Montegioco Quarta Runa

Bottle from State Line. The pour was turbid canary with 2-finger white head. Aroma was great, a mix of spicy funk notes, hopcitrus, plus a lovely medley of peach, strawberry, blueberry, red raspberry, and florals. The aroma was like a fruity saison, which led to a huge peach and berry flavor that I wasn’t expecting. The flavor also had spicy floral and hopcitrus notes, but the peach/apricot/strawberry/blueberry/red raspberry medley won me over. Toward the end, it was like drinking a slightly funky, hoppy fruit salad. Nice complexity and a great deal going on in this one, one of the better fruit beers I have yet quaffed.

It should be pointed out that this beer is mis-categorized as a lambic. It ’s more accurately a Belgian Strong Pale (7%) with fruit essence. In general, I think this is an exceptional beer. It is the 3rd beer I have had from this brewery (Montegioco). Unlike the Draco, a "blueberry" quadruppel, this beer actually had some significant fruit character. While the Draco is also a tremendous beer, I hardly see the reason for promoting blueberries because you barely get anything like that from it. Quarta Runa has a great peach component, both in the nose & mouth. But perhaps what it does best of all is find stunning balance between being a fruit beer & a beer-beer. Not an easy feat. So often they are too much one or the other. I think it helps that the ABV is only 7%. It really gives the Quarta a fair chance to show subtleties...which it does.

A pasto (risotto alla parmigiana, focacce varie - pomodori e olive principalmente) bottiglia da 75cl lasciata un po’ a riposare sotto la solita trave. Versa colore arancio, torbida con ottima schiuma: aroma dolce di pesche (non sciroppo!) e agrumato (lievito). Sapore tra l’aspro e il dolce con le pesche e il caramelloso del malto leggiadri su un tono lievitoso tipicamente montegiocoso che qui completa l’esperienza degustativa in maniera esemplare. Corpo robusto ma frizzantezza notevole. Già un classico.

I really liked this. Not really a lambic but more of a fruit beer. Great packaging on this beer. Aroma is sugary and sweet; it smells like sour candy. Flavor is predominately peach, but lots of yeast and a little sourness in the aftertaste. Cloudy orange. Smooth, sweet, and very drinkable.

Another underappreciated beer. Had it once before at jjpm74’s gathering in the summertime, it was brought over by a friend of his. I was impressed at the time and I am glad I got a chance to revisit it. It pours the most pale of golden colors, points just for being so pale yet still golden. It’s murky, cannot see through it and yet it’s such a light color, just a "wow" special kind of appearance. Small head only keeps this from a score of 5. Aroma is very peach, not sweet artificial juice but the light sweet skin of the peach. Think tropical fruit without the sweetness. Taste is herbal-sweet-yeast. Mouthfeel is pillow-y on the cheeks, light, and so damn quaffable. Low, low bitterness, and a light milk sweet aftertaste. Nothing mind blowing, so not "Imperial" in any way but just so damn interesting and fun. If it wasn’t for the price I would want to drink this all the time.
750mL @ Spuyten Duyvil, wine house glass.