Port/Lost Abbey brewing is hands down one of the best breweries in the world. Their wide array of beers and styles continue to prove themselves year after year and award after award. From their year round beers like the Wipe Out IPA, to the seasonal beers such as Satna’s Little Helper, Witches Wit and High Tide IPA. So we decided to review every Port/Lost Abbey beer we could get our hands on.
Shark Attack Double Red Ale, 9.0% ABV, Port Brewing Company.
The Shark Attack Double Red Ale has strong hoppy and malty characters with peppery spice notes and a smooth finish. Great American Amber…
Old Viscosity Ale, 10.0% Port Brewing Company.
The Old Viscosity has the scent of a porter but the taste of a stout. The bottle even boasts to tease the drinker by refusing to reveal whether it’s a stout or a porter. It certainly worked because we argued about it for more than a half hour. The Old Viscosity has chocolate and spice notes and is super smooth for a porter but excellent for a stout as well. This imperial porter stout is a flat out A plus.
Judgment Day, 10.5% ABV, The Lost Abbey.
The Judgment Day Quadrupel Belgian has a sweet Belgian nose and a sweet flavor. Dark brown and purple in color, the Judgment Day light on carbonation and lacks bite but is still full flavored with a unique mouth feel.
Devotion Ale, 6.25% ABV, The Lost Abbey.
The Devotion Belgian Pale Ale is intense on flavor with a little kick. It’s also light but has good bite and good carbonation. It has notes of malt and fruit but is a little too light for a Belgian Pale Ale.
Hop-15 Ale, 10.0% ABV, Port Brewing Company.
The Hop-15 Ale is a sour but subtle in hoppiness for a double IPA. Although it’s not too flowery, which we love, there is little carbonation, almost like a Harpoon. The Hop-15 is sweet, malty, and robust with a perfect character of hops.
Wipe Out IPA, 7.0% ABV, Port Brewing.
The Wipe Out San Diego Style I.P.A. struck us as perfect balance of hops. The combination of the Amarillo, Centennial, and Simcoe hops is brilliant. It was quite possibly the best beer we’ve ever drank.
As I sat down this past Sunday afternoon getting ready to house a meatball and sausage parm sandwich, (see Sunday Meatballs and gravy recipe; note, I added grilled hot italian sausage to the crock-pot this past week as well) I needed something to wash it down before I booed Donavan McNabb as he made his illustrious return back to Lincoln Financial Field.
Since Chris Berman, Chris Carter, and Tom Jackson kept telling me that this was such an important game, I needed a serious beer. So… I selected Port Brewing’s “Wipe Out” San Diego Style I.P.A. There was a dude surfing on the label and since I was in Philadelphia on a cool October day, I thought it totally made sense for me to choose it.
Port Brewing Company was founded by brother and sister team Vince and Gina Marsaglia on the premises of Pizza Port in Solana Beach southern California. As their operation grew, they jumped on the opportunity to purchase the old Stone Brewing Company facility. With new partners Tomme Arthur and Jim Comstock, they created a line of beers inspired by Belgian style beers. Impressively in a couple of years, Port Brewing Company was named brewery of the year at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival.
Back to Philly… So I emptied the bottled IPA into a pint glass and it poured a glorious orange cloudy color. The head was extra frothy and stuck immensely to the sides of my glass. As I watched Vick’s ribs crack under the weight of two Redskin defensive backs, Kevin Kolb ineptly throwing underneath pass after underneath pass and Marty Morningwig’s football IQ become more apparent than deferring a kickoff in overtime, I got a huge headache.
But fortunately for myself, I began drinking Port Brewing’s “Wipe Out” IPA. The character of this brew has struck the perfect balance of hoppiness. The combination of the Amarillo, Centennial, and Simcoe hops is brilliant. At 7.0% ABV this was the perfect remedy to the debacle that was my Sunday afternoon. Pick up a bottle of this as soon as possible! It was quite possibly the best beer I’ve ever drank. Cheers.
By Jeremy Thomson, Tom Pittakas, Pat Smith, Paul Reiter, Tim Rodgers and Matt Goldstein
Over the last few years, there has been a serious trend towards beer in a can and Oskar Blues and Slyfox are running the show. Oskar Blues and Slyfox don’t just make 1 good beer in a can; they each make 4 or 5 great beers in a can. As well, you have to admit, the draught can like Young’s Double Chocolate and Guinness is pretty damn cool. Just admit it. You know you love beer in a draught can!
1. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV, Lyons CO.
2. Slyfox Phoenix Pale Ale, 5.1% ABV, Phoenixville, PA.
3. Maui Coconut Porter, 5.7% ABV, Lahaina, HI.
4. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV, Lyons, CO.
I walked into my favorite grocery store with a wide array of freshly prepared foods and an immense beer selection in their refrigerated area for lunch one Saturday. I loaded up on some General Tso’s and spicy Thai noodles. The most important question of course…what to drink? What better to pair with my spicy cuisine (especially since I was going to load up on the hot sauce and spicy mustard) than a fine IPA. I perused the IPA section and it could only have been fate that led me to choose Lake Placid IPA that fine Saturday.
As I washed down my Asian fare with the IPA, I immediately enjoyed the pleasant floral hoppiness of a quality IPA. What stood out for me however, was a nice sweet malty finish and balance to this IPA that you don’t quite get all ofthe time. You can tell that this craft brew encompasses fine quality ingredientsand the resources that upstate New York has to offer.
What started out as a couple of college kids experimenting with some home brewrecipes, evolved into opening a Brew Pub and Restaurant, and eventually into a full brewery with a distribution agreement with fellow New York Brewery Saranac.
Lake Placid IPA is 6.8% ABV with all the goodness of an American IPA. Although these guys in New York are more known for their Ubu Ale, (which I will have to the trek up the thruway to sample in person one time) I recommend that you grab a Lake Placid IPA this week!
The annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado had over 3500 entries this year and was completely sold out 5 weeks in advance. The GABF is a 3 day event held by the Brewers Association with over 100 beer judges and 500 breweries. The 2010 GABF went from Thursday the 16th through Saturday the 18th. The original GABF in 1982 only had 22 breweries.
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Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Blue Moon Brewing Company, Denver, CO
Dr. David Ryder
Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.
Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
UBC Brewers
Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management
Mad River Brewing Company, Blue Lake, CA
Mad River Brewing Company
Brewpub Group and Brewpub Group Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Country Malt Group
TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Brea, CA
Victor Novak
Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Pizza Port Brew Guys
Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
By Jeremy Thompson, Don Corino, Pat Smith, Tim Rodgers, Paul Reiter and Matt Goldstein
1. Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI:
The Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout is a shoe in to be our #1 overall beer on our next Top 100 beer list. The seasonal Breakfast Stout was already on our top 10 list and the Founders Porter was our Philadelphia Beer Week Champion. Have you ever tasted the Centennial IPA or the Curmudgeon? Please. Founders Brewing Company is the #1 Brewery in the world!
2. Bell’s Brewing Inc, Kalamazoo, MI:
It’s hard putting Bell’s at #2 on this list because these guys have taken the art of beer making to perfection. From the Bell’s Expedition Stout to the Consecrator Dopplebock and the Hopslam are 3 of the best beers in the world hands down. Add the Kalamazoo Stout, Oberon Ale and the Two Hearted Ale and you have a magnum opus in beer making.
3. Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, San Diego, CA:
The Ballast Point Sculpin IPA is largely considered to be the best India Pale Ale in the world. The Sculpin also won a gold medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup. The Calico Amber Ale is made like an English ESB but this American brew is also a gold medal winner. The Big Eye IPA and the Victory at Sea Imperial Vanilla Coffee Porter are entirely world class.
4. Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA:
Stone’s Ruination IPA, Imperial Russian Stout, Smoked Porter and Arrogant Bastard Ale are staples of the craft beer world, while their Anniversary Ale is one of the highest rated beers ever.
5. Port/Lost Abbey Brewing Company, San Marcos, CA:
The Lost Abbey Avant-Garde, Devotion and Yellow Bus along with the Port Old Viscosity, High Tide IPA and Santa’s Little Helper Stout put the Port/Lost Abbey Brewing at #5. Throw in the Hop 15 and Port/Lost Abbey competes with any brewery in the world.
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6. Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA:
Victory’s Hopdevil, Prima Pils, and Golden Monkey are almost mainstream craft beers at this point but the Storm King Imperial Stout, Hopwallop, Baltic Thunder Porter, and V-12 are all world class while the Saison du Buff might be the best Saison in the world.
7. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, Milton, DE:
The 60 Minute, 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPA’s are some of the best IPA’s being brewed today. At the same time, the Old School Barley Wine and the Bitches Brew are some of the best beers in their class. Dogfish also collaborated with Victory on the Saison du Buff.
1. Green Flash’s Le Freak Belgian IPA, 9.2%, Vista, CA
2. Twilight Summer Ale, 5.0%, Bend, OR
3. MacTarnahan’s Lip Stinger Saison Farmhouse Ale, 4.8%, Portland, OR
4. Seven Brides Lil’s Pils, 4.5%, Silverton, OR
5. Golden Valley Festival Kolsch
6. Mt Shasta Mountain High IPA, 7.0%, Weed, CA
7. 21st Amendment Watermelon Wheat, 4.9%, San Francisco, CA
8. Double Mountain’s The Vaporizer, 6.0%, Hood River, OR
9. Lompoc Brewing Son of C-Note, 8.0%, Portland, OR
10. Mad River Jamaica Red Ale, 6.5%, Blue Lake, CA
The Oregon Brewers Festival on the waterfront here in Portland is always a blast. There are tons of people outside getting twisted on the river. What better way to spend a summer weekend?
Portland Oregon is the craft beer capital of the United States. This is most likely because the surrounding mountains provide fresh spring water to the area and all of the local brewers. Local water plays a significant role in the brewing process and the Portland area has taken full advantage. Every beer on our top 10 list is a must, but Green Flash’s Le Freak stole the show!
By Matt Goldstein and Tim Rodgers
Devotion Ale, 6.25% ABV, The Lost Abbey. 
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2010 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards:
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