Decennial I: God Complex
River North Brewery

Cellared one year. Opaque cloudy brown body with a tan cap. Smells of big boozy dark fruit, cherry, leather, earth, banana, yeast. Taste is cough syrup with these things. Feel is warm, yeast, large on the palate, and sneaky robust. Age it more than I did

 

375 ml bottle

Pours dark brown, reddish hue, minimal light penetration. Yellowish head retains as a bit of lacing.

Aroma is of rich bready malts, some apple and banana, other estery notes, maybe some caramel and hints of spice.

Flavor of rich bready malts, caramel, apple, banana, clove, nutmeg, some floral notes, and some plum.

Body is full and viscous. Light sting of carbonation.

Whenever I see an American take on a Belgian style, I just assume it's going to be pretty far off. This pours more like a barkeywine, but honestly the rest of it is a pretty good approximation of a Quad. It's also just a really good beer on it's own merits. Could have done with some more candi sugar flavor for the Quad classification, but as a big, rich beer, it's a smooth slow-drinking treat. Definitely worth trying, worth cellaring, and something I would definitely pick up again.

A: The beer is a little hazy and dark mahogany brown in color. It poured with a quarter finger high light tan head that left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of banana are present in the nose along with notes of raisins and other dark fruits.
T: The taste follows the smell, except that the flavors of dark fruits are a bit stronger than those of the banana and there are additional hints of malty-like sweetness and candi sugar.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: You can definitely tell that this beer is strong from all of the fruity and sweet flavors but the taste isn't really that alcoholic. It is a pleasant beer to sip and savor.

Serving type: bottle

A Tavour treat. Pours a dark brown color with a minimal head that lasts quite a while. Aroma is sweet and fruity. Taste is very sweet; the high ABV is well hidden. A slight warming from the alcohol. A bit too sweet for my liking