Quad Venom
River Styx Brewing Company

Pours a hazy light orange with a small head and moderate lacing.

Smells of piney slightly dank hops , citrus and alcohol. Tastes of slightly tart citrus, mango and pineapple with a slightly bitter finish. The alcohol hides well.

Medium light body with light carbonation. Light clean mouthfeel.

This is an excellent dangerously drinkable powerful brew.

Not boozy at all for 12% - possibly the best of this style of beer that I have had - super hazy and smooth. Aroma is really nice and not too overpowering

16oz can dated 3/7/19.

Pours cloudy gold with a short-lived head of white. Minimal retention or lacing. Bright citrus in the nose with pineapple, grapefruit, and peach. Medium bodied with a tacky mouthfeel. Pithy citrus on the palate with pungent alcohol and a big, brash bitterness. Finishes with grapefruit pith and a bitter, boozy bite.

Drank from a 16 fl oz (1 pint) can purchased at Fort Point Market, Boston, MA
03/07/2019
Served in a tulip

The turbid, yellow-orange body was topped by a bubbly, bright white, finger-tall crown that quickly fell to a pencil thin collar. No lacing whatsoever.

The aroma was super fruity and quite punchy. Overripe peach notes came through strong. Lots of juicy mango too. Really sugary and sweet. This almost had a bit of a “rotten” tropical fruit quality to it. Bit of citrus too. Tangerine was noticeable. As the beer warmed, both the peach and the overall sweetness intensified.

The flavor profile was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Fruity and sweet up front. Big ripe peach and apricot notes. Lots of juicy mango too. The beer was anchored by a stiff yet unobtrusive pale malt backbone. Tangy tangerine notes were also apparent. White grapefruit appeared mid palate and intensified as the beer moved to the back end. The beer finished super pithy and bitter with a huge grapefruit rind-like quality. Amazingly, the 12% was nowhere to be found.

Somewhat light and fizzy mouthfeel. The liquid contained a larger bubbled, fairly aggressive effervescence that settled down by the drink’s end.

Triple IPAs can often come across as syrupy and sweet, but the few Quad IPAs I have tried were overtly bitter and astringent, especially on the finish. River Styx’s Quad Venom exhibited this characteristic as well. I thought breweries were going to quit the hop proliferation game a long time ago, but I guess not.

 

Can. This huge bitch is a dozen percents of of one hundred percents. I find that most big ass versions of New England IPA style beers lose their look and become just too hulking to continue displaying the soft flavors that draw so many into the style. This still looks the part. Borderline muddy. When I popped the can, the smell came shooting out. So big it almost smelled like degrading, rotten, sweet fruit. I actually enjoyed it. Now, in the glass, it seems to have burned off. It's got a clear aroma but I think it shot it's wad when I opened the can. Regardless, its a damp aroma of what you'd expect. Flavor has a serious edge to it. Not necessarily from the alcohol. It almost has a bitter nutty element. Also its like the rind of a watermelon; like when you go one bite too deep. I should allow this to warm up...About 45 minutes later it exudes more of that stinky, rotty fruit. It's not necessarily bad. Alcohol starts to sing a little more as well. This was constructed pretty well for it's sheer GIRTH. I didn't like the first beer I had from this brewery. This was a good job. In the words of Paul Hollywood "Good Bake".