5² (Five Squared) | De Struise Brouwers
Brewed by:
De Struise Brouwers
Belgium
struise.com
Style: Quadrupel (Quad)
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 25.00%
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by MasterSki on 01-24-2012
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 47 | Reviews: 16
3.48/5 rDev -14.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.5/5 rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.94/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.
Pours a hazy reddish-orange with a foamy beige head that fades to nothing. No lacing on the drink down. Small particles of sediment are seen floating around in the beer after the pour. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, candied fruit, and brown sugar aromas. Taste is much the same with toast, caramel, toffee, and candied fruit flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of toast bitterness and an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with nice fruit and sticky sugar qualities, but this one is definitely super boozy and hard to drink much of.
Serving type: bottle.
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look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.
Pours a hazy reddish-orange with a foamy beige head that fades to nothing. No lacing on the drink down. Small particles of sediment are seen floating around in the beer after the pour. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, candied fruit, and brown sugar aromas. Taste is much the same with toast, caramel, toffee, and candied fruit flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of toast bitterness and an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with nice fruit and sticky sugar qualities, but this one is definitely super boozy and hard to drink much of.
Serving type: bottle.
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4.25/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.98/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle shared at Angry Chair Brewing.
Pours like syrup
No head but then 25 % ABV. This is partially hidden and it drinks like only, say 14%.
Very thick: one of the fullest bodies I can remember.
O: wow ... just wow.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle shared at Angry Chair Brewing.
Pours like syrup
No head but then 25 % ABV. This is partially hidden and it drinks like only, say 14%.
Very thick: one of the fullest bodies I can remember.
O: wow ... just wow.
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4.69/5 rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Draft @ ACBF 2012: dark red fruit/brown/amber with a huge creamy tanned head, smells heavily of syrup, concentrated caramel, syrup hops, liquorish, lots of gummy bears, spirity but pretty much no booze on the nose, taste is heavily sweet at first lots of syrup, grenadine, cowberry jam, concentrated caramel, very sweet spices, sweet wheat, lots of gummy bears, aftertaste is an initially heavily surprising burst of booze, very boozy, this is like drinking liquor & stronger even, not very beer-like, think direction of spirit’s, not like for instance the DB XI is, touch cowberries jam in the finish, small sips only, body is quite thick syrupy, jam-like, it is highly questionable a lot of people could finish a 33 cl. let alone a 75 cl. bottle of this, most had difficulties with their sample’s and were splitting it, the booziness of this is questionable but I for one liked the sweet syrupy nature of it, the booze I am less sure about but this was a very insane beer, people had mixed feelings about it, as far as the 75 cl. bottles are concerned, given the price I would never consider & people who say that it needs aging, I don’t fully believe, not sure what people expect the aging to do with this, given the price, I doubt I will ever find out what aging does to it, I though it was a very interesting experiment, it does lean closer to experiment than anything fully consumable, there will be divided opinions but given how many people bought this & that many are looking for it & it sold out very quickly out at, at least one place for a very nice surplus price, financially it was a success, although some people seem to be already abandoning the path that things are taking here but more than enough are still enthusiast
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Draft @ ACBF 2012: dark red fruit/brown/amber with a huge creamy tanned head, smells heavily of syrup, concentrated caramel, syrup hops, liquorish, lots of gummy bears, spirity but pretty much no booze on the nose, taste is heavily sweet at first lots of syrup, grenadine, cowberry jam, concentrated caramel, very sweet spices, sweet wheat, lots of gummy bears, aftertaste is an initially heavily surprising burst of booze, very boozy, this is like drinking liquor & stronger even, not very beer-like, think direction of spirit’s, not like for instance the DB XI is, touch cowberries jam in the finish, small sips only, body is quite thick syrupy, jam-like, it is highly questionable a lot of people could finish a 33 cl. let alone a 75 cl. bottle of this, most had difficulties with their sample’s and were splitting it, the booziness of this is questionable but I for one liked the sweet syrupy nature of it, the booze I am less sure about but this was a very insane beer, people had mixed feelings about it, as far as the 75 cl. bottles are concerned, given the price I would never consider & people who say that it needs aging, I don’t fully believe, not sure what people expect the aging to do with this, given the price, I doubt I will ever find out what aging does to it, I though it was a very interesting experiment, it does lean closer to experiment than anything fully consumable, there will be divided opinions but given how many people bought this & that many are looking for it & it sold out very quickly out at, at least one place for a very nice surplus price, financially it was a success, although some people seem to be already abandoning the path that things are taking here but more than enough are still enthusiast
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3.68/5 rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours hazy dark golden with a small creamy goldenish white head that slowly dissipates while leaving a small trace on the glass.
Smell is sweet and fruity with sweet bread, caramel, plums, grapes, yeasty esters, omarzipan and dried apricots.
Taste is very sweet with sweetened bread, caramel, honey, alcohol, toffee, marzipan, candi sugar, apricots.
Mouthfeel is intense, sticky sweet, boozy and full bodied. Finish is sweet and fruity intensely sweet but the alcohol is well hidden for a beer of 25% , offcorse you can feel the alcohol , but not like 25 %
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours hazy dark golden with a small creamy goldenish white head that slowly dissipates while leaving a small trace on the glass.
Smell is sweet and fruity with sweet bread, caramel, plums, grapes, yeasty esters, omarzipan and dried apricots.
Taste is very sweet with sweetened bread, caramel, honey, alcohol, toffee, marzipan, candi sugar, apricots.
Mouthfeel is intense, sticky sweet, boozy and full bodied. Finish is sweet and fruity intensely sweet but the alcohol is well hidden for a beer of 25% , offcorse you can feel the alcohol , but not like 25 %
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2.64/5 rDev -35.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Thanks, Jason.
Looks like grape juice with minimal head formation. Smells like port, booze and bubblegum. Pretty intense alcohol, sweetness and red wine aromas. Not terribly enticing. The palate is super boozy and sweet. Strong dark fruit flavors, port, bubblegum. Syrupy thick body with a burning finish. This isn't particularly enjoyable, a far cry from Double Black.
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look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Thanks, Jason.
Looks like grape juice with minimal head formation. Smells like port, booze and bubblegum. Pretty intense alcohol, sweetness and red wine aromas. Not terribly enticing. The palate is super boozy and sweet. Strong dark fruit flavors, port, bubblegum. Syrupy thick body with a burning finish. This isn't particularly enjoyable, a far cry from Double Black.
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4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml brought to WLV for Zwanze 2012. Shared this with the group at the end of the bar.
A: Pours a thick copper-brown with no head.
S: The nose is quite pungent. Heavy notes of molasses, cooked sugar, earth, burnt caramel, some alcohol-laced dark fruits. The alcohol fills the nostrils with a potent yet pleasant presence.
T: Well, this certainly tastes like an iced quad. The usual quad flavors of grape juice, grainy yeast, dark candi sugar, toffee, raisin bread, along with the pungency and sweetness of the alcohol.
M. Thick, hot, no carbonation, as expected.
O: I enjoyed two pours of the beer. It wasn't a revelation, but it was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml brought to WLV for Zwanze 2012. Shared this with the group at the end of the bar.
A: Pours a thick copper-brown with no head.
S: The nose is quite pungent. Heavy notes of molasses, cooked sugar, earth, burnt caramel, some alcohol-laced dark fruits. The alcohol fills the nostrils with a potent yet pleasant presence.
T: Well, this certainly tastes like an iced quad. The usual quad flavors of grape juice, grainy yeast, dark candi sugar, toffee, raisin bread, along with the pungency and sweetness of the alcohol.
M. Thick, hot, no carbonation, as expected.
O: I enjoyed two pours of the beer. It wasn't a revelation, but it was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
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3.14/5 rDev -23.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
750 mL bottle poured into a Hunahpu snifter.
Appearance - Looks like sediment floating about. Deep red. No head. Viscous and sugary.
Smell - Lots of apple and alcohol. Like a super strong uncomplex ice cider. Maybe a cognac aroma to it as well. It's not really that boozy. Interesting.
Taste - Very sweet. Apple again. Fruity sweet alcohol flavor. Not a very interesting flavor. It's intense. Well done for what it is. Kind of a bad aftertaste, though.
Mouthfeel - Sugary, heavy, boozy. Everything that you'd criticize a beer for, but it's almost excusable for a 25% beer.
Overall - Well, it's impressive for it's size, but that's about it. Intense alcohol and fruit flavor. Too much.
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look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
750 mL bottle poured into a Hunahpu snifter.
Appearance - Looks like sediment floating about. Deep red. No head. Viscous and sugary.
Smell - Lots of apple and alcohol. Like a super strong uncomplex ice cider. Maybe a cognac aroma to it as well. It's not really that boozy. Interesting.
Taste - Very sweet. Apple again. Fruity sweet alcohol flavor. Not a very interesting flavor. It's intense. Well done for what it is. Kind of a bad aftertaste, though.
Mouthfeel - Sugary, heavy, boozy. Everything that you'd criticize a beer for, but it's almost excusable for a 25% beer.
Overall - Well, it's impressive for it's size, but that's about it. Intense alcohol and fruit flavor. Too much.
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5² (Five Squared) from De Struise Brouwers
4.09
out of 5
based on 47 ratings.
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4