Bible Stories
The Lost Abbey - The Tasting Room

Poured from a 25 ounce corked bottle, the body pours an opaque black with small initial head. Moderate lacing throughout the tasting.

Aroma is a sweet mix of coffee and chocolate.

Taste follows nose but adds a depth of flavor that features dark fruits and a touch of the barrel. Nothing hot, but the bourbon flavor appears then quickly fades. A hint of bitterness at the end of the swallow.

Good mouthfeel but not heavy; body lighter than expected. Good carbonation.

2026-03-26
750ml corked/caged bottle served in a hotel tumbler. Found it in a beer cave in a rinky dink liquor store in Hacienda Heights. Don't see any obvious date on it. Based on its neighbors, I could believe it is several years old.

Pours very dark, deeper brown than coke, with a surprisingly persistent dense creamy head. Reading the back of the label, I see it's actually a blend of stout and BA barleywine -- that makes the appearance make more sense. Lots of carbonation. Smell is raisins, dates, molasses, oak. Coffee, toasted nuts.

Taste is chocolatey, soft. Oak is there, something charred. Maybe a hint of soy sauce. Much more on the imperial stout side of the blend in the flavor -- coffee and anise make an appearance, too.

Mouthfeel is soft, almost fluffy, smooth, with just a tickle of noticeable carbonation. Overall...it's not perfect, but it's pretty nice.

 

Type: 750-ml. bottle
Reviewed as: American Barleywine
Glass: Rip Current 9th anniversary 13-oz. tulip glass
Price: $13.49
From: Windmill Farms in San Diego (Del Cerro), Calif.
Purchased: Oct. 12, 2022
Consumed: Oct. 12, 2022
Misc.: No bottled on date, but was listed as 2022 vintage; Cork and caged on bottle neck

#BiL

Went over to Windmill Farms from work and ended up once again spending way too much on beer. Bine & Vine’s website called this “The story of Moses' birth is incredible. His mother, the covered ark, the high priestess and her generosity, it's crazy! But also, this story has been told a ton, so let's focus on this beer instead.
Bible stories are epic, like huge. So is this beer. A blend of non barrel-aged imperial stout with a bourbon barrel-aged barleywine ale, a perfect reward for getting lost in the desert for a spell. Huge notes of espresso, mocha, with some Belgian candi and kick on the finish.”

Poured a pitch black color with 6-to-7 fingers of dark khaki tan rocky head. Could see a lot of bubbles creeping up along the sides of the glass. Outstanding spotty foamy lacing. World-class foamy retention. (Sight - 4.50)

Smelled plum, dark fruit, fig, oak, mocha, dark chocolate, cacao, blackberry, sugary Belgian candi and hints of ashtray. About as good from the bottle. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted a little better than the nose. In order got plum, dark fruit, purple grape, fig, oak, mocha, dark chocolate, cacao, blackberry, chocolate syrup, toffee, hints of sugary Belgian candi and semi-char wood. (Taste - 4.00)

Medium body. Sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long, smooth finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Just an outstanding barleywine overall. (Overall - 4.00)

4.08 | 91 | A-

Bible Stories from The Lost Abbey. 25.4 fl oz cork and caged bottle. Picked up from somewhere unknown, date unknown, cost unknown. Reviewed 16/02/25. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Stored at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 53.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 57.7 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), nearly opaque.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same with ruby at the edges.
Head: Average (Maximum 3.2 cm, aggressive center pour), caramel, high density. Rapidly collapses, leaving a 0.45 cm ring and a partial cap.
Lacing – None
Aroma – 3 – Wee bit of roasted chocolate malt. No hops, no yeast, no oak, no ethanol (12 % ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 3 – Chocolatey, on the cusp of bitter-sweet. No yeast, no hops, no ethanol, no initial oak. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Eventually, weak gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium to full; short of both creamy and syrupy; soft carbonation.
Style: Barely follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.

Final impression and summation: 3.25 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) Well. Possibly the most average, innocuous brew I’ve ever had from The Lost Abbey. I think it’s mislabeled – it’s certainly not a barleywine as the label states – maybe an imperial stout or at least a Strong Ale as BA calls it. Other than a little chocolate, there’s virtually no flavor or aroma. On label “SERVING TEMP: 40-45OF.” In my opinion, this is too cold to serve a self-proclaimed barleywine. Also, the cork could not be removed by hand – I had to resort to my de-corking tool. In general, a poor value; whatever I paid (probably plus shipping), was robbery.

Corked and caged 750mL bottle. I've had a lot of stout and barleywine blends, but this is unique and fairly stout forward. Lots of raw cacao nib and roasted malt bitterness, very dry finish, and fairly minimal oak and barleywine contribution. The Belgian candi sugar element does come through, though modest, with a bit of prune on the mid palate. I expected more from The Lost Abbey, to be honest.

I should have opened this last night when I was in the mood for a stout since the stout addition is so prominent. There is a lot of espresso and cocoa roast dominating up front. As it warms and towards the finish, sweet raisins, dates, and brown sugar emerge. The barrel presence is pretty light, hints of booze and vanilla. This is a nice change of pace, looking forward to the other half of the bottle tomorrow. Interesting take on a black barleywine.