Bellwoods Brewery Motley Cru 2013

Motley Cru 2013

 

Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦

  Belgian Style - Quadrupel / Dark Strong Regular Out of Production
Score
7.37
ABV: 11.0% IBU: - Ticks: 9
By selecting barrels that had been aging for over a year, we were able to extract some of the very first beers brewed here at Bellwoods. Aided by the help of a veritable army of bugs, this blend of a sour, golden Tripel with a fruity, barrel-aged Quad is deliciously complex, showcasing leathery notes from Brettanomyces alongside cherry, red grape, and a muted tartness that offsets the residual sweetness. On one hand, Motley Cru is a culmination of our efforts over the first year of operations, on the other, it's just a perfect beer to sip and savour.

Having gone through an initial fermentation, a fermentation with wild yeast, and refermentation in the bottle with champagne yeast, this beer is effectively triple fermented.
 

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8.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

750ml bottle. Great artwork....as usual. Gorgeous mahogany pour, with an ample beige head. Earthy, leathery aroma, mixed with tart apples, and general funkiness. Hints of toffee, and molasses, and some tobacco. The carb is a little over the top, but it mellows as the beer warms. The mouthfeel is spot on. The finish is funky, but extremly rich in dark, sweet fruits. The malts and chewy, bready, but also subtle. The dark fruit reall comes through As the beer warms, and the funk is evident and cuts the sweetness. The alcohol is extremely well hidden, this is a gorgeous sipping beer.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Feb 2025 at 05:38


8.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle: Poured a murky light brown/reddish color ale with a large foamy head with great retention and some lacing. Aroma of vinous notes with some tart notes and dry fruits and caramel malt notes is quite astonishing. Taste is also a great mix of tart and vinous notes with clearly identifiable oak and cherry notes with some caramel malt and dry fruits notes also perceptible. Body is full with good carbonation (bottle was a bit of a gusher) and alcohol was not perceptible. This open has aged gracefully and this is extremely well brewed and something the brewer should consider brewing again.

Tried from Bottle on 11 Jun 2016 at 15:28


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bouteille 750ml, 168/599, gracieuseté de wilco. Thanks Mike!. Couleur acajou presque opaque avec des reflets pourpre, mousse moka pâle ressemblant à de la créma et laissant une belle dentelle. Arôme vineux, noisette, malt grillé, sucre à la crème, alcool, brett léger. Goût vineux, boisé, malt grillé, caramel, fruité, légère acidité, figues séchées, alcool. Carbonatation moyenne, corps moyen-dense.

Tried on 22 Sep 2014 at 05:47


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle at DC Epic Sour Tasting 2014, courtesy of solidfunk, thank you sir! Hazy amber maroon color. Fruity aroma. Taste is sour and a bit medicinal. OK.

Tried from Bottle on 29 Aug 2014 at 08:02


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Awesome quad with light bretta. Great balance. Brown pour with good head and lacing. Floral yeast, with plum and prune and raisin. Finishes with some light sour and barrel. Great stuff. Bottle saved from release last year and shared at Epic Sour Tasting in DC.

Tried from Bottle on 19 May 2014 at 09:43


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

From a bottle shared at the DC Epic Sour Beer Tasting. Thanks solidfunk! Pours a hazy amber with an ecru head. Flavors of caramel and tart cherry. Hints of plums. Tart finish.

Tried from Bottle on 18 May 2014 at 08:02


6.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle - Vinous, grassy and bret funk. Clear copper with a nice beige head. Bitter and sour bret, caramel, orange, boozy and a sour caramel finish. This doesn’t work for me, may need some more time in the bottle.

Tried from Bottle on 04 Jan 2014 at 15:59


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

750mL bottle, sent from wilco (thanks a lot, Mike), pours a deep dark amber with a large white head. Aroma brings out candied sugar, tart fruits, and Belgian yeast. Flavour brings out complex notes of candied sugar, dark fruits (plums), some slight sourness, some woody barrel notes, and Belgian yeast. Very elegant and well-balanced flavours, with more quad notes than sour. Alcohol is not noticeable other than a slight warming effect. Great stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 14 Sep 2013 at 21:34


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle at brewdown. Pours reddish brown with off white head. Nose and taste of plum, caramelized sugar, vanilla, oak, dark fruit and candy. Medium-Full bodied.

Tried from Bottle on 17 Aug 2013 at 21:34