Quadzilla (Blackberry Quad)
Church Brew Works

On tap at Capone's
Served in an 8oz snifter

Smell, notes of alcohol first, but quickly leads to notes of raisins, fig, and plum, very sweet and fruity nose

Taste, raisins, with a touch of hotness thrown in, but then notes of grapefruit, apple and dark cherries fills the void. The alcohol really keeps the sweetness of the brew in check, not overly sweet, which is easy to do when making a Quad. Little bitterness, but the alcohol does all the balancing that is required.

Overall, a very complex beer, and I'm glad I tried it. I must say that this is a great example of the style by an American brewer, and I must start seeking out other beers from this brewery.

22oz. bottle with the Cherry Quadzilla label and a small Blackberry Version sticker. Plastic cork caged in wire with gold foil around it all. I actually picked up two of these some time ago and had my first on Thanksgiving and thought Christmas would be great for the second so I popped the cork and a blast of alcohol entered the air. It poured into my Church Brew glass a hazy orange/amber color with an off white head and leaving some nice lacing in my glass. Smells mostly of alcohol with a berry aroma. Taste very much the same strong alcohol presence with blackberries. Feels thick with nice carbonation. This is the only quad I've ever had so its hard to compare it to others of the style but its big booze factor makes it much more of a special occasion type than a regular drinker.

Caged and corked 25 oz. bottle shared with friends on the backporch on a cooling-down August night. Everyone had a wine glass.

Appearance: A very dark amber with an off-white and slightly reddish-hued head that sticks well to the glass before curling back down.

Smell: There's a definite berry presence, and yes, lots of blackberries. I can understand how one would maybe say the blackberry aroma's feigned and has the notion of residual sweetness from more of a syrup than actual fruit. But I found it quite pleasant. Lots of sweet malt too and a faint hop presence. Gets a bit crazier and fruitier as it warms too.

Taste: Lots of fullness with ripe fruit, sweet berries, and some sourness there too. Not as sweet as I expected, but of course the sweetness is there. There could be more complexity, but I'm giving it the due it deserves here without comparing it, in my mind, to something like Abt-12. Solid stuff, though, and due to the high ABV it's nice to split a bottle with a few people.

Mouthfeel: Thick and full without being cloying, as there's enough carbonation to balance things out with the fullness.

Drinkability: Worth the $15 for the bottle purchased at the brewery? Probably not, so that has to take down the drinkability factor. Otherwise this is probably the best effort I've had by Church Works yet. Maybe they should do some more bigger beers.