Saint's Devotion | The Lost Abbey

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This Belgian pale ale pours a slightly opaque light coppery color with a thin but very effervescent head. The smell is a little sour and of cherries, there is also a slight champagne like aroma. There is a slight sour flavor to the beer from the brettanomyces yeast, but this is by no means a full on sour beer. There is a bready flavor with hints of cherry, apple, and a little sweetness, that quickly finishes with a very abrupt kind of hoppy, extremely dry finish that is also reminiscent of champagne. I really never buy Lost Abbey beers because they are very expensive, but when I visited the brewery it was perhaps my favorite brewery in San Diego for beer quality alone. Mostly, I think because they have a lot of intense and very unique beers, which is my M.O. This is a very unique beer. I find sour beers sometimes a little too sour and too much like a wine instead of a beer. I like the initial flavor of this because it’s like a toned down sour beer. The aftertaste is too abrupt though and too dry for me, and although you get kind of used to it, it still detracts from the beers overall enjoyability. Not a bad beer, but definitely a little disappointing for a Lost Abbey beer.

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3.5/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear golden color with a small off-white head fading away. Aroma has a lot of farmhouse funk, really earthy. Taste is quite simple compared to the aroma. It's somehow earthy, with strong olive notes but not much else. Slightly bitter on the aftertaste but not really dry. Not bad but the beer lacks some flavors and complexity. Also the carbonation is almost missing.

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3.83/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

*Transcribed by notes.*
The beer pours a fairly vigorous and fluffy white head. The beer itself is a clear gold color that looks nice.

The beer smell has a nice hoppy aroma. The hops are certainly bitter but balanced by a sugar note and tartness that I hope is the Brett.

The beer taste is pretty interesting. It's a mix of tartness with floral hops and various spices. Also, a fairly funky aftertaste.

The feel is crisp with a dry finish .

Overall, interesting taste.

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4.3/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

We're thinking this is a 2012 bottle. Enjoyed July 2015.

Appearance: Hazy yellow.

Aroma: Touch of hay, medium+ stonefruit and pear brett character.

Flavor: Follows aroma but less intense.

Mouthfeel: Crushable, medium carbonation.

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3.9/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The look is decent. Hoping for a little more head and lacing but decent enough. The aroma is outstanding. Definitely the best characteristic of this beer. The taste again is accurate to style but doesn't blow me away. Though it is definitely solid. Feel is again decent to solid. Overall, I would get this again because it is a solid description of the style and the aroma is outstanding. Cheers!

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4.09/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Hazy blonde with a puffy stiff white head. 4
Lemon, a touch of Brett, and flowers on the nose - mild. 3.75
Neutral dough sweetness, slight barnyard tang, peach, lemon, and some herbs. 4.25
Light, round, smooth. 4

Light and summery. Wouldn’t have guessed Brett - it gives a slight edge of piquancy, but nothing more. The skill is in the subtlety here. 4.25

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4.13/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I'm not always in the mood for a bretty beer, but when I am I want it to be a BRETTY beer, and Saint's Devotion does not disappoint. Smell is Brett funk, green apples, raspberries. Taste is very funky, bitter, some anesthetic taste and lots of fruit and citrus. Feel is light cool and refreshing.

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4.24/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a Haw River Farmhouse Ales teku glass. Bottleneck says 2013.

A- Pours a medium amber color with a 1/2 inch fluffy off-white head that retains well before becoming a thick ring around the edge of the glass and a mostly full sheet of sheer surface foam. Semi-resilient lacing leaves a broken ring behind.

S- Nice Brett forward aroma brings notes of green apple, pineapple and a hint of green olive.

T- Solid Brett funk in the taste lingers good and long leading to a dry finish. Tangy with some flashes of alcohol here and there.

M- Tight and snappy with medium carbonation and a lightish body.

O- A great example of a well-made Brett beer. I really want to try a fresh bottle of this since I could see the particular Brett character working well with the hops. Alas, the bottle was this old when I found it on the shelf. Hasn't developed poorly in the bottle since the Brett was able to let go over time but the hops sure have faded to almost nothing.

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4.24/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - Beautiful color, not enough head. Gold with a faint orange hue. Head retention is a bit disappointing.

Smell - Lots of brettanomyces on the nose. Nectarines, fermented apricot, coriander, cider/ apple, lemon, weird grassy/ barnyard funk, white bread and limes,

Taste - Lots and lots of brettanomyces! Plenty of interesting and 'off-flavors' to throw your palate off and wonder what it is you're tasting. Straw, hay, dry hops, horse blanket, barnyard funk, apricot, limes, candi sugar, cannabis oil, lemon, orange, lemongrass and more. Delicious.

Mouthfeel - Very bitter on the finish in a pleasant way. Zippy and well carbonated, despite its appearance.

Overall - Excellent, excellent, excellent. The brett really makes this pale ale shine. Perhaps more similar to a Farmhouse/ Saison than a Belgian Pale Ale, but nonetheless, it is incredible. Reminds me a bit of Orval, just not as complex and intense. I just wish could get my hands on more!!

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4.75/5  rDev +20.3%

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a goblet on 06.01.14.

A: Cloudy orange with yeast. 1/2 finger white head.

S: Mandarin orange, apple juice, cherry and red grape. Very sweet and fruity.

T: Pear, apple, cherry, banana, and bubblegum dominate. Funk, chalk, and candy are more subtle.

M: Crisp, bubbly, dry, and chewy.

O: This was an amazingly complex belgian pale ale. I don't normally like sour or funky beers, but this one is excellent. I probably liked this one because the funk is not overpowering, but is slight and adds to the complexity on the back end.

Rating: A

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4/5  rDev +1.3%

12.7oz corked bottle. pours a golden orange hue with a medium lasting white fluffy head, good lacing. Aroma of Belgian yeast, ripe apples and pears and some mild spicy fruit esters. Taste is o f Belgian yeast mild sour and tart fruity flavors, ripe fruity notes and spicy hops bitterness. A medium crisp body with moderate lively effervescence carbonation. Has sweet mild yeast tartness fruity with some mild spicy hops bitterness on the end for balance. A very good and tasty brew

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4.75/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a tulip glass.
Aroma- Has a strong fruit aroma, very pleasing.
Appearance- this is a murky orange color with a small white head. looks great
Taste- the fruit flavor really comes through, very nice
Palate- A medium bodied beer with moderate to heavy carbonation has a great crisp feel.
Overall- A wonderful beer, must try.

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3.79/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale orange-tinged gold. Head is bubbly, off-white, clumpy lace left behind. Very cloudy too; pretty nice.

Smells tasty. Wild and Bretty with some tart vinegar, light citrus but balanced with a lovely pale malt with a big vanilla edge. Possibly oak. Very good.

Taste is hugely oaky, possibly to a fault. Lots of vanilla, coconut and butter, developing a slight clovey and aniseedy flavour towards the back. Slight touch of rubber on the finish is the only real culmination of the nose; otherwise just sweet and oaky. Refreshing enough though.

Fluid, bit of dryness; decent texture overall.

Kind of the opposite experience to what I had with Russian River's Temptation. Smelled tart, tasted sweet. Not bad either way, but I wouldn't mind a bit more cleansing tang or something on the palate.

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3.7/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured from bottle into Duvel glass

A - golden with a very thick dense head. Well carbonated

S - funky Belgian yeast, bananas, fresh fruits, slight grassy citrus hop

T - sharp Brett yeast, liquorice, cherry ending with a bitter grassy hop finish and some alcohol kick

M - very carbonated, finishes quite dry

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3.9/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour is transparent golden amber with a tight fluffy off white head. Nose is lime, green apple, and tropical fruit. Taste is fairly clean, strong lime with some tropical fruit notes. Brett presence is faint, slightly Cobb webby, with a hint of underlying grain. Carbonation is fairly strong, body is pretty light.

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4.03/5  rDev +2%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Bomber poured into a Duvel tulip glass: pours very hazy yellow gold color with a massive 3 finger puffy/foamy snow white head that was full of bubbles of all sizes, as well as active carbonation with bubbles racing up the brew; the head faded extremely slowly and left an incredible Devil’s Canyon looking mountain structure in the middle as the foam around the outside dissipated faster than the foam in the middle. An incredible looking beer, really nice to look at as it left excellent foamy lacing coating the sides as it went down. The second pour looked just as great as the first half of the bottle.

Smells like yeast funk, floral hops, lemon zest, citrus fruit, cardboard, coriander, light grapefruit, rye bread, dry grass, pepper and some other light spices. It has hints of bread/malt, but the light spices and soft floral hops stood out the most and mixed well with the funky-ness.

Tastes very similar to the nose, with yeast funk, floral hops, lemon zest, citrus fruit or apple skin, rye bread, cardboard or a metallic taste (from the brett I assume), coriander, light grapefruit, dry grass, rose petal, honey, lightly roasted grains or wheat toast, pepper and some other light spices. It’s funky, then it’s almost sour, then hops come through, then it’s very floral – each sip was different, but the most common theme was fruity and funky notes throughout. Hops were not very strong, but they played a nice part to counter the funk and make it refreshing, light and easy to drink, even with all the complexities.

Mouthfeel is slick and buttery, with mild carbonation, a medium chewy body that is on the thick side, and a slightly bitter and doughy, funky finish that trails off and tastes like liquid bread.

Overall this was very tasty and enjoyable, and much easier to drink than I expected considering it’s a funky brew. The fruity sweetness and floral hop additions to me allowed this to go down easy. It was a very hot and humid day today this beer was quenching, tasty and hit the spot perfectly.

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4.33/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 750 mL bottle into tulip.
A: Pours a hazed orange-yellow with very active carbonation jets producing and maintaining a billowy 3 inch white head. Faint lingering lacing. Beautiful brew.
S: Sweet and light citrus (?lime and grapefruit), dry minerals, soft brett funk, melon, white pepper, and just a faint hint of soft pine. Nuanced and nicely complex.
T: Lime and white pepper hit first followed by dry earthy minerals, soft grapefruit and pine, spicy bitter hops, and a mild toasted malt backbone. With warming, a note of honey emerges.
M: Light body. Nicely effervescent. Bright citrus and moderately sweet up front, then turns drier in the mid-palate and finishes dry and mildly bitter. Mildly spicy throughout.
D: Outstanding drinkability. ABV is spot on. The complexity keeps it interesting and yet it all holds together extremely well.

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4.5/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pours golden yellow, slightly hazy with an orange hue.

Nose boasts hay, lemon zest, pepper and some brett character.

Much fuller in body than I anticipated. Very smooth and almost silky. The Brett cuts through and adds a dry finish. Lovely zesty hop character to go along with the Belgian yeast character.

I am really loving this beer. Absolutely delicious throughout. Drinks so easy for being full bodied and 6.6%. The Brett must helps this with drying it out. Nothing cloying or sweet but just a touch or vanilla coming though.

I cannot wait to try another from the lost abbey

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3.95/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75

Purchased in an Atlanta bottle shop and shipped home in my luggage. Corked and caged – almost impossible to open. Poured into a tulip.

I was waiting for zing or a bite that never happened. This beer starts with optimism but that vanishes as this beer fails to fully deliver. A refreshing and very juggable beer. A Belgian pale ale that could have been brewed to compete with a pilsner. I call this beer “Bret Bud.” 3.75

A – Pours crystal clear but slightly hazy in the glass. A light golden color with a half-finger white head that dissipates almost immediately (-). Some light lacing. 3.75

S – Some funk from the bret, some sour notes as well. Maybe a bit of orange. 4.25

T – Some minor tartness, malt, light hoppy bitterness in the finish. 3.75

MF – Smooth light bodied with a dry finish. Almost no aftertaste. 4.5

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3.53/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A: Hazy golden body with an off-white head and small a remnants of lace with above average head retention.
S: Aromas of champagne & barnyard funk.
T: Somewhat fruity, green apple flavors finish dry and lightly tart.
Brettanomyces presence at end is distinct and welcome.
M: Dry and refreshing brew.
O: A memorable beer due to the addition of Brett. Drinks like a saison.

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4.46/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Orange-yellow with not clarity and a full finger of head. Sticky lace all over the glass all the way down. Cloudy and sediment floating around

S - Belgian funky yeast! Bread, banana, and light sugar aroma.

T - Like the smell, the belgian funky yeast dominates. And its delicious! Bananas, pears, wheat.

M - Full bodied and well carbonated

O - An absolutely great Belgian pale ale. I wish LA would produce more of this one, like in 6 packs. One can dream!

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4.56/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Looks like a more orange colored white grapefruit juice in the glass, but not a spec of light can pass through it. Poured about a 1/2 finger of creamy head. Nice trailing and lacing.

S- Oh yeah, that's good. Banana, yeast, lemon, pineapple, clove, bubble gum, light tropical fruits, scuppernong grapes, and a light, beautiful funk. Super inviting!

T- Bread, grains, funk, and banana up front. Middle plays around with clove and other spices. There seems to be a kick of earthy hops right before the finish melds into a bitter grapefruit flavor.

M- Thicker side of medium body. Super drying. Aftertaste is grapefruit spiked with banana, pepper, and char.

O- This one was fun. The aromas blew me away, but you could tell every part was beautifully, and meticulously, crafted. My beer guy suggested I try this as a bridge into Saisons... Long story short, now i'm into Saisons...

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3.69/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Saisons aren't really my style but I did enjoy this particular one on a warm spring day.

Wet hay smells with some tropical fruit

Taste was barn yardish with a bit of kiwi and pineapple followed by the spicy ending. I had the taste of white pepper. Interesting.

Good carbonation

Overall one of the better attempts at the style I've tried.

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4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: pours a deep orange with a finger of off white head that fades to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: smells of barnyard, horseblanket and green apples.
T: slightly tart green apple to start with some pineapple mingling about, nice funk and horseblanket flavors toward the end. swallow tastes like band aids.
M: slightly thin in the mouth with soft carbonation and a neutral finish that leans toward refreshing
O: A very nice brett beer. It's everything Brux and NB Brett Beer should have been.

★ 522 characters

4.1/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Decided it was finally time to crack this one open - bottling date is only listed as "2013." I think I purchased this, oh, maybe 6 or 7 months ago? Whatever the case, I felt this would lay down decently well over time. Poured out of a 375ml bottle into a teku glass.

In all honesty, this is a beautiful saison - golden amber in color, cloudy, with a frothy white head that rises to the top and layers itself at the center like a scoop of ice cream, with big soapy looking bubbles distributing themselves around it. Leaves behind some good lacing, but each sip does reduce the initially beautiful head quite drastically. Each swirl brings it back, but it fizzles out for the most part. It's still a great initial pour in spite of its lack of strong head retention.

Ahh, the beautiful things that happen to a farmhouse beer when the Brett reaches its peak soft spot - this one in particular displays a variety of tropical fruits, barnyard goodness, and some spiciness at the finish. Some light funk is up front (definitely leathery, and resembling some sort of wet hay), but otherwise there's some really bright notes of peaches, kiwi, lychee, and some faint pineapple. Citrusy and grassy, although nothing too extreme. White pepper, lavender, and some sort of bell pepper as well. Finishes with notes of toffee, cane sugar, and a light baking spice finish. Really refreshing and crisp, and very pleasant throughout.

The flavor reveals a little bit more of a rustic, sharp edge to the beer, as well as far more predominant notes of the Brett strain. There's an immediate fruit blast of peaches, orange, and pineapple at the front, with a finish that is grainy and dry, with peppery notes and a big grassy bitterness. Finishes with more leather, light tobacco, and some of the barnyard aromas I was picking up in the aroma. The finish is yeasty and funky, with brief fruit notes alongside toffee and a creamy, light lactic feel. Lightly smoky at the finish, with more funk, but it overall is pretty mild at the back and the whole palate feels cleansed when all is said and done. It could strive for more complexity at the flavor, but it is a nice, refreshing beer to sip on.

This is a very solid offering from the Lost Abbey, and for the price ($5.50), probably their best bargain if you're patient enough to lay it down for quite some time. I do think the Brett could produce an even more flavorful beer than this one here (as indicated by the wonderful aroma), but it's overall a tasty and good clean take on the style.

★ 2,522 characters