Church Brew Cherry Quadzilla

Brewed by Church Brew Works
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 1/27/2008 Pittsburgh ratebeer.com gathering upstairs, Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever, I see a spread of bottles like I did there - ever again. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we sampled! For example, how about this beer; Church Brew Works Cherry Quadzilla. Very little cherry aroma, but it is there. Pinkish ale light brown in appearance. Barely any carbonation, as with most high alky brews. Way too strong for my lager loving taste buds. Strong enough that I cannot really appreciate the cherry. Not as enjoyable as St. Bernardus Abt 12 or Omegang 3-p’s. But a little more on par with Avery The Reverend or Weyer’s Quad.

This looks beautiful! A gentle pour releases a flume of carbonation that rigidly supports a super-creamy light biege/cream head that is both thick and mostly stationary. The body is cloudy as all get-out, orange amber with red highlighting. Light but pretty lacing too. cherries share the centerpiece of the aroma with candi sugar, caramel and plenty of yeast. The nose is sweet and of medium strength. Breadiness is split amicably by potent but never-overwhelming alcohol. I somewhat expected cherries to be more of a dominant force, but this way is better - no apparent medicinal traits and the interesting yeast character shines easily. Yogurt notes join citrus fruit esters at the culmination of each inhalation. This seems simplistic under the surface but it’s fun thus far. Cherries play a stronger role in a more alcoholic and focused flavor. Yeastiness is still fruity and has a fresh quality. Sweetness is medium-high and well-integrated, acidity mild, bitterness low. The mouthfeel is creamy, soft, smooth and lightly but adequateIy carbonated. The finish is sugary but not too sweet, pleasing and finely acidic. I don’t think this recipe is a knockout, nor is the apparent quality of the ingredients, but the craftsmanship is there and the resulting whole of this experience is excellent, one to revisit repeatedly and observe the inevitable flavor development.

Pretty good brew for a quad. Deep amber color with sour cherries (finish later)

Bottle sampled on 9/15/07: Pours a transparent copper orange with a nicely-lacing wispy off-white head. Aroma of sweet bready dark caramel malt with some slightly tart black cherry complexity. Body starts with nice caramely malty sweetness and smooth, earthy, oaky cherry flavor toward a full, slightly warming complexity. A nice quadrupel.

Name: Quadzilla Cherry Quad
Date: 10/10/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Logan Pre-GABF

hazy dark red, fine dirty white head, sweet cherry aroma almost obscures the rich malt underneath, rich malt flavor, nice fruity esters followed by a good cherry character that does not take over, liight bitterness adds a bit of balance,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **+/4

Poured a hazy copper color with an off-white head. Semi-sweet cherry, doughy, yeasty, malty aroma. The flavor was malty with a hint of cherry and toasty malt. Medium body.

Nice amber pour.Aroma is of sour cherrys. Taste is somewhat off.. sour cherrys with strange undertones. But not that bad at all

Thanks to CaptainCougar for bringing this one out. Deep amber colour. Aroma is very strange, very flowery and yeasty with a very faint cherry aroma. A bit of leathery flavour with a very artificial cherry note in back. Thin body, moderate sweetness. Pretty bland really. Not sure if we had a bad bottle or what.