Four Merchants
Alesong Brewing & Blending

another epic beer from these guys, they just keep coming! this is a spiced quad aged in red wine barrels, somewhat less huge and sweet and malty than we are used to in the style, but i think it being somewhat less intense in those ways allows the yeast and the barrel treatment, as well as the spices to really come forward, its enormously complex, oddly delicate for the style, and incredibly woody at the same time. a light orange pink color to it, without the darker molasses looking abbey malt color that a quad usually has, just a short head from the tap too. aroma is berry forward red wine, oak tannins, a little bit of funk i didnt pick up in the original quad, and unique wintery spices like anise and clove, really flattering with the belgian yeast, light tang here too, like sour cherries or something, fruity in more ways than just the wine, super mature. flavor is really cool, uniquely balanced between all the wine and oak, and then the grain and yeast of the base quad, again lighter than normal. i love how woody and fruity this is, the tannins are awesome with the esters of the belgian yeast, and while the spice element is subtle, it makes this even more interesting. wintery to me even without a heavy body, sticky finish, or warming alcohol profile, the booze is extremely well integrated and doesnt show itself much at all. lesser bodied, but long still, cherry, cranberry, vanilla, orange zest, allspice, bran, honey, this is delicious, and the little bit of acidity at the end somehow seems to fit. real cool take on a quad here!