Lost Abbey Carnevale (2008)
For centuries Venetians lightened the dark of winter with an elaborate upending of social order. In donning a disguise for Carnevale, for one night a pauper could become a prince, a learned man a fool, a proper lady a passionate lover...and no one would be the wiser.
This beer is our tribute to that grand celebration of the unexpected. A Saison-style blonde ale with American hops and... well, thats all you really need to know. Now put on your mask, raise your glass, and toast to the magic of a winter’s night mystery.
Le Carnevale!
Editors’ Note: this beer has not been produced since 2008 and DOES NOT CONTAIN BRETT, all bottles produced after maybe rated on the Carnevale 2009+ entry.
This beer is our tribute to that grand celebration of the unexpected. A Saison-style blonde ale with American hops and... well, thats all you really need to know. Now put on your mask, raise your glass, and toast to the magic of a winter’s night mystery.
Le Carnevale!
Editors’ Note: this beer has not been produced since 2008 and DOES NOT CONTAIN BRETT, all bottles produced after maybe rated on the Carnevale 2009+ entry.
3.7
306 reviews
San Marcos, United States
Community reviews
Grainy with hints of belgian yeast and floral hops. doesnt taste like a specific style, a little weird but a decent drink.
though i brought it to a bbq, full bottle drank by myself. a fruity saison. notes of bubblegum, toast, melon fruits, spices, pears, and hay. good, complex well put together beer. however, i generally prefer my saisons to be a bit drier, less melon-fruit like, more rustic, funky, lemony, with a bit of tartness. this was solid for what it was. a fruity, ,medium bodied, well carbonated spiced up saison. worth trying. interested to try the bretted version.
750ml bottle at Churchkey in DC. Aroma is yeasty, with notes of spice. Flavor is notes of spice, wheat, mellow, slightly sweet. A pretty solid beer!
Bottle 750ml.
Clear medium orange color with a small average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, white to off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, moderate to heavy yeasty, fruity, apricot, coriander notes, light alcohol. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic. [20091203]
2008 750mL bottle. Named after a party, and I opened this over the sink just in case.. but barely a sound as the cork was extracted. Poured clear, milky golden with a short cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up funky yeast and lemon rind over bready sweetness.. dank, degraded Amarillo-ish floral hops and other spices accented.. wet and kinda pulpy on the back with more lemon and floral character. The flavor found bready malts at the core, with much emphasis toward the dry side of things.. dry clove (well.. ok.. not necessarily clove, but I can’t put a finger on what it is) spiciness, tart lemon, and oak surrounded.. finished with juicy fruit tartness and spices with a wash of floral bitterness and lemon after the swallow. Lighter-bodied with nice citrus and spices on the edges, but the malts stuck at times, and kept it from being truly refreshing.. I really did dig the way the spices and yeast character played, though.. tasty, but perhaps a little past its prime.
Bottle at Retorp’s LA tasting. Poured a hazy golden color with an average sized creamy white head. Nose is very fruity with notes of banana, orange, cloves, and light funk. Medium body with a creamy mouth feel and soft carbonation. Flavor is spice, citrus, candi sugar, pilsner malt, mild funk, some bread and banana. Finishes with a spiced Belgian feel.
I must say I was lucky to have this bottle with a friend of mine as we do not get Lost Abbey in this area. Pouring a nice golden color with just under half an inch of head. Most of it is going away fast but some is sticking around for the duration. I am smelling pears, wheat, subtle fruit nuances that sort of blend together, and some candied sugar smells in there as well. I taste the candied sugar flavor upfront, hops hiding in there and almost hints of bread here and there. Light to a medium body and a great mouth feel. Nice beer.
Corked bottle. Golden color. Peppery citrusaroma and flavor with nutmeg. Malty sweetish with mango and peach. Peppery aftertaste. Very well balanced.
Pours a clear golden honey color. Three fingers of fluffy white foam sit on top. Fades to a nice rocky foam that sticks around for quite awhile. Lacing is spotty, but decent.
Super funky belgian yeast type nose. White citrus fruits. Bananas and apricots. Honey and clover. Nice light spicey notes. Belgian candi sugar sweetness.
Smells like a spot-on Saison.
Light and floral tasting. Slight mild pepperiness. Hints of clove. Slight bitterness from hops, which actually serves this one quite well. Bananas and peaches. Quite yeasty and bready. Big wheat and earthiness notes, all around. Very good balance in this one.
Nice and clean taste. A little bit lacking in the creaminess that I love so much about Saison/Farmhouse Ales.
This is a highly drinkable bottle of beer. Clean and slightly creamy. Good balance of flavors. The 6.5%ABV won’t knock you on your butt, either.
Great representation of the style.
Bottle courtesy of sebletitje. Pours a generally clear golden color with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of honey, caramel, grass, wheat, floral esters. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of honey, caramel, light brett, light floral esters. Medium body with a dry finish.
19th April 2008
Clean tasting ale with a creamy frothy head. Wheat beer style fruitiness but slightly marmaladey. Semi bitter finish that is dry. Coriander tones throughout. Refreshing.
Bottle (don’t recall for sure where I got it, but likely via HogTownHarry). Doing an inventory of my stash today, I discovered this was missing, and then recalled that I brought it to dinner at a friend’s place a couple of months ago and didn’t take tasting notes. D’oh! I remember it pretty well, though, as we all really enjoyed it. Had a rich golden colour with a moderate haze, and a luscious aroma of tropical fruit, spice and yeast. I remember pineapple especially, and a bit of funk as well. Flavour was equally enjoyable, with similar notes to the aroma, and a solidly hopped finish. A slightly unorthodox Saison, but still a very good one.
Bottle. Moderate malt aroma of grain, perfume and lemon/lime for the hops, light soap and musty for the yeast, with background notes of apple, wine, cedar and allspice. Head is small, frothy/fizzy, white with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is hazy amber/orange. Flavor starts lightly to moderately sweet and acidic, then finishes lightly acidic and slightly bitter. Palate is medium, oily with a lively cabonation. Spicy and fruity, this is one nice Saison.
Bottle from Monument Liquor in Concord, CA. This was a great beer. Poured a hazy golden color and smelled of spices. Wonderful mouthfeel and very easy to drink. Predominately tasted of citrus and floral flavors. A real winner from Lost Abbey.
From the Bottle at Dr Bill’s Tasting Falling Rock Tap House, Denver 10/10/2008
Some spiced aroma. Golden coloured hazy in appearance. Wheaty and spicy clove flavours. A little bitterness in a dry finish.
2008 edition. This one’s carbonation edged off, still a nice summer saison. Light cloudy colour, pleasant spicy odour. Easy mouthfeel, with some caramel, zesty cardemon, orange citrus, pepper,
Bottle. Pours an attractive hazy golden orange with a quickly fading white head. The nose is pretty subtle; some clove, grass and a tinge of banana. Simple pale malt base with notes of white grapes, grass/hay, lemon/citrus, clove, banana, pear and light flowers. Earthy hop character. Ample hop bitterness but very well balanced by a little residual sweet maltyness. Medium bodied with moderate carnbonation. Solid saison.
750ml as a gift from gandgkevin. pours a beautiful, light golden straw color with a medium, bubbly white head a great lacing. aroma is great with sweet, bready malts, mild brett funk, and big fruit notes of lemon zest, pineapple, and sour apple with touches of spicy cinnamon and clove. flavor is delicious and crisp with big notes of green apple, lemon, and toasted malts with hints of spicy clove, hay, brett funk, and earthy hops with a dry, fruity finish. palate is medium bodied and crisp with high carbonation. overall, a very good saison.
Pours a pretty delicious looking dark yellow muted orange color. Definitely not like it is going to hit you with the full body and sweetness that it does. Some spice, a little sweetness, and some baked bread aromas. Citrus flavors and spice bread again. This would make a nice drink around the holidays with all the cinnamon and clove going on. There is that faint fusel alcohol going on but it is muted enough to add some complexity to the finish. A little of that stuff goes a long way.
Pours a beautifully brilliant golden color. Very little head retention. Carbonation is quite low as well. I am finding a slight sweetness that is uncharacteristic of a classic Saison. However, it is very balanced and fruity. I believe this comes from their house strain of yeast, I like it! This is a true pleasure to drink and the esters are truly starting to grow on me. Definitely would give this to a give a friend.
750ml bottle. Spicy, somewhat funky aroma, herbal woody and fruity with notes of honeyed apple, flowers and faint tartness. Lightly hazy medium golden color, head is fine and lasting. Sweet malt, fruit and spices in the flavor, more sugary malts and yeast funk, with suggestions of straw, honey, wood, earth and melon. Surprisingly thick mouthfeel, gently tart with a medium-full body. Pretty nice beer overall. Cheers to theisti for the share!
Cloudy gold pour--not much head to it at all. Semi-sweet aroma. Bubblegum/banana flavors with a bit of spice in the finish. Almost more of a wit than a saison.
Poured from bottle at brewery tasting. Aroma has immediate funk, a kind of musty peach fruit. Quite nice, actually. Flavor matches the nose, dancing and changing across the tongue the way a good Saison should. I got some spicy notes in there, which added complexity. I’d get this again easily.
750 ml bottle graciously sent to me by Sparky27. Pour is slight haze golden orange, with a smallish white head. Nice lacing. Aroma of fresh grainy resin malt, clove, some bright yeastiness. Taste is mostly about the clove initially, followed by some apricot sweetness and a very grainy wheatiness. There is also grass and a hint of barnyard going on in the back. Palate is medium, low carbonation. Very dry and grainy finish, some residual clove. Nice Saison, gets a little dusty in the finish. Thanks for sending this my way, Eric.
Bottle from Julio’s. This pours a golden-orange color with a fluffy white head that ends as a thin layer. The aroma is flowers, yeast, mild spice, fruity notes; apples, pears, very nice. Sweet malty and grassy flavors up front, followed by fruits, apples, pears, banana, which meld nicely with some light barnyard notes, and spicy hops finishes this out. A little on the sweet side as it warms. Very easy drinking and refreshing. Good one for the summer.
750ml bottle purchased at Perry’s in Livermore, CA. The aroma on this is pleasant with some barnyard notes and a spicy quality reminiscent of ginger. THere might be a bit of Brett in there, but it is slight if there is. Mildly hazy golden body with a small white head that is pretty quickly dissipating. A nice sweet, malty saison with a pretty oily body. There are some nice dusty, lightly funked yeast notes present as well, before a lightly hopped finish that has mild bitterness. This is really good and not overdone with Brett like so many others.
Bottles poured at NHC pro brewer night. Poured a cloudy yellow. Nose is swet malt, spicy yeast, floral hops and some lemony notes. Flavor is a crisp sweetness, lemons, pear, spicy yeast, bready, some funk, citrus tartness. Very nice saison.
750 ml bottle purchased from Binnys (Orland Park, IL). Been waiting to crack this for a bit, moved it ahead of many other bottles. Pours a hazy straw hue, a touch of orangish glow in the background, moderate bright white bubbly head in a tulip glass. Aromas are a bit of dust, light banana and pear, a touch of hay, with a touch of floral hop, a touch of funk becomes more noticeable, worn leather. Very niice. Initial is medium bodied, a bit lively as the head subsides to a thick film and coats very well. Sweetness of a touch belgian, a bit fruity with pear and apple, a light funkiness, dry, with the funk coming in stronger into the body, with dust and faint spice. The flavors grow, the sweetness up front, the funk and earthiness, with good brett into the body. This is a very nice brew. Finishes dry, crisp, a bit funky.. the sweetness is largely up front for me, and a bit in the aftertaste. A bit sour upon getting further into the brew. This one is a keeper from LA.
Bottle from Zinister at the Houston sour tasting. Thanks, man! Pours a nice, thick cheddar yellow/orange with a nose of Irish Spring and hay. Flavor is old apple and malty orange. Average mouthfeel. Party’s over, fellas.
750ml. Heavy malt, coriander and spice aroma. Gold body with white head that disipates quickly. Body texture of dense malt makes this on little hard to drink. At first decent spicey coriander flavor. Second glass the texture was like hard sweet sugar cany and was little harsh on palate. Different brew more like a Belgian to me but what do I know.
Just had a home brew TheBeerOrg sent me. A Saison style brew. Good coriander and fruity aroma. Hazy yellow body with white head and a sediment shot of yeast ion bottom of glass. Good zesty coriander and lemon fruit in the mix. Just thought I would add this on to this rating for comparison. Good refreshment from thebeerorg. Much better than the Carnevale Ale. Thank You. 7/3/7/3/14=3.4