August 2010 – The Lost Abbey

August 27, 2010

Libri Divini – August 2010

In This Issue

From the Director’s Chair
Christmas in July Wrap-up
New Faces at The Lost Abbey
Upcoming Events
New Beer Releases

From the Director’s Scribe’s Chair
What we did on our summer vacation

Editor’s Note: This spot is normally reserved for a few words from our director of brewery operations (DOBO), but Tomme’s off doing important DOBO things, so our Abbey Scribe, Sage, is filling in for him this month.

Sage the Abbey Scribe I am staring at a calendar above my desk that tells me the Great American Beer Festival is exactly three weeks from today. GABF? Already? Where did the summer go?

Oh, that’s right, we’ve been busy. So busy, in fact, that not only did we not get a vacation, we missed the July issue of this newsletter altogether. Let’s see… Cuvee punted to football season, Santa showed in July, our buddy Russ brought strawberries, the Witch came back witty as ever, and we found the Road to Helles to be paved with great beer. Plus, the brewhouse boys became the brewhouse boys and girl, the tasting room got a little more elbow room and we had everyone down for breakfast before Stone Brewing’s anniversary party.

Add that to a release angels and demons in the Abbey tomorrow, a tidal wave of fresh hops in a week or two, Denver mid-month, a return just in time for a beer and boobs and finally, a fine (and long-anticipated) Cuvee de Tomme to finish September.

Yikes. And I thought we were busy.

I’ll tell you what. You catch up on what’s new at Lost Abbey below. Me, I need to go and find a bigger calendar.

Christmas in July Wrap-up

Back on July 24th we held our annual Christmas in July party and fund raiser. If you’re not familiar with our (non)holiday shindig, each year we celebrate the release of barreled Santa’s Little Helper (aged in bourbon barrels for a year) with a Christmas party and fundraiser to benefit Toys for Tots. There’s food, music, photos with Santa and — of course — great beer, so it always ends up being quite the celebration.

This year we raised nearly $10,000 in toy and cash donations for Toys for Tots. Thanks to the generosity of our guests that day, a lot of kids will have have a better Christmas than they might otherwise.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend, we have a huge photo gallery of the day’s festivities. If you did come to the party, we’ve also posted all the Santa photos, so you can pick yours up (just in time for Christmas card season!)

New Faces at Lost Abbey

Devon Randall

At her age it might be premature to call Devon Randall “the Most Interesting Woman in the World”, but she’s certainly on the right track to earn the title.

A Berkeley grad who’s conquered real estate, climbed mountains, run with Alaskan sled dogs, and sailed a catamaran from South Africa to Trinidad in just a few short years, even Vladimir Putin would have a hard time not being impressed with her achievements.

Devon discovered craft beer while still living in Berkeley and quickly took to homebrewing. Two years later she found herself living in Santa Monica, California, and traveling south in her spare time to San Diego to learn what she could about the beer Mecca. It wasn’t long after, in her typical fashion, Devon decided to make a “dramatic” change, dump her current occupation, and jump into craft brewing with both feet even though she didn’t have a job waiting.

At first she made the 90 mile from LA to San Diego trip daily volunteering at breweries and learning what she could. This eventually led to some part time work at The Lost Abbey where her talent and abilities were quickly realized. She made the move from Santa Monica to San Diego in June and became an official member of our brewhouse team in August.

These days you’ll find Devon doing everything from brewing to bottling, soaking up as much knowledge as she can with an eye towards being a “famous girl brewer” with her own brewpub down the road. Given all she’s already accomplished, we have no doubt she’ll succeed.

If you happen to see Devon in the brewery or at a Lost Abbey event, make sure to say hi and buy her a beer. (Saisons are her favorite.)

Upcoming Events

September 17-19
Great American Beer Festival | Denver, CO
This is the big one. The one where, as the DOBO says, “we bring the noise”. Look for us in the Lost Abbey and Port Brewing booths in the Pacific section of the festival itself as well as our peeps making appearances around town during the week. (follow us @lostabbey on Twitter to find out where we’ll be.)

September 24
Beer for Boobs | Lost Abbey Brewery San Marcos, CA
Help us & our friends at White Labs support support the Susan G. Komen philanthropic trust and The 3 Day event to help find a cure for breast cancer. $10 gets you you a commemorative Beer for Boobs pint glass and two pints of any Lost Abbey or Port Brewing beer on tap.

New Beer Releases

August 28, 12pm — 6pm
Deliverance
Our first release of the embodiment of good versus evil in a barrel-aged blend. Part bourbon barreled The Serpent’s Stout, and part brandy barreled The Angel’s Share, this is our most anticipated release of the summer. (May reach limited distribution)

September 25, 12pm — 6pm
Cuvee de Tomme
A release pushed back repeatedly by cool weather and barrels unwilling to create the beer any faster, the 2010 vintage of Cuvee finally emerges after nearly a year and a half in the barrel. (May reach limited distribution)

October 4
High Tide
Our autumn fresh-hopped IPA, the release of this one actually depends on the timing of the hop harvest. The past two years the harvest & brew dates were in the first week of September. Based on that we anticipate the release by the first week in October. (Will reach full distribution)

~ * ~

August 19, 2010

Get there from here: How to get from Lost Abbey to Stone’s 14th Anniversary Party

Want to go to Lost Abbey’s Brunch and Stone Brewing’s 14th Anniversary? Don’t feel like worrying about driving or fighting for parking? Here’s how get there from here — and vice versa — sans automobile.

So you’re going to the Stone Brewing 14th Anniversary celebration at Cal State San Marcos on Saturday August 21st, and you’d like to drop by Lost Abbey to enjoy the brunch and perhaps a pensive word or two over a beer in the Abbey before you head off to attend your Session. Problem is, you really don’t want to hassle with the hassles of driving and beer festivaling between the two locations.

Good news. You don’t have to.

The Lost Abbey is actually very close to the party’s location at Cal state San Marcos (a mere 4,800 ft as the crow flies), and there’s a number of options including the train, bike trails and walking paths that are just about as quick as driving your car between places. Here’s how to get there from here (or vice versa) without climbing in a car:

The Train

One of the best kept secrets around here is the Sprinter — a light rail system that runs between Oceanside on the coast, and Escondido inland. You can hop on the train at San Marcos city center (Lost Abbey’s station) and off it again 3 minutes later at Cal State San Marcos (for the festival). The Sprinter is also bike friendly, so if you’d rather pedal than hoof it, you can.

Lost Abbey is a few minute(s) walk from the San Marcos City Center station, as is the Cal State San Marcos station from the festival. With a bike it’s less than half that time.

Trains run once an hour and the fare is $2 each way, or you can buy a $5 round trip pass that will take you from Oceanside to Escondido and back again (very convenient if you’d rather leave your car at the transit station or if you’re going all train via the Coaster, MetroLink or Amtrak).

Tip: Take the Inland Rail Trail (it’s on the map) to/from Sprinter and Lost Abbey. The trail avoids the street lights and a steep hill, so you’ll travel all that much quicker.

MAP: Travel via the Sprinter

View Lost Abbey to Stone 14th in a larger map

Walking / Biking

If you’re into the whole human-powered thing, it’s still pretty easy to go between Lost Abbey and the Party just using your feet or a bike. (The distance is actually shorter than driving because you can cut through the parking lots and use the sidewalks and bike paths to avoid car routes.) If you’re driving and then hoofing/pedaling, make sure to park your car at Cal State San Marcos early and roll down the hill to Lost Abbey. You can have breakfast and burn a few carbs going back to the Stone event. When your Session is over your car will be waiting nearby.

Tip: Cut through the Old Spaghetti Factory / LA Fitness parking lot between Twin Oaks & Rancheros (it’s on the map). Cars have to drive around it, but you’ll cut 1/2 a mile off your trip each way.

MAP: Travel via foot or bike

View Larger Map

August 13, 2010

2010 Beer for Boobs Fundraiser

The Lost Abbey / Port Brewing will be hosting it’s annual Beer for Boobs fundraising event in support of the Susan G. Komen philanthropic trust and The 3 Day event to help find a cure for breast cancer.

Details:
$10 gets you you a commemorative Beer for Boobs pint glass and two pints of any Lost Abbey or Port Brewing beer on tap.

Beer for Boobs is the brainchild of our friends at White Labs who will be walking the 60 miles of The 3 Day walk for a cure in November. All proceeds from the evening will go to benefit the Susan G. Komen philanthropic trust.

Who should attend:
Anyone who has breasts, knows someone who has breasts, or supports breasts in any way shape or form.

See you there!

August 11, 2010

“I’ve come to The Lost Abbey seeking Deliverance…

As we’re not a “real” abbey, we don’t have large stone walls surrounding our monastery. We most certainly do not have a front gate being guarded over by a man of the cloth either.

But like most abbeys, we open our doors on a regular basis for those in need.

Some have smallish needs (like a cold glass of Lost and Found). Others have much larger needs (like cases of Red Poppy).

Yet, one constant remains. Our doors are opened to Sinners and Saints alike on the simple premise that all come to The Lost Abbey seeking something.

Ultimately, this means we’re all in the same boat together. It matters not whether you are a certified Saint or a problematic Sinner, the end is most assuredly going to arrive at some point. And on that day, we’ll huddle together wondering what is left for us as we leave this place.

Most likely we’ll be lined up together seeking some measure of Deliverance. If we’re lucky, we’ll all catch the train headed towards heavens’ front gate. Others will not be so lucky. I suppose, it will be an epic struggle as the Angel’s of Mercy clash mightily with the Demons of Hell.

Just thinking about a Battle Royale for all these souls gets me thirsty.

So today, we’re bottling Deliverance, and let me tell you, it’s one HEAVY beer.

What is Deliverance and how does one bottle it? Well, it’s a blend of Bourbon Barrel Aged Serpent’s Stout and Brandy Barrel Aged Angel’s Share. You see in Bourbon Barrel Aged Serpent’s Stout we have captured the essence of one very evil beer (the Devil’s brew if you will). Blacker than the strongest plague and hotter than Hades itself, there’s fire in this beer- a veritable cauldron of Bourbon infused beer. Left to its own devices, this would be one sinister liquid.

Yet, we have tempered this odious darkness with heaven sent Saintly created Angel’s Share. And together, these two beers will work in harmony to deliver us on that day.

The painting for Deliverance created by artist Sean Dominguez — Deliverance by Dominguez

Sean Dominguez worked overtime on the painting for this label. It is perhaps one of the darkest and most disturbing things he has painted for us. So demented in fact his wife Paige expelled it from their home the moment it was completed.

Thankfully, it joins Judgment Day, Inferno and Witch’s Wit in exploring the darker side of life’s struggles and The Lost Abbey role in finding Deliverance for souls — banished or otherwise.

A couple of weeks from now, we’ll be having another release at the Lost Abbey and I fully expect it to be an glorious day. More souls than ever before will find their way through the Abbey’s open doors.

And it will come to no one’s surprise as Saint and Sinners alike approach the alter and utter the phrase – “I’ve come seeking Deliverance.”

For that, I am thankful we have found a way to put Deliverance in a bottle.

August 8, 2010

Beer Dinner: The Bottle Room

Meet the folks of Lost Abbey / Port Brewing at the Bottle Room’s 2nd Annual Summer Beer Dinner, a five-course meal featuring food & beer pairings. Cost is $55 per person. More information & a full menu available on the Bottle Room’s Facebook Page.

2nd Annual Summer Beer Dinner
The Bottle Room
6741 Greenleaf Ave.
Whittier, CA, 90601
Tel: (562) 696-8000
(map)