33cl bottle. Pours clear deep golden colour with a huge most good lasting off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, strong malt, hay. Taste of sweet malt, honey, hay, yellow fruits, average..

The strongest Mariënrode beer, a quadrupel with ’papery’ lacing, deep tan coloured, dense, thick head, remaining closed for a long time over a very dark purplish burgundy coloured beer, still translucent though, hazy. Strong, sweetish and perfumey aroma of candied cherries, bitter chocolate, dusty coriander seed, industrial butterscotch candy, peppermint, salsify, hazelnut oil, kahlua, yellow raisin, brown rum, toast, dried plum, dry earth, crème de cassis, cola, sugared tea, beef stock or even gravy (quite strongly so in the end), Sachertorte, old ginger powder, cloves, ruby port, hint pipe tobacco somewhere. Fruity onset but in a ’clean’ sort of way especially for a Belgian quad, sweetish fig and date combined with brambleberry sourishness, quite sharpish even, balancing out the sweetness, which otherwise sticks to the teeth a bit, in a somewhat cola-like manner; supple, slick malt middle, butterscotch sweetness with a light toasted edge and chocolatey hints, residual sweetness lingering, some metallic notes here and there, resinous and less full in body than I would have expected from a 12% quadrupel. Warming, if not heating finish, clearly a lot of alcohol but in a non-astringent, liqueur-like way, pushing upwards retronasal aromas of tea, candied date, peppermint (some or other spice must have been added here) and caramel, earthy hop bitter note too, and - unsurprisingly - a strong soapy coriander spiciness. Alcoholic for sure, but in a praline-like way, like some of the dark Gouden Carolus beers; has the same candied sweetness, sweet spiciness and resinous feeling to it as well. I am convinced some or other spice was added in this one and I do not just mean the eternal coriander, but I cannot quite put my finger on it. The sweetness sticks a bit too much to the teeth, mouthfeel is surprisingly thin for a beer of this strength and there are less flattering metallic notes in the middle and finish, but otherwise this is an interesting brew, a kind of ’polished’ and clean quadrupel so to speak, meeting the expectations of its style in a personal manner. It does not have the depth and nobility of the great trappist quads, but it does show an own character, which I can certainly appreciate. Nice sipper on an autumn evening like this and notably better than its dubbel and tripel namesakes.

15/10/2016 - sample of bottle @Bles Bierhappening. Dark brown, small tanned head. Soft, dark malts, caramel, bit sweet. Wanted sth heavy & dark to end with but this one didn’t impress me.

F: big, pale brown, good retention. C: dark, opaque, dark red tones against the light. A: malt, caramel, hint of chocolate, brown sugar, honey. T: malt, candy, caramel, dark fruits, raisins, brown sugar, honey, herbal, grassy, a bit sharp and lively carbonation, medium full body, ok, 33cl bottle from Zottegem Beerfestival 2016.

F: big, pale brown, good retention. C: dark, opaque. A: malt, coffee, chocolate, dark fruits, cherries, hint of raspberries, caramel, dried fruits, figs. T: malt, dark cherries, dark fruits, chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, figs, candy sugar, raisins, hint of alcohol, full body, low to medium carbonation, not bad at all, 33cl bottle from Zottegem Beerfestival 2016.

F: big, white, good retention. C: gold, light hazy. A: malt, light orange peels, spicy, hint of coriander, herbal, citrus, yeasty. T: malt, honey, orange peels, coriander, spicy, yeasty, banana, candy sugar, I am not sure if good or more than good, but quite enjoyable, 9,1% ABV quite hidden, 33cl bottle from Zottegem Beerfestival 2016.

[9/22/16] Bottle sample at Pre-Borefts RateBeer Tasting at ABC Beers in Den Haag. Thanks everyone for sharing bottles! Dark brown. Great aroma of chocolate, caramel, dark fruits. Sweet flavor. Good.

Bottle shared at Pre-Borefts Ratebeer Tasting 2016. Dark caramel with a tan head. Notes of aramel, chocolate, coffee and roasted malts, with subtle dried fruits in the aftertaste. --- Beer merged from original tick of Mariënrode Quadrupel 12 - on 29 Sep 2016 at 16:12 - Score: 7

Thank you Beerhunter111. 750 ml. bottle sampled @ Pre-Borefts Ratebeer Tasting 2016. Dark brown going to black with mocha bubbles. Nose is sweet molasses, overly sweet leaves, honey, sugar, fish guts, oddly made. Fizzy, chemical, poor fish guts DE styled fish guts, plastic apple,… Thin & chemical. Nope.