QuandRum
Barrel of Monks Brewing

 

Look: Deep black with mild amber highlights. A gigantic foamy tan head.

Smell: Sweet fruit, raisins, a little bread, strong alcohol.

Taste: Mild sweet malt, fruit, spices, a bit phenolic. Distinctive alcohol bite.

Mouthfeel: Decent thickness and average carbonation.

Overall: A very rich quad, enjoyed like a fine brandy.

750 ml bottle into a chalice. Bottled 2/7/17? Had 9/22/17.

Pours a dark amber, opaque, with a half inch head of creamy foam and a good amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of malt, rum, strawberries, plums, dates, figs, light caramel. The taste is also malt forward, then caramel, plums, dates, some figs and oak, less strawberries than the nose, light rum- a little more as it warms. Smooth, a good but lighter body for the style, a bit over carbonated at first pour, not so much after.

Good, but the barrels don’t result in an improvement to the base beer. The rum is too light to make much of an impact. Still a very good and enjoyable Quad.

 

 

 

 

good base quad for sure, but i expected a lot more rum on this. it ends up being sweet and oaky, without the cane sugar and spice from the rum that i was hoping for, and its too bad, because the quad would lend itself really well to the flavors of island rum. always cool when breweries display their geography in their beer. these guys in florida have produced a lighter and simpler quad than we are used to seeing from the old world, maybe intentionally so, it stays somehow lighter than it is and easy drinking for its strength, possibly designed to be enjoyable in hot weather too. and the idea of using the rum is very florida too, i dig it, i just wish for more of it. the beer seems perhaps overly simplistic for what it is, and definitely a bit sweeter than i like, but its got some attractive features too. i love the flavorful fruity yeast, and i love the vanilla that comes though here. its desserty with date and raisin notes too. carbonated pretty well, and it doesnt fall apart when it warms up. i still think the tripel is my favorite from these guys so far, but they have really arrived on the scene. beautiful packaging on all their stuff too.