Box Set -Track #13: Message in a Bottle
The Lost Abbey in San Marcos, California, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Series Out of Production|
Score
7.32
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The Lost Abbey Ultimate Box Set has been the most ambitious beer project I have ever worked on.
A series of small batch beers released once a month before being collectively offered at the end of the year has never been attempted as far as we can tell. So that alone makes this a pretty impressive feat. But for me, the coolest part of this Ultimate Box Set Release has been working with our artist, a professional designer and photographer to push the limits of beer-based design.
And while we have created an amazing finished piece, none of this would have been possible were it not for the beer. So please take our not so subtle hint (a bonus track beer inspired by The Police and their “Message in a Bottle”) as a reminder that sometimes beer can be a vehicle for expression but only if there’s a genuine message to be found in that liquid. And given that you are holding an Ultimate Box Set bottle, we’re pretty sure you agree.
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
37.5 cL bottle. Pours clear and golden amber with a fully gone head. Aroma is toasted malty and light fruity. Toasted malty and caramelish. Toffee and caramelish. Bitter and toasted malty finish. Vague orange zest fruity, dont pick up the cherries.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Pours a cloudy brown with no head. The aroma is candy sugar, vanilla, oak, and caramel. Thin mouthfeel with strong oak, vanilla, light roast, caramel, and sweet finish. Very good.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle shared at the BIG Friday tasting, massive thanks to our Ken for sharing the entire track set and also to Bruce for providing the accompanying music 03/01/14. I’ll miss you Lost Abbey Track set ... Murky chestnut brown with a good sized beige head that thins to edgeing an a light covering. Nose is sweet smelling, dark fruits, sugar, bready malts, toffee. Taste comprises toffee, candied sugars, rich dark fruit notes, light spice, tangy fruit lick, dates, prunes, fruit cake mix. Full bodied, fine carbonation, dry fruit laden closure. Nice enough Barley Wine but not a world beater. Alcohol shows through a little but the balance is decent in that it never got overly sweet. By far and away the best 13.85% barley wine I’ve had this year!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
3rd January 2014
Mega Tasting at Bruce’s pad. Almost clear amber beer, little pale cream coloured head. Palate is light and semi dry. Mild carbonation. Smooth malt with light toffee. Light dried fruits. Very mellow cognac. Touch of spice. More cognac. Comes together very well.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle, generously shared by Kenny at the BIG Friday tasting. It pour deep brown with a minimal tan head. The nose is toasty, toffee, wood, earth, orange peel, toasted brown sugar and a bit of mustiness. The taste is toasty, brown sugar, candy, wood, some acidity & astringency, must, burnt toffee, earth, nectarine and cognac. Full body, fine carbonation and oily mouth-feel. A touch hot and not as much depth as I hoped for. Decent, but far from the best of the set.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle shared during the cgarvieuk portion of the Big Tasting in London. Many thanks to Ken. Paired with The Police. Pours soupy amber-brown with a filmy cream head. The nose has brown sugar, earth, alcohol, dry fruits. Medium to big sweet flavor, dry toffee, dirty berries, brown sugar, fruit cake, bread. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly warming finish with mildly aged malts, figs, leathery berries, more brown sugar, burnt toffee, sugary bread, more fruitcake, moderate earth, toast. Good stuff. Nice depth. Odd musical pairing.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Pours a hazy dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty woody aroma with weak hints of cherry. Has a fruity malty woody cherry flavor. Has a fruity malty woody spicy cherry finish.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle @ The Lost Tasting Of Abbey Beers, Odense 2013. Dark amber with a small off-white head. Caramel and sweet orange aroma with alcohol, toffee, and a hint of mint. Sweet and simple flavour of caramel, fruit and alcohol. Disappointing finish to a fantastic box set. Sending out an SOS...
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle @ The Lost Tasting Of Abbey Beers, Odense 2013. Pours ruby amber with a small white head. Syrup, dark fruit, caramel, toffee and a whiff of alcohol. Smooth and full bodied. Very fruity and vinous with lots of dark fruit such as raisin and quite a lot of spcies. Warmth from alcohol.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle pours with an amber-ish mahogany colored body that supports a micro thin white colored head of small bubbles. The aroma offers up a mix of apples, sweet malts and sugary molasses. The taste is full of sweet notes of apples, plums and molasses. Midway I get some chocolate notes and booziness joining in and taking this into the finish. This is a bit boozy but pretty darn tasty. Dig it!