Alpha Hop Society: Belgian-Style Cherry Quad
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

 

 

 

Great beer, good mouth feel. I’d drink this while enjoying a good movie

Tried this one first of the 3 2018 AHS releases for Feb. because I could only try 1 beer a week (due to it being lent), and this sounded like the best of the 3. Anticipating what a beer will be like is fraught with danger because if it is different from what you expect, it might seem off to you. In my wildest dreams, I thought this might be a dark fruity Belgian quad with beautiful raisin, plum, and more prominently cherry flavors (as it was brewed with cherries after all) along with the depth and complexity of bourbon and oak flavors from the barrel aging. And it was pretty close to what I expected. World class, actually, and possibly worth the cost of admission to the society for this one bottle. It had more sweetness to it than I expected, which actually elevated it in mind to be better than I was anticipating.

You join brewery societies like this to try experimental beers, not to try the world's best beers; but this is up there with some of the best I've ever had. It helps to have this fairly fresh from bottling as, in my experience, cherry flavors tend not to hold-up well over time. As bottled, the cherry enhancement to the quad character is very-well done, and the bourbon barrel flavors really add nice character. At 13.6% ABV, it is quite the complex, decadent sipper. They nailed this, and the people making it either got lucky, or have acquired great skill at crafting beer.