Quad
Powderhaus Brewing Company

750 ml bottle from Homebrewstuff. Was hesitant to drop $15 on this as I've had some shoddy beers from them. But the Eagle Stout was so damn good, i rolled the dice. Opens with a slow gush, muddy brown pour. Aroma hit with some strong wine aromas, boozy, sweet. This is probably from the cherries. Taste is sweet, yeasty, cherries and the rum barrel comes through. The initial burst of aroma made me cringe, but it actually comes together quite nicely. A bit sweet, and plenty boozy.

this is really nice beer, one of their best to date, and its so understated in the name. they make their own candy sugar, age this on cherries in rum barrels, and just call it quad. most breweries doing such a process intensive beer would call a little more attention to it. i was happy to see this on their tap wall this holiday season, and this this is quite a festive beer in a winter warmer context, belgian as it is. its got a deep ruby to mahogany color to it, a tall off white and super creamy looking belgian head, great retention and lace, and just off from clear. its pretty in the glass. aroma is surprisingly fruit forward, i get some chateau type specialty malt and a brown sugar sweetness, but i also get the cherry right away, lightly tangy and sweet at the same time, dark and almost juiced, great with all the grain in here, and what i smell i can also taste. some raisin and currant notes in here alongside the cherry. the rum adds some sweetness, but the belgian yeast is working hard to dry this out, seems more than capable of the task, and this isnt all that sugary at the end. the yeast seems traditional, and contributes some white pepper, clove, and allspice notes to this, great with the dark fruit complexion, almost a mulled vibe. some sturdy oak and tannins coming out as we let this warm up some, really it evolves quite nicely. very rustic to me, complex and refined enough to be from belgium, and the rum barrels make it unique. the cherry isnt too much, the added sugar doesnt make this heavy to drink, and there is a ton of carbonation keeping it moving along. the rum is a great touch, but the recipe overall is a winner and the execution is there. solid quad here, especially for an american brewery, fairly priced too. they should be proud of this one. dont let the simple style name fool you, this is a really nuanced and special brew!