"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Benjamin Franklyn reported said that, and I wholeheartedly agree.
The atmosphere in every pub and microbrew I've ever been in California confirms this. Brewpubs are warm, cheery, and welcoming, and we always leave with more friends than we came in with.
Don't get me wrong, I love wine, and I love wine-people. There's just something about craft beer people. And craft brews as well as wine, are something that California is and should be proud of. There are truly wonderful breweries all up and down the California coast. However, Carlsbad, California, has been called the craft beer capital of America. By 2018, it has over 155 licensed breweries, which is more than any other state in the union. I can spend the best part of forever exploring them. So, find myself spending more and more time down in Carlsbad. The best way to explore California is with good company. So, I met my brother-in-law, Hugh, down at Lost Abby Brewery in Carlsbad.
Now, an Abby brewery is a thing, and a very specific thing at that. I had to do some research. to do.
Abbey Beers are brewed in the various styles of the Trappist monks in Belgium.
Some Abbey Breweries use very specific beer reciepies from a specific Abbey, and get permision to so. To be an Abby brew, you have to either use a specific beer brewing recipe, usually connected with an Abby in Belgium, or just know your stuff well enough to create your own recipes in the style of the Abbey's of Belgium. This is where Lost Abbey comes in.
Lost Abby isn't connected with any specific Abby. Lost Abby concentrates on Belgian-style beers.. and since they don't use any specific Abby recipe.. they are "lost" Abby.. according to their website. It brews in the style of the Belgian Abby's and does a very good job.
Lost Abbey is cloistered away in a warehouse in a corporate industrial park.
I parked Sofia under a tiny tree, not much shade, but it was the thought that counted. Hugh
wanted a picture - (i've looked better) Sofia looked great. Then we went inside.
There is something so cool about walking through corridors made by large wooden casks of beer stacked high. It gave the enormous metal warehouse the feeling of walking through a monk's cellar.
One barrel, in particular, towered over my head.
A very nice beer-rista guided us through the beer list. I didn't want to slip into my old beer habits so I asked her to pick out her favorites for me to try.
I ended up with a flight consisting of...Noble Tendencies, Madonna and Child Tequilla
Barrel-aged Lime Sour, THC IPA,, and Serpents Stout.
We sat outside on a table made from beer barrels and sipped and talked.
Normally, I'm not a fan of Pilsners, but Noble Tendencies is a light, and crisp Czech-style Pilsner which was a perfect thing to start with after a long hot drive.
I followed that with a dark sour ale they call Madonna and Child. Again, I'm not usually big on sours, but the taste of lime and salt in this was something that I liked a lot.
The THC IPA was alive and citrusy, and Serpent's Stout was a great way to finished this flight, like a thick and chocolatey dark coffee.
The beer at Lost Abby was really good. I am looking forward to going back there soon.
We had a great time. We talked and talked as I drank through the flight and Hugh finished his pint, and then we were hungry; they don't serve food there, only munchies, so we went off in search of good sushi food, but that is for another story.
http://lostabbey.com