Good Game
Oskar Blues Grill & Brew

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet and spicy, the grand daddy of all the Belgian styles manifest in an American taste with huge proportion. Oskar Blues' rendition delivers the complexity, variance and charm of the abbey but with a sweeter and fruitier balance.

Amber and bronze hues adorn the glass as a cottony swath of foam settles on top. Its bright bouquet is full of fruit and spice while tinges of red wine, brandy and maple pull the beer's chemistry together. Its rich and candied taste is equal parts caramel, honey, hard candy and praline.

But over the middle, the beer's esters and yeast spices pull from the sweetness and divers boisterous plum, raisin, date, banana and fig that ties into the residual sweetness seamlessly. A spicy rebuttal counters with peppercorn, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg for an even-keel balance and larger-than-life intensity.

The full-bodied ale remains creamy and rich, just shy of cloying. Its vinous spice carries the flavor of dry sherry but with the burn of brandy. Peppery hops aid in the beer's offset of sweetness though the taste of fruitcake remains indefinitely with echoes of wine and candy reverberating in aftertaste.

Big and beautiful, sweet and fruity.

Aroma is rich with deeply caramelized malt, raisin, and vinous characters.

Flavor reveals that sour, vinous character throughout, reminiscent of some homebrew gone wrong. There's some cardboard oxidation at the finish. Mid palate, toasted, nutty malt, raisins, and prunes add complexity, but are overwhelmed by the sourness. Not what I expect in a quad. Certainly on the dry side, for the style. Likely due to that infection. Phenolic notes surface in the finish.

 

 

 

 

Pours darker than a normal Belgian. Lots of bubbly. Smell leans on the sweet side. Sweet and boozy taste. Pretty good beer. Unfortunately most Belgians I have had are out of this world. Still a good solid beer. Just a bit too sweet for me.

 

 

 

Big, boozy, and very sweet for a quad. It tastes good going down and warms you up too. Almost has more of a barleywine flavor palate, raisin, brown sugar, toffee, sweet malts, dark fruit and lots of booze. Not the most authentic quad, rather a quad that pushes boundaries, is good for dessert, and gets the job done in the abv