Red Poppy

It's been an interesting day so far. Dan and I have taken a trip to a case distributor to pick up some beer we can't normally get in the area, we stopped by a brew pub, and now we're back at Dan's enjoying on of his recent acquisitions, a bottle of Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale.

Red Poppy is a Flanders Oud Bruin, a darker sour style originating in the Flanders area of Belgium. It becomes readily apparent upon the first whiff of this beer, as it has a strong aroma characteristic of a sour beer, with a mix of vinegar, lactic acid, and some fruitiness that I thought was apple and cherry. There's some oak as well, and a little sweetness to it that I don't recall smelling in many sour beers.

At first, the classic sour flavors come though as well, with a strong tartness and just a touch of vinegar, supported by a bit of cherry. There's some oak flavor as well, but I feel like this mostly comes through as a smoothness in it. Although some sours are loaded with so much flavor that they can be overwhelming, this seems somehow more drinkable, and the flavors are blended well. There doesn't seem to be any real hop flavor or aroma to the beer, as should be expected, instead it seems the sweetness is balanced by the sour qualities. It's very enjoyable if you like sour beers.

In the mouth the beer has a medium or medium-light body, but is extremely dry. It's well carbonated, and leaves almost a gritty sensation in the mouth while seemingly sucking away moisture.

I was a bit surprised as well at how relatively low the alcohol content in the beer was. I expected it to be upwards of 8 or 9%, but it's actually 5.5% Perhaps that explains why it is so easy to drink. I think someday I'd like to take a shot at something similar to this, since Red Poppy is fairly expensive and hard to come by, and I would like to have a lot more of it.

- Adam