Urthel Samaranth

Brouwerij De Leyerth
Brewed at De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Ruiselede, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

Thanks Steve B. for bringing this to the 1000 Islands ’10’. Slight hazy amber/brown colored with a medium sized off-white head. Spicy aroma with hint of fruit and alchol. Sweet malty, caramel and heavy fruity taste with a noticable alcohol presence. Touch of hops near the end. Sweet fruit like aftertaste.

33cl bottle A lovely beer! not much head but a great flavour, a little reminiscent of Stille Nacht. Sweet malty aroma reminiscent of untreated wood

Bottle, I was quite excited to try this one, though Urthel has never been one of my favorite Belgian Breweries. Color is murky dark brown with a sizable khaki head. Aroma has dark rye bead, spicy toffee, apricot. Flavor is a fascinating mixture of sherry, pine, nutmeg and assorted spices. Mouthfeel is creamy, full, semi-dry. Very satisfying and unlike any quadruple I’ve tried. A must for strong Belgian beer lovers; easily the best Urthel, at least by my palate.

The Urthel in question is their Samaranth Quadrium, a Belgian Quadrupel whose worthiness is on par with some of the best; Chimay Grand Reserve, Malheur 12, St. Bernardus 12. Deep blood-orange, amber and crimson highlights burn their way through his gorgeous depths. A soft moussey head gives way to a splotchy blanket bordered by a thick collar. Close your eyes, hold your breath, and breathe deep if his luxurious banquet of aromas. Fruits, pears, and a pervasive sweetness mingles harmoniously with rum cake, rum bread, cinnamon sprinkles, plums, raisins, and prunes, oh my! Keeping the party rolling is spice cake, fig newtons (love those cookies), molasses, wood, cherry, and last but certainly not least, port. Whew! All of that took me a good ten minutes or so of serious study balanced by just letting my mind freely explore what aromas he had to offer. None dominated, and like a master craftsman’s tapestry, each aroma was woven together with skillful artistry. Smelling Samaranth is all well and good, but I want to taste him too…and so I do. Sweet, thick, rich, spiced, and warm. Word for word, that is exactly what I have written down for my first quaffing impression. Apricots, cherries, and plums are generously spiced while soaking up the warm rummy goodness flowing underneath his palate. Prunes and raisins eagerly soak up the warmth along with cinnamon, spice, and a kiss of rum-soaked wood. Sticky lips and sticky tongue hold onto every iota of flavor while freshly picked cherries and apricot skins mingle in the middle. His palate grows dryer as he warms, balancing his thick sweetness exquisitely. More wood and spice linger in my breath while my chest develops a warm glow while sticky lips curve up into a satisfied smile. Delicious and darned if my glass isn’t already empty…but he is a 750ml bottle and so I drain the latter half of his heavenly nectar into my glass and continue my ascent into beerphoria. I noted little change from his first half to his second half, and so I set pen down and glass to lips in joyous abandon.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 11.2oz bottle into a chalice. The bottle has no freshness or born on date, only a bottle number. (k28c7) Appearance: It has a deep reddish burgundy colored body with a small beige head. The body also has a very hazy or cloudy appearance with lots of yeast sediment in it. Its head is short lived and leaves just a small ring of foam on top, around the edge of the glass. Lacing is very minimal. Smell: In the nose I get nice fruity esters of golden raisons, figs, fig cake, liquorish and candy sugar. There is also a mellow brandy like boozy note that surrounds all the nice fruitiness. Taste/Palate: With complexity like this it’s hard to find a place to start. It has a deep rich full body with complex bready and fruity maltiness. Within it there are nice notes of golden raisons, dark sweet cherries, fig/fig cake, red liquorish, caramel and some raw grain maltiness. These notes all slowly reveal themselves with each sip and they are embraced by a pleasant brandy like warmth. The finish is still some what sweet but there are some dryer earthy yeast tones moving in here as well as some lightly spicy hop notes that bring mild bitterness. Its texture has a good firm smooth feel with plenty of soft carbonation to keep thing lively and set up the palate for the next sip. Notes: Overall this is an outstanding Quad in my opinion. Its complex, it’s big, it’s pleasantly boozy, it drinks well, and the only thing I can really pick on here is the head retention and lacing. Well done!!!

On tap at Beer Engine. Poured into brandy snifter. Dark red/brown/auburn color. Dark fruit on the nose. Very mild, no upfront booze in flavor until the very end. Strangely grassy finish.

Reddish brown, fairly uncloudy with minimal head. Some caramel and wood aromas with alcohol noticable. Body is medium with lots of flavors of caramel and dried fruits. Alcohol and carbonation are too prominent for this to be at the head of the class but pretty tasty, would like to try it after a couple of years.

Dark brown pour with a frothy head. Generally sweet and caramelly with a nice balance of hop in the finish and a bit of alcohol warming at the end. very nice beer.