Motley Cru (2013)
Bellwoods Brewery
- From:
- Bellwoods Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Belgian Quadrupel (Quad)
- ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 90
- Avg:
- 4.09 | pDev: 9.54%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 8
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 18, 2019
- Added:
- Jul 12, 2013
- Wants:
- 6
- Gots:
- 5
SCORE
90
Outstanding
90
Outstanding
Of all our barrel-aged releases, this one certainly meditated the longest. By selecting barrels that had been aging for over a year, we were able to extract some of the very first beers brewed here at Bellwoods. Aided by the help of a veritable army of bugs, this blend of a sour, golden Tripel with a fruity, barrel-aged Quad is deliciously complex, showcasing leathery notes from Brettanomyces alongside cherry, red grape, and a muted tartness that offsets the residual sweetness. On one hand, Motley Cru is a culmination of our efforts over the first year of operation, on the other, it's just a perfect beer to sip and savour.
Having gone through an initial fermentation, a fermentation with wild yeast, and refermentation in the bottle with champagne yeast, this beer is effectively triple fermented. Motley Cru is the first instalment in what will be an annual barrel-aged blend. The second of two beers released to commemorate our first anniversary.
Having gone through an initial fermentation, a fermentation with wild yeast, and refermentation in the bottle with champagne yeast, this beer is effectively triple fermented. Motley Cru is the first instalment in what will be an annual barrel-aged blend. The second of two beers released to commemorate our first anniversary.
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Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York
3.06/5 rDev -25.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
3.06/5 rDev -25.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
This one pours a dark-ish red color, with a small head, and not much lacing.
This smells oxidized to the moon and back, unfortunately, with cardboard and old wine. There's definitely some decent malt character on the nose, though.
There's loads of old cardboard, stale sherry, and old fruit here, and it just buries what is clearly a solid BA quad underneath, with nice notes of leather and caramel and breadiness.
This is lighter bodied, and a bit sweet on the finish, with no hint of the booziness, at least.
This probably should have been drank years ago. It's cool to try, but overall pretty disappointing.
Jul 18, 2019This smells oxidized to the moon and back, unfortunately, with cardboard and old wine. There's definitely some decent malt character on the nose, though.
There's loads of old cardboard, stale sherry, and old fruit here, and it just buries what is clearly a solid BA quad underneath, with nice notes of leather and caramel and breadiness.
This is lighter bodied, and a bit sweet on the finish, with no hint of the booziness, at least.
This probably should have been drank years ago. It's cool to try, but overall pretty disappointing.
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)
4.46/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle: Poured a murky light brown/reddish color ale with a large foamy head with great retention and some lacing. Aroma of vinous notes with some tart notes and dry fruits and caramel malt notes is quite astonishing. Taste is also a great mix of tart and vinous notes with clearly identifiable oak and cherry notes with some caramel malt and dry fruits notes also perceptible. Body is full with good carbonation (bottle was a bit of a gusher) and alcohol was not perceptible. This open has aged gracefully and this is extremely well brewed and something the brewer should consider brewing again.
Jun 11, 2016
Reviewed by SebD from Canada (ON)
4.28/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Huge thanks to peensteen for hooking me up with this one!
Bottle 599 of 599. The last bottle!
Appearance: It has a nice hazy deep ruby-amber color to it. It has a nice thick creamy off-white head that dies down moderately and leaves some nice lacing.
Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of dark fruit (mostly cherries), some tartness, grapes, woody oak, some breadiness, sweet caramel and faint port wine.
Taste: Like the aromas, it has a some sweet dark fruit (cherries, red grapes), some port notes, a light tartness, oak, bready malts and some sweet caramel.
Mouthfeel: It has a low/medium carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.
Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied by good flavors and aromas.
Jun 27, 2014Bottle 599 of 599. The last bottle!
Appearance: It has a nice hazy deep ruby-amber color to it. It has a nice thick creamy off-white head that dies down moderately and leaves some nice lacing.
Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of dark fruit (mostly cherries), some tartness, grapes, woody oak, some breadiness, sweet caramel and faint port wine.
Taste: Like the aromas, it has a some sweet dark fruit (cherries, red grapes), some port notes, a light tartness, oak, bready malts and some sweet caramel.
Mouthfeel: It has a low/medium carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.
Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied by good flavors and aromas.
Reviewed by mmapes from Colorado
4.12/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.12/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Big thanks to Andrew for the trade. I wasn't looking forward to "sour belgian," so thanks for taking a chance on my tastes.
Pours a beautiful dark, clear amber/ruby with a little bit of head. I give the appearance a perfect 5. Beautiful. Smells a little sour, as though from sour apples.
First sip is not very sour. Tastes like a belgian -- mild hops, more bready and yeasty body -- with a sweet backbone, only a hint of sourness, and maybe a touch of wood.
Later sips: it's very smooth with a long bready finish, just a hint of funk. The sour touch is a great balance.
Delicious stuff that occupies the same space as a bright quadruppel or a strong abbey. Would buy again if I could.
Dec 05, 2013Pours a beautiful dark, clear amber/ruby with a little bit of head. I give the appearance a perfect 5. Beautiful. Smells a little sour, as though from sour apples.
First sip is not very sour. Tastes like a belgian -- mild hops, more bready and yeasty body -- with a sweet backbone, only a hint of sourness, and maybe a touch of wood.
Later sips: it's very smooth with a long bready finish, just a hint of funk. The sour touch is a great balance.
Delicious stuff that occupies the same space as a bright quadruppel or a strong abbey. Would buy again if I could.
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)
4.09/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.09/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
750ml bottle, one of an apparently very limited run, so muchas gracias to hoppypocket for sending this one my way. Kick-ass play on words for the name, and cue 'Shout at the Devil', just because. I am missing the umlauts, though.
This beer pours a mostly clear, dark brassy amber colour, with two fingers of tightly foamy, wispy, and bubbly tan head, which leaves a few instances of cartoonish sea creature lace across the glass as it evenly and equitably subsides.
It smells of tart apple, cherry, and red grape fruit, earthy and duly funky yeast, bready caramel malt, and sherry-soaked barrel staves, from which ethereal vanilla, grainy wood, and vinous alcohol notes emerge. The taste is semi-sour, somewhat muddled orchard fruit, sweet caramel and toffee malt, gritty, grainy toasted barrel wood, with the various attendant red wine alcohol esters, generic brown sugar, more dried cherry fruitiness (which may or may not inform on the unspecified wine cask nature), fairly indecipherable warming spices, and rather unloved earthy, wet leafy hops.
The bubbles are fairly active and involved, but in a generally low-key and innocuous manner, the body medium-light in weight, and somewhat confused and obfuscated in its smoothness - blame the 'complex' nature of the overall entity for that. It finishes mostly off-dry, the fruit, yeast, wood, red wine, and more generic alcohol all on board this particular jihad.
Rather engaging for a sour, wine barrel-tinted, and generally overwrought Quad, a style which normally plays on a more subtle level of expertise. At any rate, this is still pretty tasty, the sky-high ABV well-restrained, the sourness eventually akin to its input proportions, and the malt a bit hard to pin down, but pleasant and approachable enough by the time it's given due attention. More complicated than complex by the end, but to no great fault, as 'Anarchy in the UK' is just being teed up. All good, inside and out.
Nov 06, 2013This beer pours a mostly clear, dark brassy amber colour, with two fingers of tightly foamy, wispy, and bubbly tan head, which leaves a few instances of cartoonish sea creature lace across the glass as it evenly and equitably subsides.
It smells of tart apple, cherry, and red grape fruit, earthy and duly funky yeast, bready caramel malt, and sherry-soaked barrel staves, from which ethereal vanilla, grainy wood, and vinous alcohol notes emerge. The taste is semi-sour, somewhat muddled orchard fruit, sweet caramel and toffee malt, gritty, grainy toasted barrel wood, with the various attendant red wine alcohol esters, generic brown sugar, more dried cherry fruitiness (which may or may not inform on the unspecified wine cask nature), fairly indecipherable warming spices, and rather unloved earthy, wet leafy hops.
The bubbles are fairly active and involved, but in a generally low-key and innocuous manner, the body medium-light in weight, and somewhat confused and obfuscated in its smoothness - blame the 'complex' nature of the overall entity for that. It finishes mostly off-dry, the fruit, yeast, wood, red wine, and more generic alcohol all on board this particular jihad.
Rather engaging for a sour, wine barrel-tinted, and generally overwrought Quad, a style which normally plays on a more subtle level of expertise. At any rate, this is still pretty tasty, the sky-high ABV well-restrained, the sourness eventually akin to its input proportions, and the malt a bit hard to pin down, but pleasant and approachable enough by the time it's given due attention. More complicated than complex by the end, but to no great fault, as 'Anarchy in the UK' is just being teed up. All good, inside and out.
Reviewed by peensteen from Canada (ON)
4.31/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Brownish ruby colour, 1.5 fingers of off white head, some lace here as well. Smell has dark fruit and a strong vinious oak to it as well, fruity and light sweet notes, some soured fruit with a bit of acidity, oak, with a light sweetness. Taste is fruity, oak, port wine, lightly tart and acidic, dark fruit and a bit jammy, medium sweetness with just a touch of alcohol. Medium carbonation, medium full body. Solid stuff, well worth the wait for this one, I can see this getting better with time, exceptional.
Sep 12, 2013
Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)
4.28/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bottle #342/599 to tulip. Bottled on 3/15/12.
A - Deep copper/brown colour with one finger of light brown head. Almost completely opaque.
S - Funk/sour notes up front with some sweet caramel, bready and woody notes. There is a light whiskey-like aroma present as well.
T - A big sweetness that becomes more and more prominent with each sip. Caramel, toffee and grape flavours dominate with some lighter oak and cherry flavours coming through. The finish has burnt sugar and oak. There is a light funk present throughout which is not nearly as prominent as the nose suggested. Very complex overall but the sweetness makes this one difficult to drink too much of.
M - Medium, almost full body. Light carbonation.
Aug 31, 2013A - Deep copper/brown colour with one finger of light brown head. Almost completely opaque.
S - Funk/sour notes up front with some sweet caramel, bready and woody notes. There is a light whiskey-like aroma present as well.
T - A big sweetness that becomes more and more prominent with each sip. Caramel, toffee and grape flavours dominate with some lighter oak and cherry flavours coming through. The finish has burnt sugar and oak. There is a light funk present throughout which is not nearly as prominent as the nose suggested. Very complex overall but the sweetness makes this one difficult to drink too much of.
M - Medium, almost full body. Light carbonation.
Reviewed by jrenihan from Canada (ON)
4.22/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.22/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
This one is pretty hard to classify. A blend of a barrel-aged quad with a barrel-aged tripel, with brett and other wild yeasts added. American Wild Ale? BSDA? I have called it a Quad because it tastes closer to that than a tripel and the wild component is pretty subdued.
Bottled March 15, 2013.
Beer is dark chestnut brown with some reddish hues. Good-sized beige head. Decent retention and lace.
Smell is a bit tart, with a strong oak scent. Some dark fruit- a bit of cherry, vinous port scents. A definite winey aroma. A fair bit going on, but it is not an overpowering scent.
Taste is fairly unique. A slight tartness, big oak flavours and lots of port. Bready malt base and some spices. A bit of honey. Fairly sweet, a bit of a molasses flavour. Cherry, red grape. Very complex. Alcohol is well hideen given the strength- pretty dangerous.
Full bodied, quite creamy. Moderate carbonation. A bit astringent.
Overall, very good. I am curious to see how it will develop, as I feel this one could improve.
Jul 12, 2013Bottled March 15, 2013.
Beer is dark chestnut brown with some reddish hues. Good-sized beige head. Decent retention and lace.
Smell is a bit tart, with a strong oak scent. Some dark fruit- a bit of cherry, vinous port scents. A definite winey aroma. A fair bit going on, but it is not an overpowering scent.
Taste is fairly unique. A slight tartness, big oak flavours and lots of port. Bready malt base and some spices. A bit of honey. Fairly sweet, a bit of a molasses flavour. Cherry, red grape. Very complex. Alcohol is well hideen given the strength- pretty dangerous.
Full bodied, quite creamy. Moderate carbonation. A bit astringent.
Overall, very good. I am curious to see how it will develop, as I feel this one could improve.
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