Red Poppy Ale | The Lost Abbey

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured to a Post Scriptum taster glass.

A: The body is coppery to red and brown. A little bit dirty and hazy. The head is beige with a a good retention and some good lacing.
S: The aroma is totally overthrown by brett. There's some funky touches as well. There's some barleywine-y touch, like a spotless malt roasting.
T: The taste starts with a power funky touch, a bit boozy. There's a big brett flavour, peachy, pear-y like dryness. It's rich and flavourful.
M: Body is medium. Carbonation is perfect. Tartness is high. Alcohol is unnoticed.
O: It' a very interesting sour, although I guess Flanders is not my preferred style.

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3.94/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

4.37/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.24/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

3.85/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark burnt reddish-brown with a large beige foam that dies to a softer, creamy blanket with a thick, coral-esque collar.

Smell is oak, tart malic cherry, and deep, rich wood and toasted seeds.

Taste is nice and balanced, not as sharp as the nose suggests, with a cherry Oud Bruin essence, toasted brown bread and cracker, charred oak, and a lactic after taste.

Full bodied with a light froth and a dry finish.

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4.29/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.38/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

3.84/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Red Poppy is great if you are a Flanders Red fan. (Red Poppy is in the top-rated triumvirate of American renditions.)
But, I am not a Red Flanders fan (I've tried. Had 10; but the style has not grown on me.)
So, my rating is well-below the average. (Pay my buds no mind.)

With a billowing head it releases all its complexity and then settles down enough to drink. And I'm reminded of how difficult it is to blend sweet and sour into the same ale. Red Poppy does this well enough to enjoy with cherries and chocolate cookies for dessert. But that was separated from the meal by over an hour. So, the evening was a culinary success. But care is required to manage having a Flanders Red at meal-time.

Red Poppy is listed on "1001" and deserves to be there. It is an early stroke of excellence by American crafters interpreting this acquired taste.

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4.23/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

4.07/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into my Allagash tulip.

Look: Deep, dull copper, brown. Nice whitish tan head with lacing retained throughout drinking.

Smell: some Cedar and cherries. Slightest whiff of balsamic vinegar and some flowery/citrusy notes too.

Taste: Fresh bowl of sour cherries. Some oak notes--I think this beer is barrel aged in oak so this makes sense. Tart but not too overwhelmingly tart or sour. Pleasant and easy to drink, despite the oak presence this is very quaffable. Some lemon pith on the finish.

Feel: Very creamy full bodied beer. Would love to try this on nitro. Despite the full body, as stated earlier, this is very refreshing on a hot day.

Overall: I'm not sure where the poppy comes in to play on this beer--is it in the citrus notes? Despite that, this is very well crafted. I'm not sure I could justify buying another bottle given the price point, but this is an interesting take on a Flanders red. Not as vinegary tasting as the Belgian ones I've tried, but complex and enjoyable.

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4.21/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

4.38/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I'm generally not gung-ho for sours, but this is an excellent one - great balance of sweet malt and sour fruit, with a crispness that's tempered with heavier oak tones. Good stuff!

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4.06/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep dark reddish mahogany brown with an active two finger head of foam that dissipates to a light tan crown.

Sour cherries, oak, leather, and other dried fruit aromas.

Strong oak gives way to juicy and tart cherries.

Medium-bodied, high carbonation, tart, crisp, refreshing.

Overall, quite an enjoyable and easy drinking Flanders Red.

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4.54/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

4.31/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.51/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.15/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

4.3/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

4.29/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

3.74/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

3.65/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

4.08/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Mysterious and murky garnet color with quickly disintegrating head. Lots of lacing. Huge bowl of fresh picked cherries in an oak bowl. Oak explodes on the palette followed by tart cherries and citrus pith for a short lived pucker. Good carbonation and a dry finish. Nice take on a Flanders.

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