white head that reduces to a thin ring around the glass

S- aroma is predominately sour cherries with a lemony tart acidic undertone. Light notes of brown sugar, brown bread, orange oil, flowers & hint of vanilla and plenty of oak as it warms

T- puckering tart cherries up front with some acidic tartness that adds flavors of lemon & pear. Mid-palate brings out notes of red apple skin, brown sugar and some floral undertones. The finish brings out the oak, adding a woody compliment to the tart cherry that emerges again on the linger

M- light-medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a tart finish

Dark brown with a bit of red. There’s a fingernail of khaki brown on top. The aroma is of cherries and oak. I’m tasting cherries, oak, and tart brettanomyces. The mouth is moderately carbonated and dry.

 

 

12.7 FL. OZ. bottle
Served in a teku glass
2016

This beer pours a deep brown hue and has garnet highlights when held to the light. It is topped with a fleeting tan head that settles to a thin ring around on top of the beverage.

Tart cherry smell along with some brown sugar and some molasses and figs.

Sour cherry flavor with some earthy, oaky undertones. Sourness lingers

Thin body with a dryish mouthfeel

Nice sour beer

 

 

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!