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Default The Lost Abbey's Red Barn Ale

http://beeradvocate.com/news/stories_read/700

Often referred to as a Saison ("season" in French), the Farmhouse Ale
style originates from Southern Belgium and France. Traditionally,
Saisons (the table wine of beer back in the day) were brewed by rural
farmers using local ingredients, often from the immediate area; but
today, they've become more stylized and predictable. Regardless, this
almost-lost style has seen a bit of a revival over recent years and
has quickly picked up quite the following with beer geeks who've found
them both complex and refreshing.

The Lost Abbey's Red Barn AleBeer geek icon Tomme Arthur recently
launched "The Lost Abbey" as a sister brand to the Port Brewing
Company in San Marcos, CA. This brings us to this week's tasting: Red
Barn Ale-a Saison, and one in a handful of new and inspired artisan
ales from The Lost Abbey that clocks in at 6.7 percent alcohol by
volume. It's brewed with two-row malt, flaked wheat, flaked oats,
dextrose, ginger, orange peel, black pepper, Grains of Paradise;
hopped with Phoenix and German Tettnang; fermented with a Belgian
Saison yeast strain; and bottle-conditioned. Overall, a fairly typical
lineup of ingredients for a modern-day interpretation of the style.
Let's see how it holds up.

The Taste
Decanted into a wide-bowled tulip glass, the contents of this 750 ml
corked and caged brown magnum pour a hazy, bright peach color topped
with an extremely tight white foam head, followed by impressive lacing
and glass stickage. Aromas are soft and clean-zesty orange peel, wheat
husks and barnyard hay, sugar, background ginger notes and an enticing
dash of pepper set the pace. A lively carbonation fills the mouth with
creaminess. Drying and crisp underneath, with a yeasty bite, steely
undertone and green banana pith. Mildly sweet, and a bit akin to sugar
water in flavor and feel. Wheat tannin twang, with plenty of jammy
orange flavors, while subdued ginger notes surround the sugary edges.
Black pepper pulls through a bit as the beer warms, lurking in a soft
floral, herbal, semi-spicy hop character. Dry leafy tannins and a
mouthful of hay. Bone-dry finish with strong, near-overpowering yeast
residuals on the palate.

Final Thoughts
Not the strongest within The Lost Abbey lineup, but a solid offering
nonetheless. Personally, we felt the yeast had too much control over
the beer, things were a bit too tannic as the beer warmed, and the
orange peel was a little overplayed. Having a freshness stamp would be
helpful, too, as there's no way of telling how old this bottle is.
That said, Red Barn Ale is indeed complex, refreshing and worth
seeking out.

We do recommend decanting gently and consuming this a bit on the
cooler side to help push back the yeast and tannins and allow the
sweeter notes to shine. For pairing, this would hold up to most earthy
and nutty cheeses, and complement raw oysters nicely.

Available now in 750 ml bottles and limited draught accounts.

For more info: lostabbey.com and checkout the story of the Red Barn.

Respect Beer.

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