The Reaper
Southbound Brewing Company

 

pours a very dark color, like a cola and imperial stout. hints of cocoa and malt.

Southbound Reaper
on tap at Crystal Beer Palace, Savannah, GA

Notes: Quad 9.6% 12 oz. for $6.50. Dark brown almost black body beneath a thick head of tan froth. Caramel, red berries, and light chocolate in the aroma. The flavor follows with more dark fruit (raisin, prune), some spiciness, and some roastiness. The alcohol is well cloaked. A firm bitterness leaves it a little sweetish in the end. Interesting.

 

Fruit heavy quad, Super raspberry flavor and a dry finish

 

 

 

22oz bottle from Sprayberry Bottle Shop (Marietta, GA). 8.99. Bottled 12/14. Served in a Barrel and Barley teku.

Pours a deep, dark, near black brown with a finger of dense, pale khaki head. Definitely the darkest quad that I've encountered. The thick foam fades to a modest ring that leaves some healthy sized islands of lace anywhere it lingers. As I drink down and the volume thins burgandy hightlights are visible around the edges.

Aromas of cocoa, dark fruit, berries, Belgian yeast, bread and sugars. As it warms a bit the scent of chocolate covered berries grows more intense.

Flavors of bittersweet bakers cocoa, raisin bread, raspberry purée, dark fruit, roasted malt, yeast, toast, vague earthy spice, a little alcohol. There is a faint metallic astringency that drifts in and out. The cocoa and raspberry certainly add a nice dimention to the base quad but there seems to be something missing to tie all together.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. The bittersweet aftertaste lingers with notes of cocoa, yeast, tin and vague fruit.

The Reaper brings an interesting new flair to quads but try as I might to really like it, this just falls short for my tastes. The metallic astringency unfortunately detracts from what could have been a nice quad.

Pours a dark cherry cola color with very little head.

Nose is roasted malt, chocolate, yeast, and dark fruit.

Very sweet malts up front, followed by lightly roasted coffee and strong dark chocolate notes, and light undertones of dates and other dark fruits. Finishes with a fairly bitter raspberry chocolate. Overtones of bready yeast.

Feel is a bit on the syrupy side, and leaves a strange tingling sensation, maybe due to the sweetness.

Overall: this is a fairly complex beer, and although I think the flavors and sweetness could use better balancing, all of the components are there. This is not what I typically expect from a quad, with strong bready yeast and dark chocolate and a nice hint of raspberries. Although pricey, this one is definitely worth trying.

 

 

 

Look: This is a dark Quad. Very dark, almost opaque with ruby highlights when held to light.
Smell: The cocoa nibs are prominent with some raspberry and typical quad notes behind - some yeasty malt, a hint of spice.
Taste: Nothing really sticks out in the taste. Flavors are melded into a delicious concoction. Soft cocoa and dark fruits up front with a nice slight spicy burn in the aftertaste.
overall: Well done.