7.4

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

330 m l bottle. Pours a dark brown with very light head. Aromas of dark fruit, caramel, candi sugar, and toasted malts. Flavors of dry caramel, raisins, minerals, a little banana, some phenols and dry bready malts.

8

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

Donkerbruin bier met mooi lichtbruin schuim. Smaak is licht bitter en vrij zoet met iets van karamel, chocolade, wat drop en een vleug anijs. OK, goede quadrupel, weinig tot niets op aan te merken, gewoon genieten.

7.5

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

The regular quadrupel in De Meester's range, strange that I have not rated this one before (but I am not De Meester's biggest fan so I probably subconsciously skipped it so far or something...). Thick and frothy, pale yellowish beige, irregularly membrane-lacing, even-bubbled and stable head on a very dark mahogany brown robe with burgundy edges. Aroma of dry caramel, old liquorice candy, clove, Brazil nuts, muesli, unsugared gum, dried plums, jenever, hints of dry autumn leaves, cheap brandy, Antwerpian 'Wycam's Borstbollen', eucalyptus, nutmeg and, frankly, 'hospital'. Sweet, fruity onset, dried plum, fig, some baked banana and some old raisin, lively carbonated but not harshly stinging and perfectly fine for the intended style, with smooth, bit glueish mouthfeel, albeit in a somewhat thinner way than expected. Brown-bready, dry-caramelly malt core with side notes of Ersatz chocolate, toffee and hazelnut bread - but less complex than I make it seem using all these different descriptors; a light toasty-bitter accent does appear at the back, but it remains really subtle, with more bitterness coming from a leafy hop dosage enhanced by brandy-like, warming alcohol. Odd and distinct aromatic notes of liquorice, nutmeg, clove and even vague eucalyptus linger - all phenolic, no doubt, but more colourfully so than I was expecting, though after letting the beer warm more, they become quite 'clinical' and far less inviting. Though following the basic structure of a quad, this particular interpretation does have its own personality: more slender and lean than is typical for the style, with a more outspoken herbal-aromatic spiciness and a tad more toastiness in the malt department; these features combined even remind me more of Scotch than quadrupel, but who knows where the brewer found his inspiration. Not too shabby, in any case, a bit different and technically well executed apart from the overt phenolic activity and this 'gummy' flavour which did not let go and was not entirely my cup of tea. Interesting one, in all, but when in the mood for a quad, I would still order a Sint-Bernardus Abt, Rochefort 8 or even a La Trappe Quadrupel over this.

6.9

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

Bottle at home shared with Laura. Murky brown color, medium to full sized light brown colored head. Aroma and flavor are malts, brown malts, sweet notes, but also malt bitters. Hmm a bit hard to describe and also imo not so balanced but overall also not so bad.

7.3

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

33cl bottle from Spar Oostende in Belgium.
F: medium, tanned, good retention.
C: dark brown, hazy.
A: banana, caramel, toffee, dark dried fruits, spicy, bit coffee and chocolate.
T: medium malty base, dark fruits, coffee, spicy, herbal, banana, dried fruits, bit warming alcohol, soft carbonation, not bad not great, enjoyed.

7.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle, bb 6/27. Very dark brown with a 3/2 cm beige head that fades slowly. A roasty edge to the stewed fruity aroma, lots of hard spices, a little whiff of booze. Some chocolate brioche but little depth to the malt. Sweetish with nice spices and moderate bitterness. Nice enough but lacks that bottom end rumble. 11C was maybe too cool.

7.1

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

Bottle. Clear mahogany with tan head. Looks good. Licorice, overripe fruits, raisins, roasted malts, bitter dead leaves and tree bark, leather, tobacco, pecans, sugary, alcohol. Solid sweet but also quite bitter. Medium bodied with a bit creamy feel and boozy finish. Not horrible but not the best quad.

7.1

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

21/XI/23 - 33cl bottle @ HoReCa Expo 2023 (Gent), BB: 13/I/27, L 2301P260 (2023-1095) Thanks to Erwin, Peter a.o. for sharing today’s beer!

Clear dark brown beer, small creamy beige head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: dried fruits, raisins, some caramel, overripe banana, malty, grains, gentle roast, some milk chocolate. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sweet and sugary start, alcohol, bitter, gentle roast, dried fruits, bitter touch, lots of alcohol, malty, yeasty, some autolysis, bitter finish.

8

LCI