Port Brewing/Lost Abbey 2nd Anniversary
Yesterday’s Port Brewing/Lost Abbey 2nd Anniversary Party was fantastic. My friend Mike and I arrived an hour before the event started, and surprisingly, there wasn’t a super long line. We got our taster and pint glass, and headed straight for the bar.
My first taster was Port Brewing 2nd Anniversary on cask. There are similarities between this brew, Hop 15, and High Tide IPA. A very fruity, peppery, hoppy double IPA. Although the bottle label claims its around 8% abv, someone in the “know” said this batch turned out to be over 10%.
My second taster was Serpant Stout, an Imperial Stout. It was tasty, however I wasn’t in a stout kind of mood that day. It might have been my only chance to try it, so I had to do it. Smelled nice, tasted nice, and would have went well with a colder day. It was very sunny and warm in San Marcos.
The buzz leading up to this event was mostly due to the medal winning Cuvee de Tomme, a belgian style barrel aged sour ale. Not only were a limited amount of bottles sold, but three taster tickets would get a sample on draft. For an additional $5.00, you could have your pint glass filled. Mike went that route, so shared some of his with me. Oh goodness what a fantastic brew. Unlike Veritas 003, this brew blended together the beer and wine characteristics. I enjoyed it a bit chilled, and warm. Simply amazing.
With the price of admission, we were treated to some excellent Mexican BBQ. Not only did they have carne asada, bbq chicken, and carnitas, but they had BEER BATTERED Salmon. What a great, tasty idea? It took a long time to get to the front of the food line, but helped me balance my sobriety.
My last tasting went to the carbonated draft version of 2nd Anniversary IPA. I think I preferred this one to the cask version, as the carbonation kind of balanced out the fruitiness of the hops.
I also was amongst many really cool people. Big Nate and his girlfriend, Scott the Chef and his girlfriend, and Jimmy Smith and his wife. Also got to meet Chris the Cellarman from Liars Club who shared some Pliney the Younger and Gabriel from Beachwood BBQ. I couldn’t ask for much more than great people, great beer, and great food.
