7 Swans-A-Swimming
The Bruery

This 2024 rendition is 9.1 ABV. 7 Looks like a quad, but could have a lasting foam if the yeast was more active. Smells are mostly dark tree fruit dried; cherry probably is strongest. Tastes are well-balanced, particularly given how much sugar seems to be used here. Medium-mouthed; as I prefer more viscous in my quads. A simple quad, in a good way.

I give big Overall Hugs to The Bruery for this series, working it well, yet still innovating annually.

Copenhagen 17/1 2026. 37,5 cl heavy glass bottle from DrikBeer web-shop. Label in The Bruery's usual design in red with some green spatter.

Pours clear dark mahogany with a red hue. mid-sized off-white head. Stable. Settles as a thin and patchy layer of foam unable of covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is fairly intense with a sweet and sugary odor of malt and alcohol. Brown sugar, toffee and sweet dark alcohol. Dark fruits like raisins and a bit of over-ripe plums.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, oily, soft, slightly viscous, soft lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is intense with a strong sweetness followed by a moderately intense bitterness. Aftertaste is sweet with a notable touch of sweet liqueur. Lingering. Finish is semi-dry and rich.

Pretty straight forward take on a Quad.

 

 

Dark mahogany pour with a huge, off‑white head. The aroma brings caramel malt, fresh bread, raisins, and classic yeast character. The flavor is rich, malty, and moderately sweet, delivering exactly what the style promises. A well‑executed classic.

7 Swans-A-Swimming pours a dark amber, with a smaller, long-lasting, and lacing head. The aroma is sweet and dry, with notes of cherries. The flavor is a little sweet, with sweet cherries, hints of sweet cranberry bread, and good full body. Good feel as well. Overall, a nicely flavored quad, slightly sweeter, with some fruity notes.

 

 

Bottle into a tulip glass. Pours a dark red-brown with a finger of tan foam. The nose is dark fruit, molassas, and sweet malts. The flavor starts off dark fruit and transitions to molassas, finishing with sweet malts. Well balanced. Medium bodied and smooth.

Not retired,rather on draft at City Beer. Sweet quad. Fresh and flavourful quad. Angel pick. California guest. Complex. Above average carbonation. Sweet.

750ml bottle from Jeremy. Dark brown pour with some ruby highlights, beige head. Aroma is sweet malts and fruit, cherries. Taste brings some cherry cola flavors, leather, tobacco. Touch of Belgian yeast

The bottle was cellared for 8+ years. The pour is mahogany colored and clear and hosts a ring of fine, tan foam.
The aroma is of candi sugar with a hint of brandy.
The flavor is rich and nuanced. Plum, raisin, date and toffee accompany Belgian yeast flavors. The brew is sweet without alcohol heat.
The mouthfeel is pleasantly sticky and smooth without being thick.
-quite enjoyable

Bottled 11/14/14, and while it has fallen off a bit, it’s still pretty good. Pours a dark brown with ruby ending and a big fuzzy head that dissipates quickly, leaving no lacing. Scents of dark fruit, molasses, caramel, and brown sugar. Taste isn’t as strong as the nose, but the above flavors are there. Kind of thin, the alcohol is disguised well, and it’s an easy sipper. Good, but it’s like an older woman who, while she still looks attractive, was probably way better when younger.

Rating for the re-brew. Pours a very dark reddish brown, 1" tan head with low retention and lacing, far less than expected from the style. Nose is sweet brown bread, black licorice, brown sugar. Apart from that, however, there's not a lot here - no big yeast notes, no dark fruits, very little spice. Not bad, but very one-note. Taste is equally subdued - it isn't overly sweet, but sweetness (date sugar?) is the predominant flavor. Very little complexity on the palate, no spice, no contribution from the yeast. Mouthfeel has significant weight, while the carbonation is quite light. Advertised by the Bruery as a to style Quad without any additions, and perhaps that's why they fell short with this one.

 

Poured from 750 mL bottle into snifter. Bottled 10/2/14.
A: Pours a dark clear ruby hue with a skim of tan head that quickly recedes.
S: Cherries and red wine. Dark dried fruit and soft oak.
T: Cherries, red wine, and some dried berries. Hints of dark dried fruit, soft oak, and subtle malt.
M: Medium body. Flat and past peak. It says best up til 5 years, and this is 7 years out. Dry sweetness.
D: Wish I had popped this open 2-3 years ago. The yeast elements are gone at this point.

750ml Bottle dated 10/3/2014 into St. Bernardus Chalice on 12/31/2021, the Seventh Day of Christmas

Dark Amber with minimal tan head. Smells of carmel malt, peach, and candi sugar. Taste was full on morello cherries and tart peaches. Not much in the way of Quad dried fruits. Possibly infected, but not in a horrible way. Leans more towards a dark fruited sour with 7 years on it.

**
12/25/21

2014 Bottle (7 years old) to snifter.

Black color, brown-red mahogany color at edges, no head.

Tart cherry, black cherry, raisin. Blackberry. Wine.
Not sure if this has changed overtime, but i get none of the bready/yeasty belgian quad flavors. The tart fruit dominates.

**