Indominus Quadrupel
The Bold Monk Brewing Co.

 

 

 

Appearance: Dark brown with ruby highlights. Fluffy khaki colored head with good retention.

Aroma: Caramel. Toasty. Dark fruit, grapelike. No alcohol noted.

Flavor: Toast & caramel malt flavors, a little grainy. Dark fruit, spicy. Hint of alcohol. Low but notable bitterness

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Drying. Moderate carbonation.

Overall: Pretty decent quad. Does not quite reach the same level as Trappist but that's a tall order. Has nice malt complexity with toasted and caramel malt flavors. No burnt or roasted malt flavors. Head retention is good but not as thick and mousse-like as most Trappist. Alcohol barely notable. Drinks nicely. Just lacks a little bit more mouthfeel and esters to stand out. Rate this a hair below Outstanding, but it's real close.

A great beer all around - though the booziness of the beer comes across the nose quite a bit, it's more muted and balanced on the tongue - a big plus in my book. A very well made quad - some are so "in your face", this one, not so much. I like that. Good job...

Look: Poured the color of dark maple syrup. Clear with a moderate white head the quickly melted to a thin ring around the glass. Decent lacing on the sides.
Smell and Taste: Very much as a Quad should. Malty raisins. Quite sweet up front with a very slight amount of bitterness/dryness at the end.
Feel: Like you just finished a mouth full of caramel. And throw some carbonation in there.
Over: Very good Quad. Easy to drink on any occasion. I'll have another.

 

 

Poured from unmarked can into a snifter dark mahogany with a touch of rouge and great clarity though hard to see through the deep color. A finger’s worth of tan head accumulates quickly then retreats to the edges where it rests like a halo around glass. Some aromas of dessert wine, prune, and cloves. Dangerously quaffable and light bodied for it’s robust 9.7% abv with a creamy mouthfeel with a subtle dryness that only hits afterwards. Quads have a time and place and this is a solid American rendition to reach for when in need.

Appearance: Pours a ruddy, amber-brown body with a small, thinning, off-white head.

Smell: A fragrant, gusty maltiness with darkened crusty bread, dry chocolate, tawny cooked caramel. Expressly fruity, too, with Rainier cherry, golden raisin splashed with pear eau de vie. Modest amount of sweetness-stifling, earthy phenolic spiciness.

Taste: Oven-toasted breadcrust dusted with a little cocoa powder and brushed with a sweet, silken caramel veneer. Fruity esters follow, providing a burst of cherry, raisin. Slight spicy hint of dusty clove, black pepper. The warming nature of the alcohol helps aid to dry things out for a relatively gentle, gentile, semi-dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-low carbonation. Just a touch tacky, a bit sticky on the tongue.

Overall: An expertly crafted drinkable, digestible quad. And, in a can, to boot! So many US brewers have failed in their ham-fisted attempts at these abbey ales, be they dubbels, tripels, quads. They practically oozed and pulsated with a sickly kind of gloopy sweetness, eschewing proper attenuation entirely and operating under the eye-rolling assumption that more booze equates better beer. Indominus, coming in a sensibly sized twelve ounce can, was a sheer delight to imbibe.