The Lost Abbey Red Poppy
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Tasting Notes
Red Poppy pours from a base of aged sour brown ale and leads with aromas of tart cherry, balsamic vinegar, and a faint earthiness from the wild yeast strains. On the palate, flavors of Bing cherry and cranberry dominate, supported by a mild oak character from barrel aging and a gentle malt backbone that keeps things grounded. The body is medium-light, with a drying acidity that builds through the mid-palate. The finish is long, tart, and faintly funky — closer to a Flemish red in character than many beers bearing the American Wild Ale label.
About the Brewery
The Lost Abbey operates out of San Marcos, California, founded in 2006 by Tomme Arthur and Vince Marsaglia as a sister project to Port Brewing. The brewery built its reputation on Belgian-inspired and barrel-aged ales, with a strong focus on sour and mixed-fermentation programs. Tomme Arthur is widely credited as one of the early architects of the American craft sour movement, and the Abbey's lineup — including Cuvée de Tomme and Duck Duck Gooze — remains a benchmark for the category.
Food Pairings
The cherry-forward acidity here works well with duck confit, where the fat softens the tartness and the fruit notes complement the richness of the meat. A charcuterie spread anchored by soppressata or aged salami lets the beer's funky complexity come forward against the salt and fat. Aged Gouda offers a caramel nuttiness that bridges the malt base and the sour fruit. Dark chocolate with a high cacao content mirrors the balsamic depth in the beer without competing with it. Roasted beet salad with goat cheese is a natural fit, the earthiness of the beet echoing the wild yeast character underneath.
Style Guide
American Wild Ale is a loosely defined category covering beers fermented or conditioned with wild yeast strains — most commonly Brettanomyces — and often lactic acid bacteria as well. The style draws heavily on Belgian traditions, particularly lambic, Flemish red, and oud bruin, but American brewers apply those techniques more freely across a wider range of base beers and adjuncts. What distinguishes it from a straight sour ale is the presence of Brett-driven funk — barnyard, leather, stone fruit — layered on top of or alongside the acidity. ABV can range widely, though many examples, including this one, stay on the lower end to let the fermentation character lead.