The Lost Abbey - Judgment Day (Mayan Apocalypse)

So....everyone make it through Armageddon ok? As I'm sure all of you are aware of, today is the day that the world was supposed to end, according to the Mayans. While I wasn't loading up with cases of water and other disaster supplies yesterday, I was sitting down to enjoy what could very well have been my last beer (had the Mayans been right). I felt it was only fitting to commemorate the occasion with Lost Abbey's new Mayan Apocalypse version of their Belgian-style quadrupel, Judgment Day. To make this beer more "Mayan," Lost Abbey decided to brew this version with cinnamon, dried chiles and tamarind.

Mayan Apocalypse pours a deep brown color that's almost black in the glass. A one finger tan head tops the beer and leaves tracks of lace down the glass. The smell is pretty awesome, with big notes of Mexican chocolate, powdery serrano chiles and cinnamon. Hints of caramel, plum and fig were also in there.

The taste opens with a pretty aggressive (albeit one-noted) hit of malt. Slowly, the malt recedes, leaving behind some faint dark fruit, burnt raisin, cinnamon bread and some earthy Belgian yeast. The finish brings a touch of dryness with a creeping chili presence. I couldn't really pick out the tamarind, but if it is in there, it's hiding in the hint of sweetness on the finish. Overall, this was a really solid beer. I'm not a huge fan of the standard version of Judgment Day, but this blows that one out of the water. A very successful experiment by Lost Abbey.  

 

Nice touch, Lost Abbey.

Final Grade: A-


Top 100 Beers Tasted: 45

The Lost Abbey - Judgment Day

It's always nice to pop open something a little out of the ordinary for a special event. For a wedding, maybe it's champagne. For a date night, maybe it's some wine. And for Cinco de Mayo, maybe it's some crappy beer. But what does one do for a rapture? Since this is a beer blog, I think it's obvious that I decided not to go the "champagne" route. But there are so many beers to choose from. Which would be perfect for a day like today? Hmmm, maybe a beer called Judgment Day? If the name doesn't do it for you, maybe the label adorned with the four horsemen of the apocalypse will.

Judgment Day is Lost Abbey's take on the Belgian Quadruple style and another beer in their Good vs. Evil lineup. I'll go out on a limb and say this one is going to fall under the "evil" category. And at 10.5%, it's sure to sweeten any rapture.

Judgment Day pours a dark and murky brown color with some slightly reddish tinges when it's held to light. A smallish light brown cap of foam coats the top of the beer. The aroma wasn't huge off of this one, but I picked up some raisin skins, yeast and brown sugar with the yeast really standing out as the beer warmed. On a side note, there are good yeast smells and bad yeast smells. The yeast smells coming off the Kennebunkport Wheat I had a few weeks back were awful. This beer had a pretty nice yeast smell as it was a bit more earthy and subdued.

The taste starts with some malt sweetness and some prickly carbonation. The middle has some notes of raisin and prune along with some brown sugar. Sadly, the beer started to go wrong for me right after this. While the beginning and middle flavors of this beer are sweet and a bit malty, the finish suddenly turns bitter with an earthy taste that almost tasted a bit dirty. It seemed totally off from where this beer seemed to be heading. The worst part about it is that it doesn't do what a finish is supposed to do- leave you wanting more. It was a little disappointing for a beer that showed a lot of promise off the bat. I'm still glad with the choice of beer, but I'm hoping to drink some better stuff before this whole reckoning business goes down.

Happy rapture!

Final Grade: B

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 22