10°
Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company

 

 

 

22 oz capped bottle. 2014 vintage in 2016.

Dark amber color, fairly clear. Thin white head. Nice aroma of boozy dark fruit and toffee, caramel. Similar taste. Sticky mouthfeel. Overall good effort for an American quad.

 

Very deep, golden-brown. Aromas of heavy sweet malt and some earthiness. Taste is a little too sweet, IMHO, but usually typical of this style..Still a little too much. Malts are of brown sugar, barnyard, etc. Finish is sweet, yet slightly clean..

 

22oz into a chalice. Pours a clear mahogany w/ a thin off-white head, good carbonation.

Aroma is bready, spicy, fruity. Toffee, dates, raisins, caramel.

Taste follows nose. Sweet and bready, with nutmeg and cinnamon, dried fruits. Floral esters from the Belgian yeast.

Mouthfeel is characteristically dry, good carbonation.

Overall a well-build quad that might get even better with a little age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium to dark bronze amber with a thin light khaki head with decent retention and lacing. Aroma of bready and caramel malt, dried dark fruit, particularly dates and raisins; much maltier than a typical quad. Flavor is more of a semi-sweet, biscuity malt unlike the aroma, with dark dried fruit and a fleeting estery fresh fruit flavor in the middle, which I recognize from other Selkirk ales, finishes with fruit esters and biscuit malt. Medium bodied with some pleasant creaminess. A different take on a Belgian quad here. The initial fruit and malt are more reminiscent of a dry biscuit malt barleywine, like Mad River's Barleycorn, than a Belgain quad, but the distinctive Selkirk estery fruit yeast brings in a more Belgian character. Quite malt forward for a quad or Belgian in general, and light on the Belgian spices. Fortunately I really like the Selkirk Belgian yeast flavor and that redeems this as a domestic Belgian. Not traditional, but flavorful and interesting. I really liked this, but have to dock it a few fractional points for being off style. I will definitely buy this again.

Appearance is nice enough, with the red-haired brown color but a very modest foam. Not so spritzy and the carbonation evaporates. I get just a whiff of wild sourness starting to develop. But the stuff is hugely sweet.

This tastes like some kind of Barley Wine. Sugary malt with a bitter hoppy finish. Really an unpleasant combination. It's not oxidized tasting, but I get beets, sweet vermouth, and tomato soup. Then the raisin syrup is followed by a harsh bitterness that creeps up.

I have three other beers from this place to taste. I'm hoping this will be the worst one. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Bottleworks in Seattle.

 

Poured this into my large (50cl) Leffe goblet. Medium brown, shades of orange with silky beige head. Aroma is dried fruit, some wine esters, raisins, getting richer as it warms. taste is more of the same, sweet with faint alcohol burn. This is true to the style and very authentic. Nice to see the Americans refining this style without adding any extra ingredients. Well done.