Growl
Off Color Brewing

 

 

12oz bottle (purchased at Garden Path Fermentation) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a very cloudy, almost muddy, reddish-brown color with just a thin cap of light tan head that had no retention or lacing.

The expected solid malts were a bit weaker than expected in the nose, the typical stone fruit aspects were very muted, and there was a general sweet scent overall.

On the tongue, that sweetness really jumped out. A touch of yeast added a counter-point, but not much of one.

The body was much thinner than than is typical in this full-bodied style. The beer also had a sticky-sweet finish.

Drinkability was fine, but the general meh-ness of the beer made it a bit of a chore.

Overall, a below average example of the style. Feel free to pass it by.

 

 

Maybe I've had too many good Belgian quads and been spoiled by them. Growl is enjoyable and refreshing, but it's a shallow imitation that lacks the complexity and depth of flavors that I expect. Very faint Belgian esters, even as it warms--primarily a vehicle for brown sugar and vanilla.

Bottled 9/12/16; drank 10/21/16 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque purple/brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded a small khaki head; decent lace.

Candle wax, plum, nutmeg & banana notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Candle wax, plum, banana & nutmeg flavors up front; faint booze heat & cinnamon bite on the finish.

A complex, drinkable quad. I'd love to have another!

Sharp and crisp quad with strong metallic notes. Bitter in the best way possible and overly enjoyable with a bit of meat in the winter months. Intriguingly complex.

Look: It pours a deep cooper brown color. The head is light tan and head retention is low.

Smell: The aromas feature bread and strong dark cherry. There are some raisin notes. The fruity esters are strong.

Taste: The flavors are much like the aroma featuring bread and dark cherry with some raisin. The alcohol is noticeable.

Feel: It has a moderately full body with a dry finish and smooth alcohol warming.

Overall, this is a flavorful beer with the elements being pronounce, but not plentiful.

 

 

Tasted in a Rastal Teku from a 12 fl oz bottle on July 9, 2018. A big ole' dark beer filled with ethanol and stone fruit esters. A decent interpretation of the style.

Poured into a chalice, the appearance was a semi-dark mahogany color with some light transparent hues along the sides. The head seemed to dissipate extremely quick, no lace.
The aroma had some sweet red delicious apples up front with a moderate Belgian spice and sweet bready malts. Light caramel, Belgian sugars and fusel alcohol tones meld together. Light red cherries.
The flavor moderately yields to the sweetness of the rounded-ness of the Belgian sugars, malts and bready tones. Light red delicious apples. Slight aftertaste of Belgian sugars, bready malts and spice.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV exposed some heat but I didn't mind too much. Slight sticky finish.
Overall, pretty nice quad I'd have again.

 

12 ounce bottle into a goblet. Had 3/15/18.

Pours a beautiful ruby color, mostly clear, with a quarter inch head and some soapy lacing. Aromas of malt, raisins, purple grapes, candi syrup, plums, oak, some toffee, light brown sugar. The taste is light malt, purple grapes, plums, candi syrup, some caramel, light oak and brown sugar. Some hop bitterness. Mostly smooth, a good medium body that is lighter for the style, well carbonated.

Liked this, and liked the twist of less of the typical dark fruits. The solid oak presence was good, too. At times a little thin feeling, maybe could use more malt. Worth grabbing a couple of bottles.

 

 

 

 

A-dark ruby color with a thin layer of cream colored head that leaves a very thin layer of lacing

S-caramel, dark fruits, raisins

T-caramel malt, dark fruits, light banana, and light spices

M-medium body and crisp carbonation

Overall nice to see an American brewery make a good Quad!

 

Pours a reddish-brown with a tan head that fades and leaves plenty of lace.
Aroma is toffee, dark fruit, banana and spice.
Taste is led by toffee and caramel with dark fruit and spice. Raisin, plum, and a hint of banana.
Mouth is medium and slightly sticky.

i really cant believe this is rated as poorly as it is on here, i thought this was amazing, and while it might not be insanely complex like the best belgian examples of the style, its really high quality and unique beer, well ahead of the curve, and really pretty striking. dark in color, past copper to brown, with a little bit of deep mahogany in there too, and a tall just off white head. aroma is awesome, fresh caramelized malts, that european special b abbey malt complexion, and the candy sugar, which is more intense here than normal, almost like molasses. the flavor is like that too, but it really hits me all at once, right on the first sip, right up front, i cant believe how different this it, its a quad sure, but its not so heavy on the usual flavors, especially the yeast. there is a clean belgian strain in this, not super fruity or anything, it really lets the grain do a lot of the flavoring. i get heavy dried black cherry and toffee, with some baked bread, prune, and brown sugar. its delicious, and its very flavorful. nice creamy feel with good carbonation and not much residual sugar. i like this being a little on the low abv side for the style, it doesnt need to be any stronger than it is. really neat grain flavors in this one, great beer, super underrated in my opinion. one of the better american made quads out there right now, especially for the money. great work!

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours a murky dark auburn with sediment/floaties; small light khaki head that falls leaving nice retention and solid lacing. The aromas are malt forward with some dark fruit. Subtle hints of raisins and plum along with some banana. The yeasts are there, but subtle. The flavors have dark fruits leading the way. More raisins and plum. Banana is there. Hints of caramel, toffee and vanilla. The yeast notes are mild, but do their thing. Strong malt backbone. It's bittersweet. Finishes with some mild alcohol notes, but it's not hot or boozy at all. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of full-bodied, possibly medium-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It's fluffy and smooth.

This is an okay quadrupel, but it's a little rough around the edges for the style, in my opinion. I'm personally not a big fan of this, but it's alright for what it is.

L: dark reddish brown pour with slowly rising bubbles creating a thin, tan cap. The beer has floaties. They look like blobs of protein rather than yeast chunks.

S: The beer smells reasonably fresh - no wet cardboard. Instead I smell dark dried fruit, spice, dark sugars, plum and a hint of cola. There is also a trace of smoke. The plum and cola aromas become more prominent as the beer warms.

T: Big malt flavors lead the attack with plum, prune, dried fruit, cola, sweet dark bread, and traces of dark caramel. The beer is mildly sweet and hop flavors and bitterness are low.

F: medium body and medium to medium high carbonation. The alcohol is soft, mildly warming and not hot or harsh.

O: I like the beer but I don't like the floaties.

 

This beer pours a cloudy, reddish brown with a small head. The aroma features date, fig, cocoa powder, lots of banana, clove, nutmeg, apricot puree, prune, nougat, and marzipan. The flavor is strong with date and fig, with chocolate and a big banana finish. The mouthfeel is full bodied with fairly light carbonation. Overall this is a decent quad, not too sweet, with a lot of yeasty notes, and alot of yeast in the bottle.

 

 

Look: Pours a dark amber, almost brown color, with little to no head. Growl is murky and not translucent, but not completely opaque.

Smell: Sugared candies, almost a dried fruit smell, with some banana thrown in.

Taste: This tastes a lot like if you had plain banana bread, with some clove in the finish. The candied sweets seem to melt away in the taste, giving way to the banana.

Feel: Decently carbonated, medium bodied, and little to no bitterness on the finish.

Overall: I don't especially like Belgian styled beers, but this is tolerable. Can't say id grab this often, but the flavors are there, if you like Belgian beers.

 

Pous the color of dark cherry or mahogany wood. Very pretty creme colored head which dissapates rapidly but never leaves.

Smells like...not much. Booze and raisins, I suppose. Mostly booze.

Tastes great, all the nice expected quad flavors, a bit of bread, brown sugar/molasses, dark fruit--dates, prunes, raisins. And plenty of warming alcohol.

But it's not heavy or syrupy...actually, pretty good carbonation make this a rather crisp quad.

Traditional? Heck no. But tasty and very drinkable? You bet. Will drink again, for sure.

 

A decent quad but for the most part its fairly pedestrian for the style and forgettable. Recommend if you stumble upon it while out, but certainly don't go hunting for it. Most all the Trappist offering quads are superior.

 

 

 

A: Pours a clean but not very pretty brownish mohagany with a fairly thin off white head that recedes into just a little ring around the circumference.

A: Smells of fig, dates, sweet malts, Belgian candi, banana, clove, slightly peppery. You know...Belgian!

T: Taste follows, but emphasizes the spices mostly. Clove, white pepper, a bit of alcohol, and banana shows well in the aftertaste.

F: Feels a little thin, good amount of carbonation considering the lack of head, dry finish, favors the sweet side of balanced, and a decent amount of alcohol warmth.

O: This was a pretty good Quadrupel overall. Definitely not a classic Belgian, but a fun and spicy take on one.