7.9

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

16 November 2019. At 4de Gentse Bierquiz. Cheers to Anke & Pieter! Hazy dark brown with a lasting, small, frothy, tan head. Aroma of rum-soaked raisin, brown rum, candied & even baked banana ('Baka Bana') dates, molasses, ripe plum. Taste is medium to heavy malty sweet, offering lots of candied fruit (raisin, date, plum) on a brioche-like & caramelly base with faint bitter herbal touches. Dryish, herbal hoppy finish, a bit peppery, lingering candied fruitiness & warming woody brown rum-like alcohol. Medium to full body, syrupy texture, soft carbonation. Pleasant surprise, as it's Romanian and it's BA but elegantly made.

5

No nie, nie wiem, czy to zesute nie bylo, ale niby jakies dublowe nuty obecne w tle. Za cukrem, piwnica... i jakas kwasnoscia lekka. niedobre

7

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

Pours clear, dark copper. Medium brown. Small white head. Smell is spices, caramel, bit candy. Medium intense. Taste is medium intense, bit phenolic, very mild esters. Caramelly, bit malty. nice balance. Touch of bitterness.

7.8

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

Romanian (!) quadrupel aged on rum barrels, from a bottle, thanks Ama Deke. Thin and quickly breaking, open, loose, pale greyish white mousy ring on a hazy ruddy-chestnut brown beer with warm mahogany hue. Intense aroma of plum brandy, indeed the typical sweetness of brown rum, muscovado sugar, candied dates, brown honey, raisin, vanilla-like wet oak, hints of gravy and leather. Sweet onset, candi sugar, candied fig, fried bananas, very light gravy-like umami hint, soft carb; full and somewhat oily mouthfeel. Deeply caramelly malt sweet core with a hazelnutty edge and honeyish residual sweetness on top, ending mildly woody with that lovely vanilla-scenting oak aspect, followed by a strong, heating but not too wry booziness, clearly rum-flavoured and peppery, with the overall sweetness lingering. Much more a (darker side) barleywine or an imperial brown ale than a true Belgian style quadrupel but who cares: this is a fantastic, refined and beautiful sipper, clearly Romania, after countries like Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, is becoming the next Eastern European country to succumb to the global craft beer revolution.

8.1

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

Really dark red-brown with clear ruby highlights, beige head. The aroma is beautiful dark malts - little sugars, more dark fruit and brownie cake. Not that spicy, not that boozy. The taste follows with fine Quadrupel-ish dark fruit, toasted cake, chocolate caramel with a dash of milk. Silky mouthfeel. Moderate alcohol and, like the last year's vintage (that was much higher abv) feel just a bit thin in the finish, lacking either bitterness or heat. Great otherwise.

8

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

Cloudy dark brown, small beige head. The aroma is dark sugars, notes of tart dried fruit and quite strong oak vanilla, some spicy salted caramel notes and just a hint of alcohol - smooth and not aggressive at all. The taste is close - smooth dark sugars, dark toffee, medium strength alcoholic heat with a complex salty / spicy / woody barrel footprint. The aftertaste has a relatively strong boozy / hoppy bitter note that finishes the beer nicely. The body is just one notch thinner than I'd like, but it could be due to lower carbonation. Very solid, with a unique flavour profile.

7

Cloudy straw, white head. Smells quite fruity and tart - pineapple, white raisins, white wine. Not much funk in the aroma. The taste is on the opposite slektrum, really dry and ascetic - just a touch of what the aroma says. Then comes the bitterness which is grassy / woody and... A little funky - that's the only part of the beer where the brett is to be caught.

8

Slightly hazy golden-amber, frothy white head. The aroma is rather complex and sophisticated - your regular good Tripel fruity esters, oak vanilla, white raisins (no table Chardonnay freshness), spicy black pepper/coriander notes, some good warming booze. The taste is as good as expected - fruity malts are taken care by the drying alcohol, the barrel notes are here as well. Soft massaging carbonation precisely dialed in, and your high ABV easy drinking Belgian body is here to smash you in the face as soon as you empty the glass. A top quality Tripel with an extra layer or two of barrel goodness.