B. Keeper
The Bruery

Dark mahogany, 1" tan collar of head, brief retention and some cocoa lacing. Nose is rich malt, dark fruit, tamarind paste, fruity molasses, baking spice. Taste is somewhat vinous, deep malt development but still pretty fruity. Lots of raisin, but some fresher, sweeter fruit as well. Roasted flavors linger, along with some wood and baking spice. Sweet honey notes and red apple on the end. The flavor in here really develops, gets much better over time. Drank this one over the course of three days, and I think it benefited from it (something I've noticed with a lot of these bigger Bruery beers). Feel is full, but has some solid carbonation that lasts pretty well. Overall, this was surprisingly good.

mead barrel aged belgian quad with raisins, super heady, not sure ive seen mead barrels as a treatment for beer, was so intrigued by this one. its delicious, but its also one of the most outwardly alcoholic beers ive ever had from these guys, which is really saying something, as they have so many offerings in the extreme abv range, this one is all of its listed strength and then some, hot in the nose, on the palate, and on the breath after, wow. amburana wood in the mix here too which is cool, really flavorful and different, the kind of beer i expect from these guys. mahogany colored with some light haziness to it, modest carbonation and a real short head from the tap. it smells sweet, the raisins are strong and there is fig and date sweetness here too, molasses and brown sugar, and obvious honey character from the mead with a little floral thing going on, subtle vanilla, oak, and port wine layers too, and rather subtle belgian yeast, the malt base seems right for the style, that abbey type richness, alcohol all the way. the flavor is great, well integrated, real mature, woody and sweet, maple and raisin abound in this, the mead has a yeast aspect that seems cool with the mild belgian tones in here, toffee and nut brittle and brown sugar, quite rich the whole way. subtle oxidation, back end whiskey character, leather, pipe tobacco, figs, dried cherries, and amarone wine. delicious overall, so alcoholic that it stings and seems kind of spicy later on, but enough sweetness to round it out and soften it some, fuller bodied, slow paced carbonation, awesomely complex flavors, the mead barrel is way cool, would love to see a more delicate base beer put it to use too, but this is way cool beer.

Pours black with mahogany edges and a two finger khaki head. Nose is burnt sugar, raisins, and some oak. Taste opens with some Belgian spice, and honey that folds into brown sugar and molasses and then into cocoa and a hint of coffee. Body is medium with similar carbonation. Ends sweet and dry with a linger cocoa and honey mix. Overall a wonderful quad from the Bruery full of rich complexity that’s balanced well.

 

750 ml bottle, 2023 edition, bottled 08/09/23. Served in a chalice, the beer pours a dark reddish/brown color with about an inch or so frothy tan head that stuck around a while. There's a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, it smells like dark fruit (raisins, plums), honey, woodiness, cinnamon and some other sweet spices. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also the addition of some clove, whiskey and coconut flavors. Leans sweeter tasting in general. Little bit boozy, too. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this one, definitely worth a try if you get the chance!

750 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Bottled 8/9/23, had 12/2/23.

Pours a mostly opaque dark ruby color, with a half inch foamy head and light foamy lacing. Aromas of cinnamon, raisins, mead, some coconut and whiskey, light oak and licorice. Has a lightly fruity scent. Flavors of cinnamon, mead, whiskey, malt, some caramel, light raisins and coconut, light cherry, a little licorice. Smooth, a very good medium body, appropriately carbonated.

Hard for me to describe because I don’t have a lot of mead, but the barrels do seem to display whiskey, mead and the amburana. The mead and amburana kind of mask some of the Quad qualities, but there is a solid base beer underneath. Very enjoyable.

B. Keeper pours a very dark red color, almost black, with a very small head. The aroma has notes of raisins and sugary spices. The flavor is dark, dry pit fruits, lots of raisins, a hint of honey, and sugary sweet spices. Good feel. Overall, this is a darker quad, loaded with raisins.