SAN MARCOS, CA – Some folks may be hunkering down to await the Apocalypse this weekend, but at The Lost Abbey Brewing Company in San Marcos, they’re polishing the glassware and preparing to throw a party worthy of the End of Days.
Over the past several months Harold Camping, leader of an Oakland, California-based Christian ministry called the Family Radio Worldwide, has garnered quite a bit of press and a dedicated group of believers based on his assertion that the bible’s long-predicted Judgment Day will occur May 21, 2011. While many question the accuracy of Camping’s prediction, The Lost Abbey has decided to celebrate regardless of the outcome with a day-long event featuring one of the brewery’s famed Judgment Day ale.
“If the end of the world comes, you might as well be drinking a good beer when it does,” said Lost Abbey brewmaster Tomme Arthur. “And if it doesn’t, you can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a good beer to celebrate. Either way, I can’t think of a beer more appropriate than Judgment Day,” he said.
Judgment Day, a strong “Belgian-style” ale made with raisins, features the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the cautionary tale of the end of the world on its label. It is one of a number of biblically-themed beers produced by the brewery. Judgment Day won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2007 and has been widely lauded in publications ranging from Food & Wine to the Wall Street Journal since The Lost Abbey first released it five years ago.
The day-long celebration, which will be held in the brewery’s tasting room, will feature beer specials, prize drawings, and a contest for those who attend the event dressed as a member from the Apocalyptic story. The original Four Horseman oil painting that appears on the Judgment Day label will also be on display in the tasting room.
Judgment Day happens to coincide with the last day of American Craft Beer Week, an annual event that celebrates the culture and community of American craft breweries across the United States.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll be the only brewery celebrating both the end of craft beer week and the world as we know it,” Arthur said. “And even though our motto is ‘for sinners and saints alike,’ as long as we’ve got a glass of Judgment Day in hand, I think we’ll all be fine.”
The Lost Abbey tasting room will be open for the Judgment Day celebration on Saturday May 21, 2011 from noon to 6p.m. The address is 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069. The tasting room telephone is (800) 918-6816 ex. 102. More information is available on The Lost Abbey Website at www.lostabbey.com.
About Judgment Day Ale
Judgment Day is a Belgian-style “Quad” ale brewed with the addition of raisins. Often compared to desert wines and aperitifs, it is a full-bodied, complex beer with layers of dark malt and sweet raisins, surrounded by round flavors produced by The Lost Abbey’s proprietary strain of Belgian yeasts. Produced year round, it is available in 375ml and 750ml corked bottles and on draft throughout The Lost Abbey’s distribution regions. More information is available on the web.