Tulip at the brewery - hazy straw with a pinkish hue - nose fairly heavy on the hibiscus, moderate cab, mild oak, subtle Brett funk - flavor is medium tart, with moderate sweet/sour hibiscus, slight background acetic acid - barrel character is subdued, slight vinous notes from the barrel - very mild Brett bugginess - pretty good - I prefer the first.

Goblet at the brewery - hazy dark gold/orange - nose is big on barrel, said me tannins, and buttery can notes, a little bit of funk and moderate acidity - Nice froth in the mouth - dry, with a nice quenching acidity to it - moderate cab, medium tartness, white grape skin, some sweet peach and mango through the middle - finishes with moderate funk and acidity.

Bottle. Pours Brown tan head. Nose/taste of rum, caramel, oak, plum raisin, toffee and alcohol soaked fruit -medium body.

22oz bottle, undated, though assumedly reasonably fresh, acquired in a trade with THE Ernest, shared with my friend on 8/3/15.
Not all that dark for a dark Quad, though with plenty of chestnut, mahogany and lighter beige hues. Good clarity to it and an initially full off-white head that slowly recedes to cover.
I was going to go off on a rant about Abt vs. Quad vs. BSA but you know what? I care less and less about who’s calling what a what, to the point where I almost don’t care at all. Brew a radler and call it a saison? Don’t care. Brew a BSA and call it a Quad? REALLY don’t care. Ok, before I get sucked back in to ranting, let’s move on to the aroma, shall we?
Soft raisins, toffee and lots of honey and vanilla, as far as the malts are concerned. Ester-wise we’ve got a touch of citrus, pear and apple, but really, this thing is nicely reserved in that department, with no brutish fruits or heavily spicy phenolics. No alcohol either. Light sugar cookies on the finish with no alcohol....very curious indeed.
Flavor is soft, with a lightly perfume-like alcohol note gracing the palate while vanilla cream, raisin and caramel sweetness, nicely malty but well-attenuated, show through the middle, ending on light acidity and fruity esters that, to reiterate, don’t suck. The carbonation is mild, but engaging enough, the texture soft and comforting and the balance pretty spot-on between alcohol, sweetness and acidity/dryness. It drinks like a 5-6% beer, which is impressive and manages, while lacking some deep complexities of the very best examples, to eschew any heavy/punchy/messy esters, bitter/astringent phenols, syrupy-sweet candi sugar (I’m cringing just thinking about it), rampant alcohol, low drinkability and any off-flavors or strange yeast-derived compounds whatsoever. Not too bad at all!

Tallboy can shared at a tasting. Hazy orange, large fizzy tan head, good retention. Aroma of tropical fruit, citrus, zest, pale malt. The taste is zesty lime, tropical fruits, pale malt. Medium bodied.

8 ounce goblet at the brewery - hazy purplish red - minimal head/lace - fairly inviting (albeit vey sweet) nose of red wine, brown sugar, treacle, raisin, tamarind, cookie dough - faint hints of oxidation in the nose and flavor - texture is a bit thin for something so strong - extremely sweet, but somewhat tempered by a moderate spice - barrel character not as prominent as in the nose, but does finish with some wine character - brown sugar, treacle - yeast character is mild to moderate, with some cobweb and pepper - needs a little more heft and overall balance.

Taster at the brewery - hazy orange - nose is strong, sweet cognac and some melon and citrus notes, mild phenolics - flavor is super boozy and sweet, especially up front - this subsides a bit later, with some bright tropical notes, vanilla, and moderate spicy/ peppery character - overall, though, the sweet booze persists throughout - meh.