BJs Big Belgian Quad (BBQ)

Brewed by BJs Restaurant & Brewhouse
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
, USA

Draft @ BJ’s Boulder/growler from BJ’s Boulder. Wow, what an awesome beer. First words out of my mouth upon initial tasting to my buddy was "I think it’s better than Westy 12" (I’m sure someone will rip me for that). Just an excellent beer. Perfect in most every aspect. Great alcohol presence. Tons of candy sugar.

Draft: Shimmering garnet. Tiny-bubbled ring of foam quickly dissipates. Enticingly aromatic notes of rum, banana bread, floral hops, maple sugar, and Juicy Fruit gum. Spicy alcohol is extremely clean and understated. Slick and satiny on the tongue. Spicy alcohol immediately cuts the viscous body before an influx of bubblegum and clove-induced heat. Juicy kiss of floral hops accompanies the supple, well-textured malts. Yeast is evident and fruity, but never interferes. Plump raisins and plums keep the candy sugar at bay by thwarting its rummy sweetness. Stacks and stacks of deeply buried yet deliciously vivid biscuit and caramelized malt notes lend more depth and richness and muffle the tannins as well as the medicinal tinges. Finishes increasingly fuzzy with peppery alcohol amplifying the spicy clove, but still deeply malty and only moderately yeasty with lingering notes of Bananas Foster. Very delighted to find a non-bottle-conditioned Quad that isn’t cloying or overly yeasty. Nice work, Marc!

(Boulder) - Decent. Quite well layered as far a the flavors in the malt profile and how they lay themselves out on the palate, not overpowering with each on etaking the time to grace it presence on your tongue. Floral spice nose, with some fresh babana, the flavor is richly tingly and sweet with brown candi sugars, dates and raisins, with a very smooth flavor, and a bit of a smooth controlled burn in the aftertaste. Impressive when it is all said and done for Bjs.

No head, murky dark copper. Molassis, dark malts in aroma. Taste is huge with candi sugar, wild esters, cherries. Big alcohol burn, not biting or offensive though. Finish is very sweet, almost cough syrup like. Very agressive beer.

On tap at BJ’s in Boulder: Murky burgundy. Big banana in the nose. Luxurious texture. No single flavor seemed to stand out in the malts ... various elements of caramel, hard candy and bread. Yeast/hop/spice elements of banana, clove, raisin, flowers and herbs. Very balancing hop bitterness. Warming and nippy alcohol burned a little, but it was a good burn. I loved how the beer was pleasant and delicate, yet it still seemed to hold a level of complexity. And I also liked how it wasn’t too sweet ... just enough sweetness to take the edge off the alcohol and bitterness. Heh heh. Good stuff.

Draught at BJ’s in Boulder. Pours mahagony, deep brown with a tiny frothy tan head that diminishes to an edgy film and lacing. Aroma is malty (meal, cookie, biscuit) with caramel and yeast (cellar) notes, slight berry hop noticeable, raisin and alcohol. Flavor is yeasty, medium sweetness, malty (roasted caramel) and a spicy berry hop, syrupy like a cough medicine. Full bodied and warming, spicy palate that goes dry near the end. Nice beer to sip on a cold day, and I stress the sip or you might find that your feet are a little heavy on the floor.

Draught, BJ’s, Boulder. Virtually no head. Body is dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (caramel, molasses), trace yeast (cobwebs), with notes of banana, raisin, vanilla, alcohol, clove. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, watery texture, lively/soft carbonation, moderately to heavily alcoholic. Pretty damned good as-is, but I’m secretly hoping Marc will throw this in a wine barrel for a while (or unused oak maybe, just no bourbon please). Yummy, but the big alcohol is a whallop to the head! Drink carefully.

Had this at Vail Beer Fest. 2-oz. sample from a snifter. The beer pours a clear, medium-brown color without any head. The aroma is a little hot, but really nice—quite pretty and delicate. There were moderate sweet yummy malty notes of roasted grain, cookie and caramel and inviting miscellaneous notes of vanilla, banana, honey and jasmine. The flavor was lightly sweet with an average-length, heavily sweet, lightly bitter finish. The body is medium-to-full with a velvety texture and soft carbonation with a moderately hot feel at the end. Can’t wait to have more.