Lost Abbey News

6 August 2008

CAMRA announces winner of the 2008 Champion American Cask-Conditioned Beer Award

“The Angel’s Share” from Lost Abbey Brewery in San Marcos, California was today chosen as the best American cask-conditioned beer at this week’s Great British Beer Festival.

The winner was selected by CAMRA beer experts, brewers and international beer judges from forty six beers, specially imported for the Great British Beer Festival. The Festival provides a unique opportunity to try beers from around the World alongside 450 British real ales. The international ‘Bieres Sans Frontieres’ Bar includes rare lambics, wheat beers, Trappist ales, honey, fruit and spice beers as well as a giant wooden barrel of Imperial Porter from the De Molen brewery in the Netherlands.

The beer is brewed with copious amounts of caramel malt to emphasise the vanilla and oak flavours found in the freshly emptied bourbon casks, where it spends six months maturing.

Andy Benson, Manager of the Bieres Sans Frontieres bar said, “It’s a great result for Lost Abbey and I’m sure the beer will be a fast-seller at the Festival, just don’t drink too much of it, as it is 12.5% ABV. American beers are often a surprise to the British palate, they are so intensely flavoured that most people either love them or hate them, nothing like the insipid lagers we usually associate with America. The craft beer market in the States is booming and most of these beers are extremely difficult to find this side of the water. Some of the beers are not even available in their own areas in a cask conditioned form.”

Second place went to Mayflower Brewings’ Porter from Massachusetts and third to Cambridge Houses’ IPA from Connecticut.

ENDS

The Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London
Tuesday 5th August - Saturday 9th August
www.gbbf.org.uk
www.b-s-f.org.uk

Source: Campaign for Real Ale

Join the Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey crew for brunch in advance of Stone Brewing’s 12th Anniversary Celebration on August 16th, 2008.

Chef Vince will be cooking up a hearty breakfast that includes eggs, bread, at least five or six pork products — all of which you can wash down with our big tap list of award-winning beers.

Beers on hand will include:

From the Port Brewing side:

• Sharkbite Red
• Wipeout IPA
• Old Viscosity
• Hop 15

And from the Lost Abbey side:

• Witch’s Wit (New!)
• Devotion
• Avant Garde
• Lost & Found
• Judgment Day

And hey, who knows, we may get crazy and pull something out of the archives to tap. (You never can tell…)

Brunch starts at 8:30am and rolls along until 11 or so (around the time Stone’s First Session starts). Best of all, the food is FREE.

This year the Stone celebration is being held at Cal State San Marcos, which is conveniently a five minute drive right across the 78 freeway from us.

See you at there!

Directions to Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

View Larger Map

Collaboration beer releases Saturday, July 26th

This is the collaboration beer Tomme brewed with Hildegard van Ostedan from Brouwerij Leyerth (better as Urthel) back in April.

Beer specs:
234 cases, 750ml bottles,
Saison 5.5% ABV;
$8.99/ bottle

Releases at the brewery at 12 noon, Saturday.

Yes, it’s a good one.

Full story of this collaboration beer can be read here: http://lostabbey.com/blog/?p=88

Rare collaboration of five craftbrewing titans available at Port Brewing / Lost Abbey starting at 10am; 12 bottle limit per person

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – At 10am on Saturday, June 28th 2008, Port Brewing will release highly anticipated Isabelle Proximus. A collaboration between five of America’s best craft brewers – Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey, Adam Avery of Avery Brewing, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River, and RobTod of Allagash – Isabelle was created from a common base beer to which each brewery contributed a yeast strain and barrels for aging. After 16 months in oak, the beers were blended to create the final product.

Release Details:

• Bottles will be $30 per cork finished 750ml bottle.
• Limit of 12 bottles per person.
• Beer will be sold only at the brewery. No email orders or holds for pick up at a later date.
• This is a special release; no discounts.
• There are approximately 150 cases available. Once it is gone, it is gone.

As with all Port Brewing special limited releases, all purchasers will be required to present valid ID at time of purchase to ensure that as many people as possible receive an allotment. For more information and the brewery location, visit http://www.lostabbey.com.

About Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey
Founded in 2006, Port Brewing Company is 2007’s Great American Beer Festival Small Brewery of the Year, and 2008 World Beer Cup World Champion Small Brewery. It produces a line of award-winning American ales as well as the groundbreaking Lost Abbey family of Belgian-inspired beers. Craft brewed under the direction of co-founder and three-time GABF brewer of the year and World Beer Cup Champion small brewer, Tomme Arthur, five beers are issued under the Lost Abbey label year-round: Avant Garde, Lost and Found, Red Barn, Devotion and Judgment Day. Additionally, a number of seasonal and specialty releases are offered at various times throughout the year. As many of these are blended and aged for up to 18 months in French Oak, Brandy and Bourbon barrels, Lost Abbey beers are universally recognized for their complexity, unique flavors, and bold, boundary-pushing styles. Port Brewing is located at 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069, USA. Telephone (760) 889-9318, web: www.lostabbey.com.

Last Saturday we held our Second Anniversary party at the brewery. We had food, music, outstanding beer and a record-breaking crowd. If you didn’t attend, you blew it. (Just kidding… but you did miss a great party.)

Below is a photo slideshow of the day’s happenings. Clicking on the slideshow will take you to the photo gallery where you can seel the photos individually. Enjoy!

Imbibe Magazine’s May/June issue includes a review of a number of Saisons, including The Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale (four-and-a-half stars!). The entire article is available right here.

For more information on how to subscribe or where to buy Imbibe Magazine, visit the website.

Join us for our 2nd Anniversary Celebration – a day of food, music, people, and of course, beer from Great American Beer Festival Small Brewery of the Year and World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Small Brewery – Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey!

When: Saturday, May 3, 2008 – 11 am to 9 pm

Where: Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, San Diego County, CA

What: Entry gets you six tasting tickets, a cool Port Brewing pint glass and most excellent food from Port’s own untamable outdoor kitchen maestro Vincent Marsaglia.

How Much: $15 at the door

• Port Brewing 2nd Anniversary – A Hop Bomb of a double IPA just for our second birthday! 9.5% ABV, available in 22oz bottles. $7.99 / bottle
• Inferno — Our first releases of this devilishly good Golden Strong Ale. 8.5% ABV, available in 750ml cork stopper bottles. $8.99 / bottle
• Cuvee de Tomme – Gold medals at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival and the 2008 World Beer Cup! Only 150 cases are available. There will be a maximum of 6 bottles per person. $15 per 375ml cork finished bottle.

Special Note: Cuvee de Tomme is very likely to sell out early. Make sure you’re there early if you want to pick some up!

Small brewery and its head brewer take four medals, named World Beer Cup 2008 Champion

San Marcos, CA - Tiny Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey Brewing and its head brewer Tomme Arthur went into last week’s 7th World Beer Cup as the American Small Brewery and Brewer of the Year.

They emerged as the World Champions.

A bi-annual competition among the world’s best breweries, the Brewers Association 2008 World Beer Cup saw 644 breweries from 58 countries enter a total of 2,864 beers in 91 style categories. An elite panel of international judges conducted blind tastings and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to the top three beers of each style. The judges also issued a “Champion Brewery” and “Champion Brewer” award in each of five brewery categories: Large, medium and small brewery, large and small brewpub.

Port Brewing’s Lost Abbey beers won in the following categories:

• Bronze Medal: Experimental Beer (Lager or Ale) — Veritas 002
• Bronze Medal: Other International Ale — Brouwer’s Imagination Series Saison
• Silver Medal: Belgian-Style Flanders/Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale — Red Poppy
• Gold Medal: Wood- and Barrel-aged Sour Beer — Cuvee de Tomme

The brewery and head brewer Tomme Arthur were also named World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery and Champion Brewer in the Small Brewing Company Category.

The “world champion” designation is merely the latest in a string of high-profile titles for Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey. In 2007 alone the brewery netted more than a dozen medals. And six months ago brewery and brewer walked away with the “2007 Small Brewery of the Year” award at the Great American Beer Festival, an annual competition among America’s best beer makers.

Established just two years ago, Port Brewing /The Lost Abbey has become famous for its line of rare, deep and flavorful beers that food and drink experts compare more closely to wine than mass-market brews. Issued under the Lost Abbey label, these beers are brewed with ingredients such as raisins, sour cherries, black pepper and grains of paradise, and often aged in oak, wine, brandy and bourbon barrels for as long as 18 months. The brews have been featured in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Maxim, and Playboy, as well as dozens of newspapers and industry periodicals.

A full list of the Brewers Association 2008 World Beer Cup Award winners and competition details are available on the Brewers Association website at: http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/winners_list/winners_2008.html

About Port Brewing / Lost Abbey
Founded in 2006, Port Brewing Company produces a line of multi-award-winning American ales as well as the groundbreaking Lost Abbey family of Belgian-inspired beers. Craft brewed under the direction of co-founder and three-time Great American Beer Festival brewer of the year and 2008 World Champion brewer, Tomme Arthur, four beers are issued under the Lost Abbey label year-round: Avant Garde, Lost and Found, Red Barn and Judgment Day. Additionally, a number of seasonal and specialty releases including Ten Commandments, Cuvee de Tomme and the Angel’s Share, are offered at various times throughout the year. As many of these are blended and aged for up to 18 months in French Oak, Brandy and Bourbon barrels, Lost Abbey beers are universally recognized for their complexity, unique flavors, and bold, boundary-pushing styles. Port Brewing is located at 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069, USA. Telephone (760) 889-9318, web: www.lostabbey.com.

There was an American Homebrewer’s Association rally at the brewery on Sunday, April 13th. Here’s a few photos.

Homebrewers and Beer Enthusiasts,

The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) wants you to join us for a fantastic fun-filled event with fun prizes and an opportunity to meet and mingle with other beer enthusiasts at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, Sunday April 13, 1- 4pm.

Bring a friend to the event. The cost is $33 for new and renewing members.

Entrance to the event includes these opportunities:

• $33 One-Year Membership to the AHA (reg. $38)
• Meet Tomme Arthur, Director of Operations
• Free Brewery Tour
• Complimentary Pizza Port Pizza
• 15 House Beers available on tap, including a tasting of a special release, Veritas 002, a Great American Beer Fesival ‘07 Silver Medal winner
• Chance to win great prizes from the AHA and t-shirts from The Lost Abbey and Port Brewing in a raffle.

» Click here for more information and to RSVP