From Nov 2006

Poured from corked and caged 750ml bottle(room temp) a clear brownish gold with a large billowy head of foam that initially grew sitting in the glass. After a few minutes, it settles down to a solid layer with lots of lacing.

My first smell from this brew came straight from the bottle and it was filled with an abundance of sweet malt, candy sugar, and fresh baked bread. My first smell from the glass gave me a strong medicinal nose with some dark fruit.

The taste is a complex mix of flavours. I note fairly sweet maltiness along with some bready tones that give ground to ample hop bitterness and a touch of cloves and anise. A few more sips in and the dark fruit makes a play to be noticed. Plum, raisin, fig are all well represented and most welcome and they balance out the other flavours nicely. And man, I'm appreciating the warming from the 11%abv right now; we've got some cold temps and it's snowing outside. ;^)

I'm now on my second pour and the brew is still clear and the foam is still wonderful and the taste seems to have a stronger sweet malt/candy sugar presence than the first pour but it is not a tad less complex and tasty. Wow. This one's kind of reminding me of the Westvletern 12 I've had in the past(got 2 more bottles of that-yeah me!;^) and I've already made up my mind to try and find some more the next time I cross the border in to Colorado.

Ok...on to the third pour and I get the sediment in the glass and I'm finally getting the cloudy rusty hue from this Quad that I *knew* I was eventually going to get. The appearance factor *alway* shoots up when I get that from a Belgian or Belgian style ale. :^)

The taste from the third and final pour has some solid caramel sweetness to it and more of the dark fruit that I noted in the intial tasting. The bitterness is all but gone except in the finish. Dang...I *just* finished the last bit, and, oh look, my Chimay glass has oodles of lacing sticking to the side reminding me of the wonderful brew that just occupied it a short 30 minutes ago. Yum.

Bottom line: For me, this is a Belgian Ale that needs to be revisted and revisted often despite its rather hefty US$13.49 a bottle. I *realy* hope that I can find some more the next time I visit Colorado. Oh yeah, I already said that didn't I? lol. Great stuff!

Bottle. Pours hazy hazel, medium beige head, long lasting, none lacing. Aroma is malty, Belgian spice, dates, figs, candi sugar, toffee. Flavor is medium sweet, light bitter, rich and malty. Full body, creamy mouthfeel.

F: pale brown, stable, creamy. C: dark red/amber, hazy. A: caramel, molasses, cherries, cherry, raisins, wine, oak, some bread, some “good musty” tones, plums, dates, even some mint like tones. T: 0,75l bottle from Zottegem beer fest, BB: 18/10/2011, more than 9 years old beer, full complex body, malty caramel, toffee, cherries, wine warm tones, vanilla, sweet plums, some spicy, oak, brown sugar, little chocolate, alcohol warming after finish, smooth, fair carbonation, simply on of the best quad, a must to try.

Etched glass bottle. Pours dark brown tan head. Nose/taste of oak, caramel, toffee, dark fruit and dark sugar. Full body.