7.8

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

500 ml bottle. Pours a dirty orange/brown with light head. Aromas of calvados, dark fruit, oak, and toasted malts. Flavors follow same but with more fruit, including a bit of stoned fruit, plus a bit of candi sugar. Very nice overall.

6

Silt ütleb, et 12 kuud buffalo trace vaadis (s.t. mitte viski, vaid burboon tehniliselt, aga eeldame, et on sama sisestus). Vaadine, hapukas, suhkrune, tanniinine, röstine, linnaseline. Ok, liiga vaat.

7.8

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

Barleywine aged on whisky-soaked oak chips for two months, apparently a very limited production primarily intended for fans of the brewery, so thanks tderoeck for sharing! Tiny-bubbled, dot-lacing, off-white, open head on a clear copper-red robe with orangey-amber glow. Aroma of biscuit, clear vanillin-breathing oak wood, candied plum, yellow raisin, a strange aspect of Royco tomato minute soup (!) including the croutons, almond, candied cherry, oxidized old port, wet clay. Sweet, dense, ‘praline’-like onset, refined candied cherry, pear and some candied strawberry as well as golden raisins, soft in carbonation with full, vinous, supple mouthfeel. Caramelly, biscuity malt core flavoured by vanilla-scenting oak wood (in spite of only chips being used), developing fortified wine-like oxidation, warmth and fruitiness in the finish, ending with the promised whisky-like touch, which fortunately remains soft and well-integrated. Candied beetroot, marmalade and candied cherry effects linger. Very ‘candied’, clean, stylised, vinous, liqueurish interpretation of a barleywine, as in Belgium only HopSaSam would do it – loved this one.

7.4

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

8/III/25 - 33cl bottle as a gift, shared with Alengrin @ home, BB: V/2030, bottled: V/2022 (2025-269) Thanks to Bierridder for the bottle!

Clear copper coloured beer, small creamy beige head, a little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: nice, gentle roast, caramel malts, a bit woody, whisky, learthery, alcoholic touch, a bit oxidized, some plastic, sourish hint. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: vanilla notes, caramel malts, bitter and hoppy, slightly oxidized, earthy. Aftertaste: malty, more vanilla, caramel, bitter touch, leathery, more oxidation, yeast, banana, a bit spicy, alcohol, dry finish with a hint of vanilla.

8.3

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

12 September 2024. At 1ste Kwatrechts Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Tim and the GBV crew!

Side by side with Barrel 351. No head. Tawny port, candied date, prune, dark honey. Very sweet date, fig, dark honey, treacle. Warming port- & calvados-like alcohol. Full body, syrupy. Just a tad more complex, perhaps, and actually less boozy than expected (but still a decent amount of alcohol, carried by the malt profile). Excellent!

7.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

12 September 2024. At 1ste Kwatrechts Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Tim and the GBV crew!

Side by side with Barrel 350. No head. Wet wood, tawny port, oak chips, pomme d'amour, calvados. Very sweet red apple, prune, date, syrup, toffee. Wet wood effect and warming calvados but also port-like alcohol. Full body, oily.The difference is so subtle, but I'd say this one was just a tad less intense. Excellent regardless.

7.8

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

Bottle from Stacks. Hazy brown, stable, foamy, tan head. Aroma of burnt brown sugar, candied plum, dried fig, pear syrup, ripe red apple, vanilla, bourbon. Taste has very sweet fig, date & red apple in a syrupy, caramelly malt body with very slightly toasted hints. Herbal hoppy finish, lingering dried fruits, woody vanilla and warming bourbon alcohol. Medium to full body, syrupy texture, average carbonation. A complete Quad, in which the barrel treatment is well implemented.

7.6

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

330 ml bottle. Pours a dark reddish brown with no head. Aromas of fruity calvados, raisins, dull orange, caramel, and toasted malts. Flavors follow same with nice fruity calvados notes and a bit of orange peel.

7.6

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

Caldavos barrel aged quadrupel by HopSaSam, a brewery I hold in high esteem; named after a type of sea slug, I reckon. Thickly moussey, shred-lacing, pale yellowish beige, slowly thinning and opening head on a hazy deep chestnut brown robe with ochre-ish edges. Aroma of brown sugar, brown bread dough, baked banana, a whiff of ‘ethereally’ alcoholic calvados (but not very recognisable as such – could be any kind of ‘eau de vie’), wet caramel, fermenting pear, stewed plum, ‘speculoos’, clove, coriander seed, cooked beetroot, dark honey, damp earth, some wet wood but not as prominent as usual for barrel ageing. Sweet onset, that is to say: brown-sugary as in many quads, with fruity side notes of pear, plum and vague banana, softishly carbonated with supple, somewhat creamy mouthfeel, yet thinned a bit by alcohol. Brown-bready and sweetish-caramelly core with a light ‘Koetjesreep’ note to it somewhere, spiced phenolically with clove but I also seem to get some coriander and a vague echo of ‘speculooskruiden’, though not nearly as outspoken as in the average traditional Belgian Christmas beer (which this one is not, anyway). A dash of herbal hops provides gentle end bitterness, as do some subtle tannins from the wood and far less subtle booze from the calvados, now including that typical apple-ish accent – but also becoming a bit wry on the root of the tongue. Lovely caramelly and somewhat chocolatey, pure maltiness lingers, proving that the base beer is a high level quad, but calvados is probably less suitable for barrel ageing than bourbon or brandy – I get the idea of combining calvados with quadrupel, but this combo has failed to truly impress me so far, as most calvados B.A. quads seem to be on the thin, boozy and astringent side. This one is no exception to that, but I hasten to add that seen as a whole, it is, by all means, a very pleasant and enjoyable, ‘wintery’, comforting ale.

7.3

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

33cl bottle from Struise Beershop Woesten e-shop.
F: medium, white, average retention.
C: gold, hazy.
A: malty, citrus, peach, honey, spicy.
T: full malty base, citrus, spicy, peach, bit herbal grassy, nice balanced long lasting bitterness, medium carbonation, very nice, enjoyed for sure.