The Lost Abbey Saison Blanc

The Lost Abbey Saison Blanc

Style: Saison

Alcohol Content: 5.5%

From: San Marcos, California, USA

Purchased from: Beer Geek, Prague, Czech Republic

http://lostabbey.com/

Some men dream, whilst others just brew.

A few years ago Vince Marsaglia (co founder of Pizza Port) dreamt of a brewery producing a range of authentic abbey style beers. That dream became a reality when Tomme Arthur was hired to brew a Belgian Dubbel called Overhead Abbey ale.

After many years of small scale brewing at Pizza port, the dynamic duo began formulating a plan to bring abbey style beers to the masses. As luck would have it, Stone Brewing Company announced that it was moving away from its old facility in San Marcos, California to a larger premises. Taking this as a sign from a higher power, the newly formed Port Brewing Company moved into this facility and split production between Port and the Belgium beer specialist Lost Abbey. The brewery finally opened its doors to the public in 2006 and now produce a range of six core beers and a plethora of seasonal specials including the subject of this review; Saison Blanc.

Colour: Pours a bright, straw yellow with a thin white head which lingers for the duration of the beer. As with many Saisons, a heft lump of yeast is present in the bottle. Feeling darling, I added some into my glass. The yeast not only helps to cloud the beer, but in my opinion it helps to lift the flavours of the beer onto a higher plane.

Aroma: What a bobby dazzler of a nose. Big bold notes of yeast and straw are promptly followed by notes of plums, grapes and perhaps a little pineapple. Very fruity and not what I have come to expect from a Saison.

Body: The additional yeast really helps to fill out the body because I fear that without the yeast, this beer would actually taste rather thin and lifeless. The yeast adds a slight creamy sensation that mixes very playfully with the incredibly complex flavour profile.

Taste: As I eluded to above, this beer has a complex flavour profile which I will now attempt to summarise. Rather like a glass of Chardonnay, this beer drinks dry from beginning to the end. Notes of straw, coriander, pepper and sweet raisins shine though before the alcohol rains on their parade. This strong alcohol taste is rather surprising given the low ABV. As the beer warms, hints of fresh lemons appear to add a real zing to the finish which remains warming and dry complimented with a slight hint of hop bitterness. A very well rounded package that needs a little more body thickness in order to be truly exceptional.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/ikley-brewing-siberia-rhubarb-saison.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/anchor-brewing-old-foghorn.html

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Kozel Dark Lager

Kozel Dark Lager

Style: Dark Lager

Alcohol Content: 3.8%

From: Velké Popovice near Prague, Czech Republic

Purchased From: Prague Airport

Velkopopovický Kozel is a Czech lager produced since 1874.In that year, Franz Ringhoffer founded a brewery in Velké Popovice near Prague. Their symbol is a goat (Kozel is "goat" in Czech).

The first historical mention of the brewery dates back to the 14th century. The brewery in Velvet Popovice, as we know it today, has its origins in the 19th century. After years of disagreements and the gradual decline of the brewery, it was bought by a rich industrial tycoon, Frantisek Ringhoffer, who was the Mayor of Smíchov and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Czechoslovak history.

The brewery was built in 1875, and the first batch of Kozel beer was brewed in the same year. The brewery, thanks to its owner, introduced new technologies, giving rise to its modern history. At the turn of the 19th to 20th century the brewery passed through its second major reconstruction and its production capacity was increased to 90,000 hectoliters per year from the original 18,000 in the beginning.

After thirty years of socialism the brewery achieved independence in 1991 and in 1992 became a public limited company. In 2002, Kozel merged with the brewery Radegast and the Pilsner Urquell brewery conglomerate SAB Miller.

This beer was the first I tried when I arrived in Prague back in November 2012. I was so impressed with this beer, that I would go back time and time again. So please enjoy this review and try some of this beer if you get your hands on it.

Colour: On the pour, you are greeted with a luxurious dark ruby brown beer. If you hold this beer up to the light, you will notice a reddish Vimto like coloration. One of the most interesting features of this beer is the light brown foamy head. The head is also made up of quite large bubbles and it will stay with you throughout this drink. It's not very often that you find a beer that has a head like this, so enjoy it while you can.

Aroma: On your first sniff you are greeted with beautiful toasted malts and chestnut notes. The dark malts used in this brew give this drink a slight Guinness like quality. Sniffing deeper the drink smells like dark chocolate digestives which have been crushed up to form a cheesecake base.

Body: Normally with dark beers you would expect this brew to feel quite heavy in the mouth. However, this beer performs like a black IPA. A good comparison would be Windsor and Eton's conqueror that I reviewed earlier. Light but also quite rich (if such a thing exists). The body is very similar to an IPA, but after the first sip you realize your drinking something a bit heavier.

Taste: Well, where do i start wit this beer. There are a lot of flavors fluxing though this beer. The first thing you will notice is the rich nutty chocolate quality. If you have ever eaten a Cadbury's whole nut chocolate bar then this is what you get in this lager. The beer is sweet, but it is not overwhelming. You can also pick up the lightest of coffee notes but as this beer is only slightly hopped this is not heavily defined. This beer would go very well with rich gamey meat such as venison. It's so versatile that it would also go will with a stemmed ginger pudding.

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Gambrinus Excellent 11

Gambrinus Excellent 11

Style: Pilsner

Alcohol content: 4.7%

From: Pilsen, Czech Republic

Purchased from: Prague Airport

Back in November i visited Prague for the first time. As much as i would love to say that i wanted to study the culture and the buildings. My main aim was to try all the local brews. Whilst i was there i drank Kozel,
Staropramen, Pilsner Urquel and Merlin to name but a few. When i returned to the airport, i remembered that i saw a section selling beers. I naturally gravitated towards this and i was surprised to see that they had a number of beers that i had yet to try. I think i picked up about six bottles in total. Most will be reviewed on this blog (unfortunately i drank quite a few of them before started writing this blog, whoops!).

Gambrinus is a beer brewed in the Czech Republic at the Plzeňský Prazdroj brewery. The brewery was founded on  the 24th January 1869 in Pilsen Inn. Twenty famous businessmen, headed by knight Emil Skoda, signed an agreement establishing the second modern brewery in Pilsen. On the 15th October 1870 the first Pilsner was launched to much critical acclaim. It is one of the most popular beers in the Czech Republic although before my trip to Prague i had never heard of it. The beer is named after Gambrinus, a legendary king of Flanders known for his mythical brewing abilities. Gambrinus is the unofficial patron saint of beer or beer brewing. The beer i am reviewing today is the Gambrinus Excellent 11.

Colour: Straw yellow with a glossy white head. On the pour it appears to be quite heavily carbonated. This settles after a couple of minutes leaving you with a lovely bright looking pint. 

Smell: Sweet Saaz hops have been used in the making of this beer. These hops have earthy grassy notes which make the Pilsner surprisingly spicy warming and inviting. It has been hopped three time to ensure that the flavor has been passed from the hops to the beer. It captures everything that you would expect from a Czech Pilsner; sweetness and richness. 

Body: Light and refreshing. For its levels of carbonation, this drink is very smooth and goes down a treat. In the mouth it feels a lot heavier than it actually is. If i had ordered this in a pub in the UK, it would of gone very nicely with a pack of salt and vinegar crisps or chips.

Taste: This beer is very sweet for a Pilsner. This comes from the caramel malts and the soft water that are used during the brewing process. The beer is not overally hopped and is very fresh with grassy notes.  If i matched it with some food from Prague, it would go very nicely with a pork chop and apple sauce. The sweetness of the beer would work very well against the sourness of the apple.  This is a lovely beer that i would enjoy again and again. One of the best Pilsner's that i have ever drunk.

Czech this out!

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