The Lost Abbey’s latest barrel-aged rarity more than three years in the making
The Lost Abbey will release the next in its coveted Veritas small-batch barrel-aged beers on Saturday, May 28, 2011. The most complex and time-consuming beer released by the brewery to date, Veritas 009 took more than three years and periods in bourbon and wine barrels to create. With only 100 cases available, Veritas 009 will not reach general distribution and will be available for purchase directly from the brewery only. The 750ml cork-stoppered bottles will be $35 each and strictly limited to four bottles per person.
Veritas 009 is a substantial departure from earlier members of The Lost Abbey’s small batch experimental program, which were generally sour beers aged in French oak barrels for 12 to 15 months. Begun in late 2007 as dark base beer, it was sent to freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Kentucky’s Heaven Hill Distilleries. The beer aged for 15 months before it was moved into French oak barrels previously used for wine (primarily Syrah). Sour cherries were added and the beer was left to rest for another year and three months. Finally, in mid-2010, it was pulled from the barrels, blended, bottled and sent off to condition for an additional 11 months.
“It’s one of the most complex beers we’ve ever created,” Arthur said. “Veritas 009 has strong notes of cherry, red wine, cedar and dark cocoa accentuated by a pervasive acidity that makes for an incredibly deep finish. It’s an amazing beer and easily one of the most cellarable produced at The Lost Abbey. I have no doubt that it will drawn fans from both the craft beer and wine worlds.”
Interestingly, Veritas 009 came close to never being made available to the public. Begun as a private project of Arthur’s, the existence of the beer and the details behind it were kept secret until last year. Even after news of the beer leaked to the public Arthur declined to discuss it beyond acknowledging that he did indeed have a barrel-aging project referred to only as “KT”, a reference to the secretive order of the Knights Templar. It wasn’t until a sampling session that Arthur decided to move the beer into Lost Abbey’s public small batch program and release it as Veritas 009.
“There is so little and it took so long to perfect we actually considered issuing it as a private release, or not at all,” Arthur said. “But after sampling last week, we decided that it was just too good to keep hidden and the public should have access to it.”
A total of 117 cases (12 bottles each) of Veritas 009 were produced. 100 cases will be made available to the public on release day. More details are available below.
Veritas 009 Release Details
- When: Saturday, May 28, 2011. 10am – 6pm
- Where: Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey – 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069 (click for directions)
- Total release: 100 cases (1200 bottles)
- Format: 750ml cork stoppered bottles
- Price: $35 per bottle
- Limits: Four (4) bottles per person maximum
