The Found Abbey

For many epicureans, as with any other group of enthusiasts, there will always be archetypal representations of genre based perfection that are lost, or simply cease to exist. The fish that got away, is a typical lament for any manner of minutia masters and for the booze hound and the beer snob, these occurrences become rarer and rarer as the world slowly cruises closer to itself via the internet and the market. Most examples of these phenomena in our realm of dorkery pertain to small runs of super rare specimens that grace the shelves of a favorite beer monger for the briefest of moments, snatched into oblivion by fellow fiends and unknowing boozers. As our network expands, there are fewer and fewer beers that remain unknown, and those that were once impossible to find somehow grace the shelves of Wholefoods…
‘Le Trappe Quadrupel’ was the most coveted Belgian bottle to grace the shelves of one of our first perpetually amazing beer stores, Jubilation, in Alex’s hometown of Albuquerque. The beer, bottle conditioned in beautiful ceramic 750ml crocks, was the first brew to really push our early conceptions of Belgian ale. It was also consistently sold out up until the day that, until now, the beer disappeared from our lives. Many a night Le Trappe’s name was mentioned listlessly over glasses of both sub par suds and the best Belgian ales these four lips have sipped.
Today, after taking turns trying to pry the goddamn cork out, we tapped a gold mine. We swished and clicked and swirled and ogled the brew with the usual drive and attention. Then one of those sense-memory vortexes opened wide and threw us back five years. The thick cloud of a head, miniature hoards of bubble that tickle the underside of your tongue and the crystalline apple cider finish literally transported us 797 miles to a higher altitude and a drier climate where the sky stretched on forever. A time when expired Texan identities were our one trick ponies in a town whose punishment for underage drinking was death…
Here’s the problem: we have no idea where this bottle of glory was bought. It was one of the few interesting things left over in a cooler for the Great L.A. Beer Ride, and as such has an easily reducible pedigree. Who of our 8% and abovers knows where to find this loverly libation?
Find it. Even if you’ve never had the pleasure of the old ceramic bombers, this beer will make its mark on your mind.
Diary Pairy: La Tur, a soft ripened blend of Italian sheep, goat and cow’s milk.
Soundtrack: Agustus Pablo “This is Agustus Pablo”