Wizard Burial Ground
Brewery Vivant

2022 variant

'You shall not pass' printed on bottom of can along with 11.07.22 canning date

Poured at fridge temp into a tulip glass and let warm up.

Pours a ruddy bronze with a small and fairly even head, though completely faded away. 4

Aroma is big bourbon and vanilla, along with being boozy intoxicating. 4.25

Oaky, slight caramel and vanilla sweetness, but a good and hefty dose of boozy heat and lingering burn. 4.25

Body is sticky, though not syrupy thick, but full nonetheless. Warming and biting alcohol and smooths out as it warms up. Recommend warming up and sipping. 4.25

Overall very good and my first quad. Much akin to straight bourbon though significantly more pleasant and dynamic in my opinion. I'd certainly enjoy again and again. 4.25

Mostly cloudy lighter brown appearance with a finger of tan foam. Aromas of strong bourbon, caramel malt, prune, date, and raisin, with mild yeast. Taste is boozy quad with a caramel dipped date and raisin flair, bourbon forward in barrels by a wide margin, dark fruit complexity is far less than nose but what it does have is potent. Feel is a little light but plenty full, yeast depth is limited, very warm and smooth. Certainly not too classical in construction but enjoyable

 

Wizard Burial Ground 2022 from Brewery Vivant. 16 oz can. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Received from @Whyteboar in NBW BIF #16. Reviewed 19/12/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on can bottom “Packaged on 11/07/22”. Served at 55.2 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 60.8 degrees.
Appearance – 4.25.
First pour – Pale Gold (SRM 4), clear.
Body – Deep Gold (SRM 6), clear. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, still deep gold.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white, high density, quickly fizzing away to create a broken ring of bubbles and no cap.
Lacing – None, not surprising at 14.3 % ABV.
Aroma – 4.5 – Fruity with caramel, sweet, eventually bourbon wafts by. The oakiness is mild and not particularly tannic, almost like a softer woodiness. No hops, no yeast. Very weak ethanol hangs on the exhale.
Flavor – 4.5 – Flavor follows the nose – lightly sweet and caramelly, no hops, no yeast. Bourbon and barrels are secondary players in this symphony. No ethanol (14.3 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Marked gastric warming occurs then fades. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.5 – Medium, almost syrupy, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.5 Unusual coloration for a quad, distinctly more gold than ruby; still, quite attractive. Both the nose and flavor are well integrated and harmonious, providing mutual support and synergy. Even the slight syrupiness on the palate works well with the flavor and aroma. Delicious!

 

 

16 oz can, 2017, poured into a tulip

A- A clear brownish ruby red with a small tan head.

S- Bourbon, some dark fruits, toffee, some vanilla, oak, hints of caramel.

T- Dark fruits, figs, some raisins, bourbon, some vanilla, oak, slightly earthy, caramel, some toffee.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A well done Quad, nose is a little weak but the taste checks all the boxes for a quality Quad.

Color is dark brown. Smell is slightly sweet. Taste is slightly sweet, very malty. Taste is that of more of a dessert type of beer. Feel is smooth.

Overall, this is worth the hype. I would be interested in getting this again.

 

 

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown (almost reddish) with a light layer of tan head. Quickly dissipates, leaving no lacing. Nose is amazing. Toffee galore. Bourbon, wood, vanilla, and figs. The taste follows the nose, with super smooth and rich toffee. Wow. It's definitely sweet, with very little boozy taste. Grapes, apples, and figs. A big of earthy/grass taste. It's on the edge of being a tad syrupy, but it's still within the range that I like. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and the aftertaste is predominantly sweet toffee. Overall, a really nice done BA quad.

 

16oz can PACKAGED ON 11/17/20 (13 months ago) poured into a Chimay chalice at 51° Fahrenheit 11.7% ABV per can. The beer pours bright ruby tinted amber with light khaki colored head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and island of tiny bubbles. The aroma is mild with caramel, oak and dark fruit. The taste is semisweet caramel, toffee, vanilla, mild bourbon, medium char oak and deep, rich fruit flavors. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with less than medium carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. There's a hint of booze, but I'd have never guessed 11.7% Overall, excellent.

slightly strong quad ale alot of flavors come out the bourbon from the barrels and vanilla makes in very enjoyable

Pours a beautiful translucent caramel with a fizzy white head bubbling up to a finger and reducing to a still headless liquid. Aroma is caramel, raisin, and booze. Taste follows suit with a burnt sugar sweetness up front and some dark fruit undertones, finishing with a good alcohol bite. Feel is smooth and syrupy, delicious beer!

2021-12-05
16oz can served in a tulip. 2018 vintage. "PKG #111918 B1" stamped on the bottom. Received from @Whyteboar in a NBS BIF #14 associated LIF.

Pours a rich copper, mostly clear, small head. Smell is rich dark fruit, dates/raisins mostly, also boozy. Maybe a hint of a banana fruitiness.

Taste is fruity, candy-sweet, really nice. Tons of raisins and plums, vanilla makes it more candy-like than fruit-like. Something in it reminds me of root beer or maybe horehound. Brown sugar / molasses.

Mouthfeel is thick, rich, almost syrupy, kind of sticky, smooth. Overall, this is really interesting and really good.

Thanks to @FBarber for sending this along as one of the mystery beers during NBS BIF #13, fulfilling a longtime want. Thanks Frank!

Review written completely blind

4.25Pour is a beautiful crisp amber. Little swell of sappy off-white head that settles down to a cozy little cap... honestly it reminds me of old school PNW IPAs (maybe a little dark/amber for that, but in that vein), and it makes me real nostalgic.

4Nose is sweet, but not in like a juicy NEIPA sweetness, more in like a barleywine/ryewine/wheatwine kind of way. Like caramel/boozy raisins/etc. Yum.

4.25Flavour carries a lot of the same. Boozy raisins and very sweet caramel and a bit of depth with some leather and a little spicy tobacco. Above it all is still that candy sweet, like the sweetness of dulce de leche, but not quite as... bold/rich/thickness of that. Finishes with that tobacco spicy character which is nice. I would guess some sort of barrelling, but could easily be persuaded against as well.

3.75Much thinner than the flavours listed above would suggest. Not quite watery, but certainly thin. Small blanketing pricks of carbonation help give it some body. I don't know what the ABV is, but I would not guess this is is something that warrants a 'high abv' label, just based on tasting it. I'm not saying it tastes sessionable or anything, but it doesn't carry it's octane on its sleeve, as it were, to mix some metaphors.

Revealed to be a 2018 can. Thanks Frank!

Jan 2021 Review
2019 vintage, canned Dec 2019. Poured into a pint glass.

Pour: deep ruby/mahogany color. One finger tan foam head. Lots of bubbles, minimal lacing, layer of clouds. Other than no lacing and a small head, a very attractive beer. 3.75

Nose: bready malt, dark stone fruit. Not particularly fragrant. 3.5

Taste: sweet, bready malt, brown sugar, vanilla, oak, sweet bourbon, distinct cherry flavor, very smooth, slightly sticky. Enjoyable but maybe a bit too much going on. 3.75

Feel: sticky, low carbonation, although plenty of bubbles. Smooth and easy drinking. 3.75

Overall: I’m not real familiar with a quad, or a BA quad, but this, as others note repeatedly, tastes and feels like a BA barleywine. Interesting and works on a cold evening. Probably not a got to or something I’ll seek out again but wouldn’t turn it down. 3.75

Canned 1/21/18
Hallows Eve 2020 beer.
Pours a caramel colored tan. Big boozy barrel aroma, lots of vanilla and bourbon notes. Nicely carbonated. Lots of caramel sweetness, little roughness on the end. Touch of cola character that it doesn’t quite shake.

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my snifter,2019 vintage, courtesy of a swap with @whyteboar. Thank you!
The beer pours a clear amber color with reddish ruby highlights. A dense creamy eggshell white head of 2 cm foams up and fades slowly to one large sturdy island in my glass and a solid edge layer as well. This foam remains throughout the sampling. Several active streams of carbonation also rise towards the surface of the beer.
The aroma on this brew is what I would expect from a barrel aged beer, some caramel and light fruitiness, mixing with a bit of vanilla and hints of brown sugar and a faint boozy scent. No hop presence to speak of here.

First sip reveals a medium body and sticky slightly syrupy textured body. Very mild almost non existent carbonation. Seriously smooth physical experience.
Flavor is sweet from start to finish with brown sugar, some light fruit notes, actually cherries, caramel and vanilla. I also get some black peppery booze bite on the finish and also faint warming after the swallow.
Smooth sweet quad with no hops and hidden ABV. I like it!

Review #1443
I rarely drink quads. I am spoiled when it comes to quads. My first few quads were the best anyone could get. Many I have tried afterward had not been up to that par. This beer is difficult to brew correctly. I have decided several times not to review this beer. Today, I said I am evaluating it. This beer is a 2017 vintage. The beer is 50 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The pour of the beer produced a craggy and airy head with zero retention. I was hoping for some glimmer of hope from the head. The head of the beer did not leave any lacing on the glass. Mahogany color with a reddish tint is the color of the beer. The clarity is mostly clear.

The aromas in the beer are big malty sweetness, caramel, toffee, bready, raisin, figs, cherries, alcohol, fruity esters, prunes, spicy phenols, fruit esters, a hint of herbal, vanilla, wood, and earthiness.

The flavors in the beer are malty sweetness, caramel, toffee, bready, raisins, figs, cherries, prunes, fruity esters, phenolic, wood, earthiness, alcohol warming, vanilla, oak, bourbon, and toasty malts.

The mouthfeel of the beer is warming, thick, and sticky sweet.

The body of the beer is full, low carbonation, and full finish.

I am sorely disappointed with this beer. This beer is not a quad; furthermore, it is more akin to an English Barleywine. This beer is overly sweet and sticky. The barrel age on the beer is hiding deep in the swamp they call a beer. I was wanted more from this beer; it did not deliver.

2018 vintage.

A- Tall can pours into an 8oz glass with a fairly light copper-ruby body and foamy one finger cap that falls down pretty quickly to a small ring. Thin foamy island in the middle and lacing is rare with a few small webs and spottiness.

S- The aroma is shaped mostly by fruits and the barrel. The fruity notes are a mix of pale and dark with strong apple, plum, fig and raisins joined by oak wood, spicy whiskey and slight vanilla notes. Not as sweet as malty as one might expect. Minor suggestions of orange zest, prunes, grapes, caramel and brown sugar.

T- A touch more balanced as sweetness, some alcohol hints and malts join the fruits and barrel on the palate but still very, very fruity. Prunes, plum, raisins, grapes, apples and pear come to mind alongside a heavy sweetness with notes of caramel, brown sugar and vanilla. The whiskey note not as apparent here but you get some wood and a hint of the spirit itself. Surprisingly sweet considering the aroma. Hints of spicy yeast and bread but the fruits are dominant.

MF- For 10% the mouthfeel is very silky and borderline creamy with a nice texture overall. Carbonation is somewhat low but not shocking for this style and BA. Ends a bit warm and very sticky sweet.

Have to echo the others that bring up English Barleywine here. The beer ends up being very sweet on the taste buds and fruits are heavy in both the aroma and the flavor.

Want to thank Charity for this treat, can say 2019 version.

Pours a reddish copper not as dark as you would thing nice two finger tan head from aggressive pour. Leaves some descent lace for a big beer.

Aroma is malts, dark fruits, brown sugars, bourbon notes with vanilla. Lots of sugar coated figs, plums and raisins the Belgian yeast notes aren't strong with this one could be more old ale or English barley wine.

Taste is wow lots of sweet malts plenty of free sugars roaming about. Dark fruits sugar coated figs, plums and raisins dominating and other fruit esters underneath. The bourbon is mild and just accents the fruity sweet flavors. No sign of the 10% also not much in the way of Belgian yeast flavors mostly really sweet and fruity.

Mouthfeel is medium with nice smooth carbonation.

Overall I like it reminds me of a local Quad not quite to style but tasty non the less.

 

16oz can of the 2018 vintage (assuming this is released yearly: it does say "2018 Release" on the can) courtesy of Whyteboar.

Poured into a St. Bernardus goblet (apt, as St. Bernardus Abt 12 is pretty much my all-time favorite Quad), this was unexpectedly light colored compares to most other Quads I've had, which have usually been a very dark brown. This is a dark amber color that takes on a rubyish hue when held up to light. A two-finger thick beige head dropped fairly quickly, but left lots of lace behind.

The nose is good, but kinda deceiving. If trying this blind, I would probably assume from the aroma that this is a BBA English Barleywine instead of a Quad. I got some vanilla and brown sugary notes from the barrels, and a sweet toffee-like scent. It's good, but doesn't seem quite right for the style.

After the nose, the taste was confounding - in a good way! This is considerably more complex tasting than the nose, delicious smelling as it was, led me to expect it to be. Sure it's sweet, like the nose led me to expect, but there's some dark fruit, plummy, raisiny notes and a bit of pipe tobacco. Despite the barrels being bourbon ones, I think my taste buds are getting a little bit of rum, too, as well a slight tang of apple juice.

Medium bodied. While the body and mouthfeel is not heavy, like a dessert-sy beer with this kind of sweetness up front might be expected to be, it doesn't quite have that light, effervescent feel that one can expect from the best Belgian examples of the style. In this regard, it doesn't differ from a great many American Quads really, and it's certainly not to a deal-breaking degree.

Perhaps the most unusual Quad I've had, American or otherwise, but it works. This would be great after a hearty meal. I don't have a fireplace, but I bet this would be lovely to drink next to a fire. Maybe I'll go start one outside and finish this next to it! Thanks, Craig!

Pours a translucent copper with beautiful bubble formation. Watching the bubbles travel to the top had me transfixed. A finger of creamy smooth off white head. Nice clarity on this.

Nose is interesting. Pouring it right out while at its coldest led me to believe it was a barleywine. Brown sugar, bourbon, and malt right up front. As it warms though, it shows its true Quad identity. Fig/prune/raisin, banana, bready malt, distinctive hop profile. For a quad this smells sweet and juicy. Very different, but enjoyable.

Taste is bourbon, dark fruit, bright fruit brown sugar, bready malt. This tastes like fruit juice. A little bit of apple, a touch of grape, banana. Sweet, bright fruit similar to the nose. An incredibly easy drinking brew. Not a hint of that 10% makes this dangerous.

Mouthfeel is medium to fullbodied with a slight bit of stickiness. Mild to medium carbonation. Adding another layer of drinkability.

This was very different from what I was expecting. It took me completely by surprise. A quad that is not really spicy or bitter but light and sweet. Very enjoyable and drinkable. A interesting take on the style, but well done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 vintage; drank 1/7/16 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque purple appearance.

A violent pour yielded a small khaki head; nice lace.

Grape juice, cedar, leather & plum notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Plum & grape juice flavors up front; leather & faint oak notes on the finish. Booze heat emerged as this warmed.

A touch sweet but unique & worthy of a quaff. I wish I was patient enough to age one...

 

 

 

Clear, ruby-orange with a finger-and-a-half of light tan head. Settles into a nice cap, and leaves spotty lacing.

Restrained aroma of wood, carbon dioxide, orange peel, some distant plum-and-cherry sweetness and a hint of vanilla.

Creamy, vanilla bourbon shows first in the taste, with lots of orange peel and cherry, and hints of raisin, honeycrisp, caramel and cola.

Creamy, sticky feel with moderate carbonation.

Tasty. Reminds me of an overly-sweet old fashioned or other fruity bourbon cocktail.

 

This quad took me by surprise. Appreciated the amber/reddish color, and a smooth finish after sipping. What I didn’t expect was the rich flavors of oak coming through along with banana and raisin. Good stuff.