11.05 Belgian Quad With Oak & Cherries (2018)
Sawdust City Brewing Co.

 

Appearance: Poured with a single finger of head that did not lace but did retain admirably. The body is a deep brown with a crimson hue when the reveals when light hits it. It takes some doing, but you can see steady carbonation in the nearly opaque body.

Smell: Needs warming to bring it out, as until it warms up booze, malt and a small whiff of cherry is all to be had. It never really loses that boozy note, as it's really my biggest complaint, but cherry, plum, molasses, grain make for a powerful nose. I'll give the alcohol potency a bit of leeway, given the style and that it's name is literally it's ABV.

Taste: Fruity and malty as it starts with cherries and a mild caramel malt, to which the cherry then takes on a slight sour note with hints of plum and brown sugar make an appearance before the beer turns to a boozy, whisky oak note mixed with an creamy vanilla sensation that seems remarkably out of place here.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is good and helps out the entire beer, and the transitioning is great except for that creamy note at the end, that as I said is remarkably out of place. That cream note clings a bit, but thankfully doesn't build on itself leaving a mostly clean whisky aftertaste.

Drinkability: This is clearly a beer for a special occasion, and it drinks like it too. That said, it's still refreshing despite it being on the heavier end of medium bodied. Settles down well, which was pleasantly surprising given the carbonation.

Final Thoughts: It's not very often I say this, but I honestly think this beer would have been served better if it hadn't been aged in oak. All of the detractions I've made here (the general high alcohol note, the whisky and vanilla end/aftertaste) seem to stem from that. It's like the beer had a great, unique, cherry quad thing going for it, that gets it's party crashed by this high alcohol whisky note. I would be honestly curious to know what this beer tastes like, not barrel aged. It's still good, don't get me wrong, but I'm honestly more curious what the non-barrel version would taste like.