Belgian Quad and Belgian Dark Strong Ale Tasting (March 8-10, 2024)

Jack’s Quad

I am a big fan of Trappist/Abbey style beers (e.g., Dubbel, Tripel, Quad, Orval,…) and I homebrew all of these sorts of beers. I do it because I am able to ‘tweak’ these beers to be consistent with my personal taste preferences but also since these beers are very pricey and frankly more than I prefer to pay (but I will do so on a single bottle basis on occasion).

I will start this long weekend off with a Quad which I brewed in June 2021. When I homebrew my Quads I like to wait at least 6 months before really going to town with drinking these beers. At around the 1 year mark I think they start to enter their peak of flavor and maintain that peak for another year or two or three. This bottle is now a little less than 3 years.

For folks who are interested in learning more about the Quad style and the details of this particular beer, I recommend:

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Belgian_Quad

Served in my Triple Karmeliet tulip glass:

Appearance

Dark brown colored with a khaki colored head.

Aroma

The dominant aroma is of dried dark fruits (e.g., figs, raisins…) but there is also a sherry-like quality and an impression of sweetness.

Taste

The flavor follows the nose with flavors of dried dark fruits along with a sherry-like flavor as well. The is a low bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Overall

I think this beer is very good! I really enjoyed drinking it.

I have about a dozen bottles of this batch left which I plan to drink over the next couple/few years.

Cheers!



@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

P.S. A week+ ago the Craft Beer Channel blokes discussed the beer of Westvleteren and starting at the 18:30 mark they discuss Westvleteren 12 (the Quad), They opened a bottle of this beer which was bottled in September 2020 (about 3.5 years old now).

 

Thanks @Beersnake for kicking this off.

Enjoying a reliable N'ice Chouffe.
Fruitcake, toffee, kirsch, dried orange peel nose, warm, full palate but not cloying, finish with hint of thyme, booze well concealed, dangerously crushable.



Cheers!

 

Thanks for kicking off the weekend @Beersnake and posting your experiences @JackHorzempa and @TwentyDimes ! I have several quads available, but this is my favorite.

While the 2014 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor's Stout shared by my brother on Thanksgiving officially started me down the "craft beer" path, within three weeks of joining Beer Advocate and Rate Beer, I came across this offering which remains one of my highest rated beers of any style, and truly an eye opener in terms of the breadth of flavors "beer" can cover.

Brasserie de Rochefort Trappistes Rochefort 10



Three weeks into my beer rating experience, this link is my OG review of this beer.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/207/645/?ba=ChicagoJ#review

I wish I recorded the bottle date (not sure if I even knew beers had bottled dates three weeks into my craft journey), but my bottle today has a best by 11/16/2026 date (16/11/2026 since it's European), which I believe translates to an 11/16/2021 bottle date (9:14:46 Belgium time).

Unibroue's Rigor Mortis on draft was my first quad experience, and was amazing, so I spent the next few weeks trying to find quads, and was really stoked after trying this offering. The depth of aromas and flavors, and the change from cold through warming to room temperature is what amazes me 'til this day. Really happy this beer is readily available. Not an everyday beer, but a nice luxurious treat I still really get excited about til this day.

If weather permits and I'm ambitious, I may head out and feature a few more quads (couldn't find any new to me quads for New Beer Weekend cross posts), but like to stick with my one beer at home per day rule. In any event, look forward to hearing about your experiences throughout the weekend.

 

Stumbled upon this last month down in Richmond, Va. Did a double- take at the price: ~$4, and for such a high ABV! That's what we pay for a supermarket session beer in these parts.
Though not world- class, was still quite impressed. As usual, only wished I'd bought more.

Still early for me, will be back later with a world- class brew for this evening's tasting kickoff.

 

Much appreciation to @Beersnake for the setup, and to @JackHorzempa for the educational materials!



This is a new brew for me so I’m posting my official review below NBS style. I really like the chestnut brown/mahogany color which I didn’t capture above but is obviously a bit darker than below.



4.34/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
330 ml bottle poured into a Tulip.
Best before 07/2026

L: The large off-white head tops an evenly hazy chestnut brown and fairly lively pour. The foam lasted for the entire glass and leaves decent lace. Alcohol content is high enough to show on the side of the glass.
S: Sticky dried dark fruit and dark sugar aromas with minor spicy and hop notes make for an inviting nose that increases a bit in strength and depth as it warms.
T: Big and rich malty flavor opens in the medium sweet raisin, candied sugar and bread crust neighborhood before more dry spicy, hop and subdued Belgian yeast flavors add balance for a quick finish that leaves you with an earthy, and more sweet than tangy, woody aftertaste.
F: Medium-strength body is soft overall with some edges early on in the glass. But even after warming, never becomes what I think of as creamy. It is only slightly warming.
O: This has full flavor and strikes a nice balance between sweet beginnings and a semi-dry finish. This drinks very fast; especially for its ABV and leaves me looking for a second bottle.

I’ve been avoiding Quads lately because my last few examples have been more sharp/less sweet than I would like. This one however is right in my wheelhouse. I would like to revisit and maybe tweak my numbers but if anything, I was conservative with the rating.

 

De Struise Pannepot (2014)

I bought a few bottles of this while on vacation on Mt Desert Island almost a decade ago. This one has resided in my fridge since I returned home. At ten years old, this weekend’s festivities are a perfect excuse to pop it open.

This vintage pours a dark, ruddy brown that approaches black. Its thin tan head quickly settles into a lasting wisp and moderately soupy crown.

Served a little too cold, I still get a nice mix of cola, fig, cherry, molasses, leather and a hint of vanilla in the nose.

Those flavors are more-or-less still present, but more muted in the taste, even as it warms. There’s a slight staleness to the spices and a slight impression of soy starting to peak through in the background.

The mouthfeel is a tad syrupy, but not very much so by many of today’s beers’ standards. The carbonation is appropriately restrained.

Overall, still a very good quad — although a fresher Trappist offering would likely edge it out.

Thanks, @Beersnake, for hosting. I’ll be back with one or two more.

[UPDATE: With a second pour that includes some of the schmegma at the bottom of the bottle, the cinnamon and raisin character pops, making for a much more flavorful and enjoyable experience. Use that knowledge how you wish.]

 

I didn’t watch the entire video, but FWIW, I share the hosts’ view that 8 is better than 12 — and that 12 is a fantastic beer.



Here’s a photo of my first time enjoying a Westvleteren 12 from ten years ago next week in Brussels. It may have been my first time photographing a beer, and was certainly the most expensive beer I’d purchased to that point. My drinking mates that evening thought the price was nuts, but were gracious enough to say “YOLO.”

 

Miskatonic St. Henry - Abbey style Quadruple ale


I had to stop here today to try this hyper-local quad offering. Lots of raisin in aroma and flavor up front, and banana in the finish. Peppery notes meld with candied fruits. This will slow me down a little. No complaints.

 

Well it's going to be a Brouwerij Van Steenberge , Gulden Draak taste fest
first up Gulden Draak 'Brewmaster' @ 10.5% (91-Outstanding)
A-4 , S-4.25 , T-4.25 , MF-4 , Ov-4 (#47 Belgian Dark Strong Ale)

to be followed by Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple @ 10.7% (92-Outstanding)
A-4 , S-4 , T-4.25 , MF-4 , Ov-4 (#40 Quadrupel)

both beers served from small 330 ml bottle's & worthy of their rank , prost

 

Excellent!

 

Terrific beer. One of my favorites.

 

Ranked #2 on BA for Quads. Westy12 is first. However, huge however, you can buy this at many places around here, all year long. I think you may need to be an official in the European Union to nab the other one.
I sound like a sore winner. This brew is sublime. Who else to start this event. It's all downhill from here. Not really.

 

This is my first time trying this beer. Really nice sipper on a Friday night. I need to pick up my Belgian game. Cheers.

 

Starting with what will probably be the "lightest" flavor profile of the beers I have on hand.

Rochefort 8 - 2018 bottle - dated Best By 05.07.2023. 9.2% abv

Poured at cellar temperature, so probably between the recommended 12 - 14 C range noted on the label. Brown sugar, a little fig, touch of clove, a little candied peach. Mouthfeel is super smooth

 

Glad to actually be able to participate in one of these tastings. This is Quad from Une Annee.



Pours a dark purplish amber with a soft short cap of foam that fades pretty quickly. The aroma is dominated by dark fruit - figs, plums, raisins - followed by a hint of spice and caramel. The flavor is similar. Caramel, candy sugar, figs, dates, raisins, just a hint of spice, an earthy, herbal bitterness lingers in the aftertaste. The alcohol is almost non existent.

This is a really enjoyable example of the style. I am impressed and glad to have tried it.