11.2 oz Bottle
Big fan of Belgian quads - apparently this one is up there with St. Bernardus Abt 12 (one of my favorites) and Westvleteren XII (widely considered the best Belgian quad in the world, if not the best beer in the world).
Pours a gorgeous dark caramel/amber with small dark hints of red. Some nice a little bit darker than khaki foam, starts at about an inch, fades to about an eights of an inch, some dark discoloration in the foam in spots, almost looks like there's some cinnamon floating on top.
Strong fruit on the nose - cherry, plum, orange, and banana; a bit of cinnamon/clove spice and sweet wheat as well. A bit of alcohol scent in there rounds out the nose. Really complex scents that are really well balanced. Really nice fruity flavors (mainly the cherry and plum, but also hints of orange and banana) in the taste as well, balanced by a nice wheat body, some caramel sweetness, and a touch of spice (though I do wish the spice notes were a tad stronger); does a really nice job of making sure that this quad is not too fruity. Lower carbonation gives this a nice smooth, almost velvet mouth feel, really enjoyable.
Other than wishing there was a bit more spice to this one, my only other complaint-ish comment is that there is a really strong alcohol presence in this beer. I do understand that this is an 11.3% Belgian quad, and that a decent amount of alcohol presence is the norm for this type of brew, but I was really surprised by just how much the alcohol was present on the taste. These are, of course, very minor complaints; the finished product is still an amazing beer.
Overall Rating: 4.4/5
PS: Gave it a tenth of a point lower than St. Bernardus Abt 12, which I though was just marginally better, but still wanted to make that distinction here.
Big fan of Belgian quads - apparently this one is up there with St. Bernardus Abt 12 (one of my favorites) and Westvleteren XII (widely considered the best Belgian quad in the world, if not the best beer in the world).
Pours a gorgeous dark caramel/amber with small dark hints of red. Some nice a little bit darker than khaki foam, starts at about an inch, fades to about an eights of an inch, some dark discoloration in the foam in spots, almost looks like there's some cinnamon floating on top.
Strong fruit on the nose - cherry, plum, orange, and banana; a bit of cinnamon/clove spice and sweet wheat as well. A bit of alcohol scent in there rounds out the nose. Really complex scents that are really well balanced. Really nice fruity flavors (mainly the cherry and plum, but also hints of orange and banana) in the taste as well, balanced by a nice wheat body, some caramel sweetness, and a touch of spice (though I do wish the spice notes were a tad stronger); does a really nice job of making sure that this quad is not too fruity. Lower carbonation gives this a nice smooth, almost velvet mouth feel, really enjoyable.
Other than wishing there was a bit more spice to this one, my only other complaint-ish comment is that there is a really strong alcohol presence in this beer. I do understand that this is an 11.3% Belgian quad, and that a decent amount of alcohol presence is the norm for this type of brew, but I was really surprised by just how much the alcohol was present on the taste. These are, of course, very minor complaints; the finished product is still an amazing beer.
Overall Rating: 4.4/5
PS: Gave it a tenth of a point lower than St. Bernardus Abt 12, which I though was just marginally better, but still wanted to make that distinction here.
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