La Trappe Quadrupel

330 mL bottle. Dark amber-brown with a medium-small (but lasting and sticky) beige head. The aroma is strong, fruity (raisins, figs) and sweet, but there’s a little too much alcohol there. The flavour is big, malty, and sweet (dark candi sugar). The alcohol is quite apparent, but fades as the beer warms. Unfortunately, the sweetness increases. Quite a bit of alcohol warmth at the end. Full body, appropriate carbonation. I’d love to see how this one ages.

3/5/08 at Idle Rich Pub in Dallas as Koningshoeven Quad. Pours hazy amber red/brown, small, quickly dissipating white head. Nose is spicy and fruity, apple, pear. Taste is spicy, coriander and anise, malt, caramel, dry, with a touch of hop crispness. Pretty decent.

First impression is that it’s huge, thick mouth, lots of alcohol, lots of dried fruit, almost a Belgian Christmas style. Next the toffee and the sweet malts, then more spice, then more dried fruit, then more alcohol. Wasn’t sure what to do with it; for a great beer, it was surprisingly not something I actually wanted to drink, either by itself or with beef cheeks and frites. Clearly the most interesting draft at RESTO tonight, simply not the most drinkable.

330ml bottle at Biergasthof Schiffner. Pours a deep ruby colour with a fine lacy head. Smells quite funky and definitely of "UHU Alleskleber" and fermented, sour hay. Still funky and a bit gluey in taste , but mixed with all sorts of gooey boiled sweet fruit. Well balaanced. delicious stuff.

1994 bottle...brown, small head. Rich malt and cardboard aroma, but the flavor is amazingly rich with sweet fruits, tasty malts, toffee. Very nicely aged. Far better balanced than a newer Koenings Hoeven Quad which tends to be hot in the alcohol.

This was my first bottle in 10 years. It was as I remember. I had the 750ML corked version. The pour: deep caramel color with a head with large bubbles. (This usually is a result of bottle conditioning.) The bouquet: heavy "Trappist" yeast smell. Very fruity- dates, figs, raisins. The palate: intense, malty, sweet- you can definitely tell this ale is fermented with Belgian candy sugar. The finish: definite alcohol "bite" at the back of the tongue. Aftertaste: nutty, toffeeish. Very good Quad... not the world’s very best, but it’s up there.

i thought i would like this a lot more than i did. i bought it in a pint/glass gift set under the moniker "Koenings Hoeven Quadrupel Trappist Ale". When poured, NO head was produced. Flavor was pretty good, with plum and raisins and malt. did i not let it ferment properly? why was there no head? most people seem to report a beautifully laced head. i got nothin’. i’ll try it again, at the very least to get another trappist glass, but i donno if its in my radar of favorite beers. granted, though, i’m not much of a belgian guy.

Bottle. Poured a surprisingly clear reddish brown with a good amount of head, that lasted for only a minute. Aromas of cherries, beet sugar, molasses, some light malt notes. Mouthfeel is fairly sweet, thick, but with a striking metallic note to it (it’s an older bottle, so that may explain it). A decent quad, but definitely not the best. A little too light for my liking, but a good choice if you don’t want something as intense as say, a Chimay Bleu.