Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad

Enjoyed this for the first time over the weekend and I was quite impressed. I'll start by saying I'm not a fan of anything Kasteel. Last year I came across their "winter" and I liked that quite well. At the Bistro Saturday the bar keep recommended I try this new Quad they got in. Had I known it was from Kasteel, I might have passed. But when after tasting it, I fell in love! And was further more shocked to learn it was from Kasteel. I can see this as being a love/hate beer, but I've had a fair amount of chocolate or coffee stouts, et al and they always seemed to have the smell of those ingredients, or a faint taste, but not both. If you're after it all, try this beer! It's like a mocha with 11% ABV! I enjoyed it enough, I ordered a second!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/212/175025/

Anyone else have experience?

 

No, no, I don't think it was simply rebranded. Winter was a smoky flavor. This has no hint of smoke.

I went back and looked at my untappd review of the Winter. I did mention it was a roasted smoky flavor. But then the description says it's a strong dark Belgian ale brewed with chocolate and coffee.

So that is VERY weird! My review was from Dec 2014. Something has changed since then...

 

LOL. Nice try. There really was a different flavor before. I'm going to dig into it and see what I can find.

 

I'm digging into reviews from 2014 or earlier and sure enough, they coincide with what we know now as the Barista. So I am totally confused as to what I had before. I distinctly remember the smoky flavor (which I tend to enjoy) and then shocked to find it was a Kasteel. I may need to dig around in my collection and see if I have another, but I am pretty sure I am out. Very odd.