Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi

This beer really didn't work out for me very well.

This actually seemed to have some potential when I first popped it open, and sampled it with MSEyeChart's tasty pasta n' red sauce dinner. The beer was too cold at the time, of course, but hints were there that this beer might open up and develop nicely as it warmed.

T'was not to be, it seemed. As this warmed, it actually degraded rather sharply. This reminded me of the time that I popped open a bottle of Unibroue Maudite that I had aged far too long. Very muddy and confused tasting -- sweet & sour clashing in both the glass and on my tongue. Down the hatch, it was a rather discordant and mismatched medley of flavors, none of them getting along very well.

A confused mish-mash of flavors can sometimes be forgiven, if there are signs that this would meld/mesh nicely if given some time in Time Out. But really? I don't think that even that would help this beer get it's proverbial shit together.

If this were some homebrewer's first go at a holiday beer, I'd give it a thumb's up and then move on to greener pastures. But this one, coming from the Be-All and End-All freakin' Tomme Arthur? Sorry. The bigger the stage, and the bigger the hype, the harsher the criticism.

Meh.

I'll repeat myself: Meh.
//TB