Une Année Quad

Brewed By: Une Année Brewery in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 750ml (1 Pint 9.4 FL OZ) bottle bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014 (Batch 14 - 12.11.13)

Style/ABV: Quadrupel/Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 11.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

More Midwest shelf turds. About Une Année:

Une Année is a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois located near the intersection of Grand and Ashland in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor (three blocks from the Goose Island Fulton St. production brewery). The brewery was founded in early 2012 by Jerry Nelson, who is "an Architect, Marine, Siebel Institute Graduate, and Chicago native who started homebrewing in 1995 while stationed in California." Currently, Jerry is the head brewer along with Dustin Zimmerman, who also attended the Siebel Institute, and previously brewed at Hamburger Mary’s Andersonville and worked at Nøgne Ø. The name "Une Année" means "one year" in French, and was chosen to reinforce the two main ideas behind the brewery: a focus on Belgian and French style beer, and an emphasis on seasonal beers. For more info, check out the brewery's website.

Tonight's beer, the Une Année Quad, is described as, "The richest of all Belgian ales, the Quadrupel is not for the faint of heart." This beer punches in at a formidable 11.0% ABV, and is described as having notes of plum, dried cherry, fig esters, and mild phenolic spice.

Une Année Quad

This is a twilight adventure, pouring into a straight up purple body in low light, kicking up two fingers of foamy, Belgian, moon-colored head. The glass I chose further accentuates this twilight Quad. In bright light the beer takes on deep orange and reddish tones. All you Quad/Dubbel drinkers know that the purple in low light is proportional to the orange-red in bright light. DAE math. This is hazy with numerous streams of carbonation bubbling away, and the head retention is Donkey Kong. I don't even know what that means, beer nerds! A finger won't die though. And there's lacing behind that. It's a looker. 

The aroma here is unfamiliar territory for me, which is always exciting. But then I'm also a master of that Quadrupel ass. You like some familiarity...I'm getting big Twizzlers on the aroma, perfume, perfume candy notes, powdery dusting, creamy banana esters, cherries, dark fruits, and some hints of chocolate and cocoa. There's an almost leather-like quality to this aroma, and the beer hangs between an aroma that reminds me a bit of the Rochefort 10 and the Mission Street 2012 Anniversary Ale (when aged). There's a little fruitcake and cinnamon spice on the aroma as well...maybe nutmeg, and certainly some hints of clove and big perfume.

The taste instantly reminds me of the Rochefort 10, with substantial mouthfeels and feels in general. This is a big beer, with layers of malt that bounce between leather, dusty cocoa, fruit cake, and Belgian pastries. Around the malts are substantial spices, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, and there's some peppery alcohol as well. The alcohol here doesn't hide, and I'm getting big cherries, figs, and overripe fruit. There's some overripe brown banana in here, and some nice dark fruits. The whole thing is leathery and dusty as fuck, with some serious rawness that I'll attribute to the yeast. Is this brewed with the Rochefort yeast? The leathery-dusty thing really points in the direction of fruitcake and cocoa, which is fantastic. 

This is full-bodied, big, and fantastic. The mouthfeel is dusty and rustic, but has enough carbonation to move things along. Palate depth here is very good, and this is a complex beer. I should note that this is not very boozy for 11.0%. Up front is a big blast of fruit cake, rustic spice, perfume, clove, and dark fruits; the mids roll into big cherry, figs, overripe banana, peppery alcohol, and booze soaked fruits; the back end has some bitterness, with lingering leathery goodness, and some dusty cocoa-leather. This is impressive, with a pastry/fruitcake quality that screams dessert. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This beer is no slouch...and I think it has some potential to be even better. I'm kind of on the fence between a 4.0 and a 4.5, but given the heavy hitters that dominate this style, I feel comfortable with my score. Having said all that...this is a super rustic, super raw, cocoa-leather bomb. Fantastic stuff here, with layers of flavor and tons of goodness to go around. This beer would be perfect in the colder months, and should pair well with stews, turkey, ham, duck, strong cheese, meats, grilled meats, and things like that. I'll be on the lookout for the next batch of this.

Random Thought: I think I need to drink more Une Année beer.