Beer of the Week: The Original Brut Ale

From the Beer Writer: I’ve long referred to a certain brewery in San Marcos as a three-headed monster. That operation is the all-under-one-roof combo of The Lost Abbey, Port Brewing and The Hop Concept. Different beers covering a broad spectrum ranging from the West Coast to Eastern Europe, all of them made by the exact same people. Running three brands is no easy task, but Director of Brewery Operations Tomme Arthur and company don’t seem to be fazed. Earlier this year, they debuted an unfathomable fourth brand to their portfolio, Tiny Bubbles, the goal of which is to offer sour ales that serve as everyday drinkers versus special-occasion beers. The key to accomplishing that is this week’s featured beer, The Original Brut Ale, a lactic-fermented beer dosed with Brettanomyces and sea salt. This fruity, tangy creation serves as the base for Tiny Bubbles offerings flavored with other ingredients, all of which are built for sunny-weather enjoyment. The beers are packaged in slim, highly transportable, 12-ounce cans and sold in four-packs, which should appeal to the rosé-all-day sect. And so should this beer and its fruit-infused cousins.

From the Brewer: “Tiny Bubbles is our newest passion project. While we have made sour beer at The Lost Abbey for almost 15 years now, this is a departure for us. We have always viewed sour beers as being a long and slow process, but consumers are craving fresh, quickly soured beers and it was obvious we needed a platform for this. My friend Eric Rose from Hollister Brewing was one of the first brewers in California to attempt this style and I have always thought it one of the best versions out there. Personally, I always felt this was as his beer was ‘live.’ It was brewed with a real lactic fermentation and then the beer was allowed to condition without being boiled off to kill the lactobacillus. I approached the new owners of Hollister and we struck a deal to bring the brand to San Marcos. We enlisted the help of branding guru Dylan Jones, and set out to build this new brand. He created our mascot, Brutus T. Bubbles, and gave us an awesome capacity to have fun with this process and packaging. The original recipe (that we acquired from Hollister) now has a splash of Brettanomyces in it. We have also produced an OG (as in orange guava) and Key lime version. There will be a Rose (raspberry) one in the not-so-distant future, as well. Beyond that, we know there are numerous other options for us. The beer is probiotic and weighs in at 130 calories. It’s a perfect San Diego drinking beer and one we think people will be excited to have in their refrigerators.”—Tomme Arthur, Director of Brewery Operations, The Lost Abbey