La Trappe Quadrupel

Brewed by De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Tilburg, Netherlands

330ml bottle BB sometime in 2010. Let it warm up before serving. Poured straight into my official La Trappe challce; small tight off-white head rises and stays strong, atop a dense-looking deep bronze body. Aroma is big and rich, fruitcake-like with notes of plum, liquorice, dark brown sugar, cocoa, earthy spice and boozy sherry. Body matches the aroma, with a dense texture, sticky and sweet, creamy carbonation with a good indication of the abv on the way down. Plenty of dark brown sugar on the way down, hints of cherry and plum, honey, figs, raisin, clove and vanilla, some wood and bread, touch of grass even. Finishes quite boozy with a lingering dry bitterness that seems to balance things out just the slightest. Very nice indeed. Wouldn’t dare consider putting in the league of Chimay or Rochefort, its seems to be going in a different direction altogether...drier I guess would be the word i’m looking for, which seems to make the hops and alcohol stand out more than its dark Trappist brothers. But I enjoy(ed) it thoroughly!

On tap - Volo. App: Cherry red, zero visible carbonation, no head. Aroma, fruit, cherry and a little spice. Flavour: Wow - boozy, sherry-trifle, nutty. Again; quite boozy. Not sure if I like it.

All of the typical players are here in terms of appearance and aroma...unfortunately, this one falls short where it is most important: FLAVOR!!! Amazing carbonation creates a 3-fingered eggshell foam floating above a crimson brown body. Aroma of brown sugar, cherry skins, plum, and raisin. Flavor is all alcohol; a bit of malty sweetness shines through but not much. Disappointment.

Huge aroma of dark fruits: cherries, raisins, figs, molasses and brown sugar. Slightly tangy. Dark brown with amber and orange hues, just a tinge of lace. Sweet, malty flavor, with molasses, cherries, raisins, sweet and very fruity. Much nicer than Chimay Blue! Lots of alcohol in the finish, with dark fruits and sugars rolling around in my mouth. Lovely, with tons of fruits, very complex.

Marked as Konings Hoeven Quad. Pours with a lightly off-white head, hazy bronze body. Aroma of cherry and very strong plum, with a nice maltiness, hay and honey. Taste is dark fruit, honey and hay. Lively bubbles. Not to style at all, but still a decent beer.

The local shop sold out of these on the day of arrival. That’s very unusual considering the general bland beer expectation of Antipodeans. Excellent aroma on this as expected, the flavor was a bit overpowered by the alcohol content – but I can live with that. I’m getting a malty viscous chocolate, caramel fruitiness. But not too fruity which is ideal. The hops are a mild come on and the barley rounds it off nicely. It’s low on the fizz, minimal head, and a thin auburn colour. The 500ml bottle is a sexy jug mockup and that all adds to the ambience!

775 poured into multiple snifters. This has a wonderfull aroma of dark chocolate and a fruity hops. Taste is of the same and throw in some nice burning alcohol and fig. Some spice rounds off the moderately carbonated quad. This is wonderfull stuff and needs more spotlight.

Poured from a 750ml caged and corked bottle and served in a tulip. This beer poured a hazy, dark caramel hue with a suprisingly small head. Almost no lace. The aroma of the beer included caramel, dark fruit skins, candi sugar, and a touch of citrus. The flavor was mainly plum and caramel along with some light orange peel and alcohol. A bit on the dull side for a quad. The mouthfeel was full-bodied with light carbonation. Really lacking in complexity and punch. Drinkable, but just average.