Street Abbey Roof - Bourbon Barrel
Thorn Brewing Company in San Diego, California, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Quadrupel / Dark Strong Regular|
Score
6.88
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Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
pours a really nice looking abbey ale brown with a nice yellow-brown head that doesn't last but leaves a film. looks totally belgian. nutty and malty and belgian yeasts and a lot of bourbon in the aroma, also some wood, bit of brown sugar, fainter or more subtle notes of dried dark fruits, like figs, but not very fruity, more like dried sweet fruits, more like malts, if that makes sense, also some sweet nuts in there. aroma is like a really good no-that-fruity-but-plenty of flavor quad, just bourbon barrel aged, so tons of bourbon in addition to the quad thing. it is not balanced (too much bourbon) but the tilted balance works quite well nevertheless. flavor is sweet malty, dried dark fruits, wood, bourbon, especially towards the end, some bitter caramelly almost burned plastic like bitterness, probably from a very light infection, or from the barrel, but baiscally a strange in-between, between a bourbon barrel aged barley wine, and a good traditional belgian quad. If you like that sort of thing, it's a great and complex sipper, that still packs a punch in 2024 even if bottled in 2018 - but i think it is topping now, some of the subtle off flavors could be bc of aging getting to it. If you are in mood for this kind of crazy and complex thing, the beer will be much more than 3.8 to you. the craziness is super interesting and explorable and makes a GREAT sipper. If i had more, i'd keep one 5yrs more and see what happens.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 8.5
Quadrupel from this craft brewery in San Diego, in its bourbon barrel aged edition; bottle from Bier Bazaar (I think) shared with Craftmember and Johan. Slow gusher, but manageable. Medium thick, pale yellowish beige, quickly opening, dissipating head, misty bronze-brown robe with orangey amber hue. Aroma of caramel sauce, dried plums, ‘boerenjongens’ (liquor-soaked raisins), vanilla, jasmin blossoms, bourbon, Brazil nuts, brown honey, toffee, candied dates. Sweet onset but in a kind of crisp, fruity way and not cloying at all, dates, figs, raisins, softish carb, smooth and bit oily body – feeling lighter than its ABV would suggest so the whole remains ‘dangerously’ drinkable. Caramelly, bit peanutty malts, a tad brown-bready in the end, carrying this candied fruitiness onwards to a noble finish where oaky tannins provide balance against the sweetness, a function also fulfilled by oaky tannins and warming, indeed bourbon- but also somewhat rum-like booze. Honey, something perfumey (violets) and a lot of oaky vanilla fill the retronasal part in a most delightful way. Wonderful American interpretation of a Dutch-style quad (think La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged) – the American craft brewers do not often tackle the traditional ale styles from the Low Countries and when they do, rarely even come close to the best in Belgium and Holland, but this one pleasantly surprised me, in being at a comparable level of quality and complexity as the La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged series or the Chimay Barriques series. Worth every penny.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Keg at Thorn Street, SD, 15/11/14. Hazed reddish amber with a decent beige covering. Nose is Belgian yeast notes, dates, prunes, caramel, woody bourbon notes. Taste comprises light spice, toffee, subtle bourbon, yeast esters, dark fruit rinds, dates. Medium + body, fine carbonation, lightly warming boose in a woody spiced close. Ok drinkable offering but lacks depth ABV considered.
