Barrel aged strong ale from this northern French brewery (less than twenty miles south of the Belgian border), one I hold in a certain esteem because I had several great ales from them in the past, including a cognac barrel aged version of this same beer; this one, however, has matured on barrels which previously held Pineau de Charentes. Longneck bottle from AD Delhaize Zwijnaarde. Powerful aroma of indeed clear Pineau (it has been many years since I had one but it all comes back with one sniff here), preserved apricots, honey liqueur, strong vanilla-scenting oak wood, demi-sec champagne, white port, caramel, fig jam, hints of chestnut, coconut flakes, armagnac, honeydew, candied lemon peel. Fruity, sweet, spritzy onset, lively carbonation with minerally effects - but unable to hide impressions of ripe peach, pineapple, ripe banana, Doyenné pear and - unsurprisingly - sweet white grapes; something sugary even sticks to the teeth a bit, no doubt coming from the Pineau, but there is a very slight tart-ish edge as well. Rounded but slick, vinous mouthfeel - barleywine-esque indeed, with a core of honeyish, lightly caramelly and brioche-bready malts, still carrying onwards ripe yellow fruit and minerality. Drying woody tannins and strong retronasal 'oak vanilla' join in soon enough, quickly followed by a warming, sweet and boozy Pineau effect, eventually reminiscent of armagnac and white port as well; meanwhile retronasal honey liqueur, banana, cooked pear, fig jam and even coconut effects show up, adding complexity to a warming, sweet, liqueurish finish, though obviously sweet white grape remains the main fruit factor here. Hop bitterness is low but still noticeable in a floral kind of way; even some clove-like 'Belgian' phenols appear. Sweet, rich but supple boozer, though in both basic flavours and appearance I would not call this a quadrupel: this is, if anything, a strong, barrel aged tripel, fitting neatly in the row of wine or brandy barrel aged tripels that have been made in Belgium in the past decade (think Van Honsebrouck's Trignac, some barrel aged variants of Schuppenboer by Het Nest or similar variants of d'Oude Caert Tripel, for instance). If the old Belgian tripel can in any way be improved, it must be by means of ageing it on a fitting barrel - and the sweet and vinous flavours of Pineau de Charentes seem applicable enough for that purpose. Decent late night sipper, if a tad too effervescent, too sweet and too boozy for my personal liking.

22/XI/22 - 33cl bottle @ HoReCa expo (Gent), BB: LLO 2023, 028A21 12.21 (2022-1664) Thanks to Erwin, Peter and others for sharing today’s beers.

Clear blond to amber beer, small aery white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: a bit oxidized, marzipan, caramel, malty touch. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: alcohol, oxidized, malty, caramel, sugary, more oxidized, some alcohol. Aftertaste: dried fruits, raisins, a bit sugary, bitter, oxidized, some cardboard.

slightly opalescent golden colour, medium sized dense ecru-ish head; aroma and taste of honeycomb toffee, burnt sugary, dried apricot, bread crusty, intensive alcohol and slight anise; not that bad, though clearly not a full-bodied quadrupel

0.75l bottle thanks to Lore. Clear orange body with a thin white head. Aroma and taste of burnt sugar, oak, honey, licorice and dried stone fruits. The alcohol is quite noticable, but still fine. Not a typical quad but correct.