La Trappe Quadrupel

Lovely beer. Full, little bit fruity taste. Gives a warm feeling in your throat. Not to bitter, very good.

11.2 ounce bottle - $5.29 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia. Appearance: Clear, dark brown body with a reasonably well-sized, off-white head. Random bits of lacing on the way down. Smell: Sweetish, earthly spiced, and ripe fruity notes all come together to harmoniously provide notes of candy, caramel-covered fruits, dark loaf bread, and even alcohol. Yes, even alcohol, friends. Taste: Sweetish, dark maltiness with very, very light tastes of chocolate and even cinnamon-flavored Breakfast Blend coffee. Touch of dark breadiness. Hearty spread of gooey dark caramel. Dash of earthy spices, mainly clove. Another pinch of table sugar. Fruity tastes of green raisins, ripe figs, and green apples marinated in spiced rum. Touch of bitterness. Sweetish, earthy, warming finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel. Drinkability: Worth a try. The world’s greatest quadrupel? Heck no! A decent, okay-inducing quad? Sure.

50cl ceramic bottle poured into a Chimay Trappist glass. Dark amber with ample creamy tan head. Aroma is bubblegum. Flavor is bubblegum, spice, alcohol. Medium carbonation. Finish is alcohol. This one is very much like the dubbel but with stronger alcohol.

As Koningshoeven Quadrupel Trappist Ale. Pours a cloudy ruby red/brown with a medium head that quickly recedes to a thin layer of lacing. Aroma is mostly of banana and spice. Flavor is a lot more complex and robust; The banana comes again with the spice, but also comes the trappist qualities of breadiness, yeast, and a lot of flora. Again, very complex. Very creamy in mouthfeel and finish; Just perfect on the palate. I’m really enjoying this one a lot. I put it third behind Bernardus and Rochefort in the Quad department. Overall, excellent to world class.

Enjoyed from a 11.2oz bottle in a whiskey snifter. The beer pours a nice deep brown, with a just barely off-white head. The aroma brings notes of yeast-derived flavors of plumes and some lightly toasted raisons, along with a slight pilsner malt-type graininess. The beer is full on the palate, bringing a sweetness that is pleasant and not cloying. While I have had some examples of the style that offer more rounded and complex malty flavors, this beer was still extremely enjoyable. A great quadrupel and a must try from the world’s only non-Belgian Trappist brewery.

33cl bottle, La Trappe glass. pours dark brown/ruby, off white head. Aroma of candi sugar, dark fruits and malts Taste, malty, dark fruits with raisins, currants, candi sugar with yeast elements, starts off light and becomes more complex as the warming abv dissipates.

Had on tap at Julian’s in Providence, RI. To me, this was a very pleasant, drinkable, and spot-on example of the style. The nose possesses a desirable fruit ester and mild spice aroma, along with toasted grain and fresh bread. The fruity ester I identified in both the aroma and flavour was most similar to black cherry, as it was sweet, not all tart, and was the first suggestion that came to mind. The bready malts and dry finish (which I attributed to the Belgian yeast) let me know this was a true Belgian Quad. There was a medium, warming alcoholic presence and a tingly carbonation that accompanied the medium, airy body well. I was pretty stoked!

Bottle. Pours reddish brown with a medium head that diminished. Fruity aroma with notes of bread and alcohol. The flavour is bread, fruit and alcohol. There’s a harshness present in the mouthfeel from the alcohol phenols and lacks the smoothness I’d like to see in a quad.