Harpoon Leviathan Belgian Quad

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Boston, Massachusetts USA

(draft) Nitroish beige head atop hazy red-brown body. Aroma is moderately sweet, Belgian yeast, some straw, candied orange, light pepper. Taste is sweet, Belgian yeast, candi sugar, some orange, straw, boozy, raisin/caramel. Full body, light acidity.

(Draught) Pours a lightly hazy amber body with a moderate beige head. Aroma of raisins, toasted malt, and brown sugar. Flavor of nuts, caramel malt, and dried dark fruits (figs, dates).

@CBC-12oz bottle-pours a light tan head and cloudy amber color. Aroma is sweet medium/dark malt, dark fruit, some earthy hops. Taste is sweet medium/dark malt, dark fruit, some earthy hops, alcohol. Big. Occasional.

My Bottom Line:
Doughy yeast, pear esters and caramelized cereals converge in this mighty fine Quadrupel, coherently leading to a delicate finish of peppery alcohol and plum-like edges.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A creamy sheet of foam decorates the cloudy purplish brown.
-The doughy yeast presence might be a tad too prominent in the flavor profile for this to be a world-class example of the style.
-The fruit personality is diverse; from pears to cherries to prunes to raisins, etc.
-The plump body is a great feature, its heft alleviated by a wealth of tiny bubbles.
-Some roastiness is offset by the alcohol warmth.

Bottle.

Pours amber with a tan head. Smells of caramel, dark fruit, vegetal, some sweet weird sugary hints. Tastes full bodied with up front sweetness and lots of fruitiness on the finish. Decent.

Tap at Barcade. Deep amber beer with a thin white head. Aroma is quite sweet with a fairly prominent banana/clove character. There is also a sweet maltiness with light rummy/plummy notes. Softly chewy with a lot of caramelly character and a bit of vineousness as well. Not really dried out yet. The flavour has a bit of light apricot and chewy plumminess. Fairly hot and boozy on the finish with some light estery/phenolic character. Fairly sticky on the palate with a bit of light berry flavour. It’s not a bad beer at all, but I’m not a fan of this yeast in this type of beer and it could use a lot of time to dry out.

Copper color with a moderate, small bubbled tan head. Strong aromas, with raisins, earthy caramel malt, dark candi, fig, dates and just a hint of alcohol. Lots of esters and phenols. Lots of alcohol swimming around with the fruit. Quite thick and nearly cloying. Not sure how this one will do with time. Seems like it is hot now, am I’m thinking it just might get hotter. Not as warming as I expected. Perhaps the alcohol is working, but I do think this is softening as it sets and warms slightly. Finish has a bit of spice and herbs. Linger has a slight return of caramel and malt.

Bottle from Hyde Park Wine. Poured a dark amber color with a large frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy dark fruit, Belgian sugar and alcohol aroma. Medium body with a smooth sticky texture and lively carbonation. Medium to heavy dark fruit sweet flavor with a medium to heavy sweet finish of moderate duration. Solid complex brew.