La Trappe Quadrupel (Koningshoeven / Dominus) | Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V.

4.75/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

I've always found La Trappe Quadruple good but too sweet.
But this is best before 8 2008 so it's a fourteen old beer, and this changes it all.
Ageing usually brings more sweetness, but time often smooths the edges and in this case made this beer perfect.
Sweet is not so dominant, carbonation is obviously low, smell is so round, molasses, caramel, hint of ripe apricot, chocolate, delicate on tongue and caressing on the palate.
Is seems a good oak aged even without the barrel taste but only the goodness that age brings only to what is good in the beginning.
Oude kaas from konigshoeven itself and morbier were the companions in this true experience.
If you have a Trappe Quadruple in your cellar I suggest forgetting it for at least a decade.

 751 characters

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.63/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

3.93/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4.18/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look - reddish brown pretty thick hazy with a slight tan lasting head
Smell - banana, toasty malts, honey
Taste - slight blend of Dark fruit and banana
Feel - medium creamy body with a crisp light carbonation
Overall - pretty good quad but there are better

 258 characters

4.27/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

4.4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

3.71/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

For my second time tasting a La Trappe brew, I chose a Quadrupel. It poured an amber brown color, a bit lighter than other quads I've had. Surprisingly, the modest head quickly dissipated and left a thin ring, unusual in that my experience with other beers of the style yields massive heads.
The aroma is of dark bread crust, nutty, amber malts, raisins, banana and alcohol.
The taste emphasizes sweetness and phenols, with a dark fruity quality, in particular, alcohol soaked raisins and amber candi sugar. There is a modest degree of spice that offsets the sweetness and alcohol somewhat.
Medium bodied and with a musty feel. However, for me the high alcohol content and sweetness make it more of a sipper.
Granted they are different styles, but I liked La Trappe Tripel more for its drinkability and balance of flavors, particularly, how well it masked the alcohol. This one was ok but doesn't quite measure up to the great Trappist Quadrupels.

 950 characters

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.24/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.1/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

4.49/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.94/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

4.27/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

4.55/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.41/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

4.74/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

3.88/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Appearance: Quite a bit lighter than most other quads, pours a dark orange/light brown. Thick head that fades over about a minute leaving a beautiful little clump in the middle and a ring of very clingy lacing.

Aroma: A bit underwhelming considering other quads I've tried. Prominent alcohol in the aroma, malt forward, dark rye bread, banana, usual dark fruit overtones further in the back. Has a hint of sourness to it.

Mouthfeel: Medium thick, much less thick than most other quads, though rather smooth. Light to medium fine carbonation.

Taste: Sweet fruit up front, transitioning into a sort of almond bitterness that unfortunately accentuates the alcohol. It seems to lack the richness and depth that many other quads have. While it hits many of the usual notes (banana, dark fruits, etc) I struggle to find anything terribly stand out about it.

Overall: While not a bad quad, you could certainly do better considering the competition. If you haven't had it, it might be worth seeking out simply due to it being rather "different" from the rochefort/bernardus/etc quad palate, but not a game changer and certainly not at the top of the ranks. I tasted this beer alongside Rochefort 10 and St Bernardus 12, and the Rochefort won, St Bernardus in second and this close behind.

 1,287 characters

4.29/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look: Rich amber and caramel with golden hues. Trappist alb.

Nose: Bananas, boozy, flaky biscuits, vanilla, Compline incense.

Taste: Caramelized bananas, butter caramel, vanilla, some oak, prayerful silence.

MF: Creamy, chewy, delicious.

Overall: Incredible. I love monks, and their beers.

 294 characters

4.19/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.18/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.24/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This was poured into a chalice. The appearance was a golden burnt orange ruddy brown color. Thick foamy white head that dissipates nice and even and then messy stringy lacing. The aroma takes in crisp sweet Belgian sugars, plums, raisins, mild sweet Belgian yeasty/bready, subtle vanilla, creamy almonds. The flavor takes in a nice blend of the sweetness to the spices. Lingering sweet bready/sweet to spicy aftertaste running into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body, surprisingly a bit more sessionable than I thought. Carbonation feels good. ABV barely reveals itself, wow, damn well hidden. Overall, damn fine quad, I would love to have again.

 687 characters

3.77/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

4.34/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25