Sugar Plum Fairy
Four Quarters Brewing Co.

Sampled in a small snifter at the brewery’.
Pours a dark copper with a small head.
Smells of sweet caramel.
Nice smooth mouth feel.
Sweet taste of sugar candies overlaid on sour Brett taste.

Sampling a 16 oz can lightly chilled and poured into a plastic sampling cup. Picked up the beer at the brewery tonight. No date stamping on the can or the label.
the beer pours rich clear amber color with some mahogany highlights in the cup.
A fizzy beige head of .5 cm foams up and fades to the thinnest of edge layers very quickly after I finish pouring the can.
Aroma is some brown sugar, dark fruits (raisin and plum) . I also get a little red grape and some yeast notes too. Not funky or anything, sort of doughy. No hops and no fusol booze or black pepper to hint at the higher ABV.
First sip reveals a medium to light body, with fine and sort of spacious carbonation. Texture is smooth and the beer drinks much easier than anticipated, no real stickiness that I expected from a higher ABV brew.
Flavor is definitely on the sweeter side with some brown sugar, plums and raisins again. Here I also get some black pepper bite on the finish to hint at the booze. No hops to be found on this beer at any point. A pretty tasty brew that I am enjoying. I dont get any yeast character on the flavor profile, that would really make this beer outstanding. Still very glad to have bought this and have more in the cooler!

16 oz can

pours a dark purply brown color, with off white head. Nice combination of earthy phenols from the Belgian yeast and dark malty flavors in both the aroma and taste. medium bodied.

 

Pours a translucent warm brown color with a 1F head and moderate lacing.

Smells of bread, yeast. dark fruit and spice.

Tastes of toasted malt, yeast, raisins, plums and cinnamon with a lightly bitter alcohol warm finish.

Medium light body and carbonation. Clean dry mouthfeel.

This is a very strong, unusually light bodied , complex sipper that gets sweeter as the glass warms..

From a 16oz can gifted to me by daughter Caitlin....

Poured into one of my trusty sniftah glasses, it's a clear, rich, deep garnet-ruby color. Has a steady stream of fine carbo rising within, and it's topped by a creamy, thin layer of light beige suds. Lacing left behind on the glass is solid. Aroma has a solid amount of semi-sweet dark fruit. There's some plum (of course!), caramelized brown sugar, figs, and perhaps black cherry. Body is medium to medium-plus, with a silky feel on the tongue.

Taste also follows with the dark fruity action. Once more, it's semi-sweet, with notes of plum, black cherry, brown sugar, and some mildly spicy Belgian yeast characteristics. Finishes on the dry side, with some plum lingering on the palate. Caitlin - you have good taste in beer - thnx! Prost!!

4.02/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2388

 

Bottled 2018-1107
Bottle number: 82 of 350
This was poured into a chalice.
The appearance was a ruddy dark red/brown color with an ever so slight transparency about it. Slim finger's worth of white foamy head swiftly slid off and didn't leave any lace.
The aroma had sugared plums up front with some figs, black cherries, sweet earthiness, some cocoa nibs, iced wood and a light dose of Belgian yeasty spiciness.
The flavor leaned slightly towards the spicy portion initially but quick as it turned towards a favorable blend of sweet plums and iced wood to Belgian yeasty estery fruits. Mild aftertaste of earthy character, iced wood, figs and sugared plums.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied, perhaps a touch under. Some sessionability about it despite the ABV being as high as it is. Carbonation felt good. Mild finish of figs, iced wood, sweet plums and Belgian yeastiness.
Overall, nicely done Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Great job Brian Eckert and gang. Makes for a nice chilly Spring evening for watching playoff hockey.

Bottled 2018-1107 (Bottle 38 | 350)

Pours a thin deep cherry red body topped with a short-lived finger and a half of pillowy beige foam; yield is a thick, frothy collar and minimal-no lacing.

Aromas of candied fig, sugar-coated plums, brown sugar, and an overarching spice tone; boozy caramel malt and Belgian yeast esters also hold prominence; lighter notes of cocoa nibs showing more depth with warming.

Taste follows the aroma; subdued overall, with notes of boozy cherry, sugar-coated plums, hints of Belgian yeast and banana esters sneaking through; cocoa nibs, wintery spices, and dried wood add some semi-sweet and earthy layers over time.

Mouthfeel brings ample carbonation, and is medium-light bodied with a noticeable thinness on the mid-palate; faint astringency, but nothing distracting (it may even add some grit/character to a pretty innocuous-feeling 9%); a good creaminess is more of a mainstay as the beer warms; moderate alcohol warmth/presence.

Nothing inherently wrong or out of place with this one, but it underwhelms in just about every aspect, and is surprisingly conservative in the flavor department considering its 9% ABV; it’s alright, but nothing memorable.