Wisent Bourbon Infused

The quad in this series of beers intended for nature conservation in the Kempen region in the province of Antwerp, infused with bourbon (though the brand sadly remains undisclosed) and oak chips. Thick and foamy, pale yellowish beige, paper-lacing, very regular, very dense head sitting quietly over an initially clear, 'dark orange' amber coloured beer with vague brownish tinge. Aroma of sweet candi sugar rocks a mile out, bubblegum, hot caramel sauce, strong ripe banana, muscovado sugar, hint of Ersatz chocolate, light bourbon in a sweet way, marzipan, clove, vanilla-scenting oak wood but far more subtly so than if it had actually been aged on bourbon casks, chocolate liqueur, cold Irish coffee, candied cherries, dried fig, amaretto, cocoa powder, rosemary, star anise, cheap brandy, some methylated spirits. Candi-sugary sweet onset with fruity notes of medlar, fig and pear, relatively clean though, with a slight astringency early on and a vague sourish undertone reinforced by sharpish carbonation (for style); lean caramelly maltiness with a faintly chocolatey touch and a much more obvious layer of residual candi sugar sweetness on top, almost a bit 'desserty', an aspect amplified by more sweet than bitter bourbon, effectuating its boozy stings from the start and only growing in intensity towards the finish. Strong almond (almost amaretto) and even lightly cocoa-like elements join in, while the oak chips add a vanilla factor but also quite outspoken astringency - which is in turn increased by a long, spicy, bittersweet bourbon booziness dominating the finish over malts and hops, the one thing I was afraid of when opening this beer. Light toasty-malty and earthy-hoppy bitter elements do show up, but they get washed away by the bourbon. There were three things I was fearing when I read "bourbon infused quadrupel" on the label of this beer: too thin, too sweet and too boozy. Those three things are exactly what happened. So far, these Beer 4 Nature brews have failed to convince me, even though I wholeheartedly support their mission, and this one unfortunately only confirms my opinion. Dutch-style quad (read La Trappe) with way too much alcohol astringency for me - and the fact that it is quite thinly structured for its style, does not encourage me to buy a few more and cellar them just to get the booze evened out, because I do not think that would be successful at all. See, this one demonstrates exactly why I always become very cautious around liquor-infused beers... My advice: go the extra mile next time, buy a few bourbon casks and actually age your beer in them (after removing any bourbon that is left, if necessary) - you will have a much better and respectable ale that way without having to take these shortcuts.

Dark amber/brown colour, beige foam. Nose of bourbon, vanilla, dried fruit, a bit floral. Sweet and warming, some bitterness, rather sweet.

Fast gone cream-coloured rim; veiled if metallic golden-brown beer. Leaves and Bourbon, banana, rum/cane sugar spirit. Spirit, booze, rum... Vanilla is missing (=infusion instead of casking). Almonds, rosewater, whilst the aftertaste turns to bitter almond. Good, spritzy carbonation, though invisible. At least medium bodied, quite slick/oily. Too sweet and hardly any complexity. Lagering in Bourbon casks is vastly superior to infusion. AND WHERE TF is this brewed?? Txs to Stef!