Author: Abbey Scribe

It’s official! On November 10th, 2007 we will open the doors at Port Brewing Company and release the 2007 Brandy Barrel Aged version of The Angel’s Share.

In order to accommodate more interest and demand in this beer, we will be opening the doors at 10 AM. We “may” have bottles of Older Viscosity available for sale as well. This all depends on our bottling situation this weekend. There is about a 25% chance these will be ready.

Please also note the following rules for this release:

• Bottles will be $15 per cork finished 750ml bottle.
• There will be a limit of 6 bottles per person.
• You will need identification to buy these beers as each person will only be allowed to purchase 6 bottles.
• This beer is being sold at the brewery only.
• We will NOT take email orders nor will we hold back bottles for pick up at a later date.
• We will NOT ship this beer to out of state patrons.

Once it is gone, it is gone.

There are about 90 Cases available for Sale next weekend.

In a little over one years time, The Angel’s Share has become one of the most desirable beers that we produce. As such, we are implementing the above rules this year to ensure that as many people as possible can secure their allotment.

We believe a system like this is necessary and we ask for your patience on Saturday as we test it out and work out the kinks for future releases.

Port Brewing takes three medals, brewery and brewer of the year at Great American Beer Festival

San Marcos, CA – Tiny Port Brewing Company and its head brewer Tomme Arthur made a big impression at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver last weekend when the craft brewer not only nabbed three medals, but also landed the dual honors of small brewery and small brewer of the year.

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

• Gold Medal, Specialty Beer – Judgment Day
• Gold Medal, Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – Cuvee de Tomme
• Silver Medal, Experimental Beer – Veritas 002

The medal-winners, along with two other Lost Abbey entries — Cable Car and Ten Commandments — also led judges to place Port Brewing and Tomme Arthur above hundreds of other entrants and name the two small brewery and brewer of 2007.

“I felt we had some award-winning beers going into the competition, but I still can’t believe that we got brewery of the year,” said Arthur. “Our beers take a phenomenal amount of effort and patience to make. It’s great that our dedication to inspired beer has been recognized by our peers.”

The 2007 Great American Beer Festival Competition winners were selected by an international panel of brewing experts from a field of 2,832 entries submitted by 474 American brewers.

Established less than two years ago, Port Brewing 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.

While the GABF awards are a first for Port Brewing, the experience isn’t entirely new to Arthur. While heading brewing operations at a sister brewpub, Pizza Port, Arthur received the GABF’s brewpub brewer of the year award twice. With his most recent win, he is one of a handful of brewers to have won the award three times.

“It doesn’t matter how many times I win,” he said. “Every time is as good as the first.”

About Port Brewing / Lost Abbey
Founded in 2006, Port Brewing Company 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 Great American Beer Festival brewer of the year, 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.

Every descriptor in the beer aficionado’s lexicon comes to mind. Words can describe it, but they wouldn’t do it justly.

Ultimately both fronts flank everything else and leave the drinker refreshed, slain, totally immersed in the frankness of the thought that 750 ml of beer can be priced at $13.99…and worth every cent.

» Read the whole review (With video goodness)
—Via Hot Knives

Port Brewing/Lost Abbey beers are now available in Washington state. To celebrate the launch of the brand in the Pacific Northwest, our head of brewery operations (aka “brewing wunderkind” and “rock star of yeast”) Tomme Arthur will be making an appearance October 4th at Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle’s Morgan Junction.

» Click here for details.

Lost Abbey joined in the National Toast To Michael Jackson on September 30, 2007. Check out the video.

Check out the whole photo slideshow right here:

From the article

Our favorite was Port Brewing’s Angel’s Share, which weighs in at a hefty 12.5% alcohol and is aged in brandy barrels for six to eight months. It tastes and smells like port, prompting one of our testers to say he could imagine sipping a glass of it on a winter evening by the fire.

» Read the full article (Via Wall Street Journal)

Award-winning Brewery to tap one of the nation’s largest barrel collections for a special evening of rare beers and fine foods

San Marcos, Calif. – Port Brewing/Lost Abbey will hold its first annual Barrel Tasting the evening of August 25, 2007. Limited to just 100 people, guests will join award-winning brewer Tomme Arthur and other members of the Lost Abbey family for an evening of food and sampling of craft brews aged as long as 18 months in French Oak, Brandy, and Bourbon barrels.

Slated to be tapped that evening:

• Amazing Grace – Barrel Aged Lost and Found, aged nine months in French oak
• Red Poppy – Lost Abbey’s first release. Aged with sour cherries for one year in French oak
• Older Viscosity – Barrel aged Old Viscosity, 9 months in fresh Bourbon barrels
• The Angel’s Share – Previously unreleased. Aged 18 Months in Brandy
• Cuvee de Tomme – Second limited release, 9 Months in oak

Arthur will also be preparing a special limited-release blend just for guests of the Barrel Tasting event.

With one of the largest barrel collections in the United States, the Lost Abbey has gained a reputation as a source of some of the finest and most eagerly anticipated beers in the country. However, it’s small size and lengthy brewing and aging process limit the brewery’s production, making its releases highly coveted and sought after by aficionados. Barrel Tasting guests will be among a relative handful to sample the rarities from the brewer’s collection.

The Barrel Tasting will be held Saturday, August 25, 2007 at Port Brewing / Lost Abbey in San Marcos, Calif. The event runs from 6pm to 9:30pm. Attendance is limited to 100 people. Tickets are $50 per person and include the tastings, and a specially prepared selection of foods and hor d’ oeuvres. Guests will also have the opportunity to reserve a personal allotment of the releases sampled that evening.

For more information and ticket purchases, visit the Lost Abbey website at: http://www.lostabbey.com/event_barrel_party.php.

About Port Brewing / Lost Abbey
Founded in 2006, Port Brewing Company 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 two-time Great American Beer Festival brewer of the year, 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.

Media contact:
Sage Osterfeld
tel: (760) 295-4490
email: sage @ bluntid.com

From the article:

WHY WE REALLY LIKED IT: From the thick, frothy head to the effervescent body to the tart-and-sweet flavors, we fell hard for Red Barn.

» Read the full review (Via San Diego Union-Tribune)