Quadrupel - Oak Aged Batch #12

Bottle from a trade. Many thanks. Plastic cork. Dark brown, no foam, no carbonation. Nose of plums, dried fruit, lots of vanila and bourbon. Taste is sweet, lots of bourbon, along with some metallic notes. Also oxidation. Bad cork results in an oxidated beer.

The twelfth edition in this series, vintage bottle of four years old, obtained from a private collector. Cork was very hard to remove. Loosely structured, bubbly, off-white head needing some forcing to develop, but then settling in the form of a thick bubbly rim around the glass and mousse in the middle; warm ’autumny’ copper reddish bronze robe, clear with some quiet sparkling and tiny dots of dead yeast at the bottom; becomes expectedly murky and even ’muddy’ with the sediment added in the end. Rich aroma of raisins, kahlua, bourbon and cognac both recongizably present but also strong port wine (the onset of maderisation!), toffee, figs in ’jenever’, brown rum, sugared cold tea, honey liqueur, earthy sweet beetroot, dried tree leaves, wet wood and even slight furniture wax, vanilla-like oak, old cinnamon powder, milk chocolate, candied orange, pear syrup. Sweet onset as usual with this series, candied fig and raisin, some banana, with a light blueberry sourishness underneath, residual brown candi sugar like the regular version but not too sticky, soft carbo (unsurprisingly) - in fact a bit flat, through which the already vinous, liqueur-like mouthfeel is further accentuated. Thick caramelly and honeyish malt sweet basis in the middle interwoven with this candied fruit and brown sugar sweetness; a thin toasted accent provides some relieving but soft and subtle bitterness in the end, along with a dash of herbal hops. The very strong candied and sugary sweetness cloys a little bit in the end but is, as usual with this series, balanced by drying wood tannins; I get retronasal oaky vanilla impressions along with unmistakable bourbon and much less strong cognac (which makes sense since the latter represents only 9% of the barrels in which this beer has matured), both of which also establish a very alcoholic, warming, glowing finish, a bit too strong for me actually, with eventually an astringent effect on the root of the tongue. The weather is actually too nice today for a beer like this: this is a winter sipper, and like the others in this series, a very interesting one, at least if you like your quads very sweet. Though this series seems to be made for ageing at first glance - larger bottles with cork, high ABV, malt-forward, wood aged etcetera - I do have the impression that most of them reach their peak after one or two years and then slowly begin to go downhill a bit; though beautifully softened and already a tad maderized, the lack of carbon dioxide, already on the weak side in younger bottles, did bother me a little bit, as it could have ’enlivened’ the palate a bit; a bit too alcoholic for my taste as well. Other than that: great as usual and a world class example of its style.

(Bottle) Brownish amber colour with brief, foamy head. Hardly any carbonation. Malty, fruity nose with notes of dried fruit, prunes, raisins, oak wood, brown sugar, caramel, toffee and vinous hints of bourbon and cognac. Malty, fruity, vinous taste with dried fruit, prunes, figs, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, oak wood, bourbon, vanilla and warming hints of cognac emerging in the finish. Full body, quite sweet. Syrupy and silky mouthfeel. Complex with bourbon and cognac mingling with the quadrupel character. Still in good balance. Very nice.

Bottle split at the Bespin cloud network, thanks to Bropey, 21/01/16. Murky chestnut brown with a moderate beige covering that dissipates to edgeing. Nose is sweet malt, caramel, light bourbon barrel, marzipan, fruit loaf, figs. Taste comprises dates, Xmas cake, subtle bourbon, light smoke, rich malt. Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying with a warming boost. Decent enough quad .. subtle barrel.

Bottle via trade with Rene, shared at LKS. It pours cloudy deep purple with a small, bubbly light beige head. The nose is rich, dried fruits, nougat, vanilla, wood, fruit cake, coconut, brandy and sweet bourbon. The taste is rich, slight, sweet - sour, dried fruits, bourbon, vanilla, buttered fruit cake, toffee, fudge, honeycomb, wood and warming alcohol with a dry finish. Full body, limited carbonation and oily mouth - feel. Rich and good depth of flavour. Comes together rather nicely,

Bottle shared in London - many thanks to Paul. Pours unclear amber with a bubbly head. The nose has a decent hit of vanilla, toffee, dates. Medium to heavy sweet flavor with lots of bready malts, a bit of alcohol sting, toffee, caramel, dried fruits, dates, faint citrus. Full bodied, somewhat chewy, with fine carbonation. Lightly warming finish with lots of gooey toffee, caramel, dried fruits. Quite a tasty beer. Somewhat punchy, but very drinkable.