Trappist Westvleteren 12: Quad Blind Tasting

For this write-up I wanted to do something a little different than a straight review. A bottle of Westy 12 was generously gifted to me, and I wanted to seize the opportunity since it is not everyday that you find yourself in possession of one of the world's most sought after and hyped up beers. If you are unfamiliar with Westy 12, good. The beer is brewed by the monks at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren, Belgium. The brewery makes three beers: their Blonde, 8, and 12. These beers are only available at the brewery in Belgium, which has added to the beer's hype and mythology. The Westy 12 did have a limited American release (for charity), and was absurd and a total shitshow. Since then, the trade value of Westy 12 has crashed like the US housing market. 

Having a bottle of this rare and sought after beer in my possession is like owning the Ark of the Covenant. You feel like a God, until the hype machine melts your face off. Anyway, here was the blind tasting lineup:

Trappist Westvleteren 12
Brewed By: Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus in Westvleteren, Belgium  

ABV: 10.2%

St. Bernardus Abt 12

Brewed By: St. Bernardus Brouwerij in Watou, Belgium  

ABV: 10.0%

Destihl Quadrupel

Brewed By: Destihl Brewery in Bloomington, Illinois  

Quad Blind Tasting 

ABV: 11.0%

Delirium Noël

Brewed By: Brouwerij Huyghe in Melle, Belgium  

ABV: 10.0%

Rochefort Trappistes 10

Brewed By: Brasserie Rochefort in Rochefort, Belgium  

ABV: 11.3%

Chimay Bleue (Blue) / Grande Réserve

Brewed By: Chimay in Baileux, Belgium  

ABV: 9.0%

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Brewed By: Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat) in Cooperstown, New York  

ABV: 9.7%

There wasn't a ton of thought behind this lineup of beers. I could have added more beers, but I wanted to keep the lineup shorter to avoid palate fatigue. I put the Destihl beer in the lineup to give the Midwest a chance. I wanted to end up saying, "local brewery does okay." Unfortunately, the Destihl Quad was clearly among the worst of these beers. Spoilers. The Abt 12 and Rochefort 10 are both easily available and I enjoy them a lot. The Chimany Blue is a classic. The Noël is a crowd favorite that I don't get. And the Three Philosophers is my favorite, readily available, American Quad. With all that said, let's see how these beers stacked up.

My blind, final ranking: Ommegang, Rochefort 10, Delirium Noël, Chimay, Abt 12, Destihl, Westy 12

My brother: Delirium Noël, Rochefort 10, Ommegang, Chimay, Abt 12, Destihl, Westy 12

My girlfriend: Ommegang, Abt 12, Delirium Noël, Chimay, Rochefort 10, Destihl, Westy 12

Average/Mean position of each beer (w/ standard deviation): 

Woo, statistics!

This was a simple tasting with just three people. And this is about as deep as I want to go. The results are pretty clear...the Three Philosophers was loved by everyone, and that doesn't surprise me. It's a top-notch Quad, despite being on the sweeter side of the style. The Delirium Noël was a total dark horse that we all enjoyed, and I'll pen some tasting notes on each of these beers in a minute. The Rochefort 10 should not shock anyone. I debated putting the Rochefort 10 in my number one spot, and my brother was right behind me in loving it. My girlfriend is hop-aversive, and we all agreed the Rochefort 10 had the most hop punch. The Chimay was middle-of-the road for ALL of us. It's a good standby, and you can buy it anywhere these days. The Abt 12 had a bit of variation in its ranking...I wonder about the bottle age. The Destihl was universally panned compared to the top beers. And then we had the Westy 12...all the way at all of our bottoms. When we were doing the blind tasting, we all thought the Westy 12 was the Delirium Noël or the Destihl.

Some tasting notes: 

Trappist Westvleteren 12 - oxidized, aged, apples, saffron, smuckers jam, phenols, leather, medium-bodied; harsh finish

St. Bernardus Abt 12 - Phenolic, banana, cherries, dark fruits, brown sugar, full-bodied; crisp; light fruity flavor, cardboard

It's just beer...

Destihl Quadrupel - sweet, light, fruity, apples, cherries, saffron, fruity/caramel, not complex; bland; harsh, not clean

Delirium Noël - Rye, spice, bread, some vinegar/soy sauce/umami, oxidized dark fruits, raisins, intensity and complex; very fruity, apple juice; raisins, very clean

Rochefort Trappistes 10 - HOPPY, resin, dark fruits, brown sugars, hop candies, BIG, not sweet; cookie dough; some alcohol

Chimay Bleue (Blue) / Grande Réserve - cherries, fruit, dark fruits, sweeetness, lighter, thin; apples and pears; smooth

Ommegang Three Philosophers - Bananas, phenolic, perfume, brown sugar, cherries, candies, candy sugar, thick, sweet, not boozy; bananas; slightly bitter

Results/Discussion/Conclusion/Final Thoughts

What to make of these results? I really don't know. First off, Belgian Strong Ales are one of my favorite styles of beer, if not my absolute favorite style of beer. Having said that, I think tasting these beers in a blind tasting format is restrictive in some ways. By the end of the tasting, my palate was whacked and I was having a hard time discerning between beers. There's some meta commentary there about the hoarders on Ratebeer that tick 200 beers a day, or go to festivals and rate 40 beers using 2oz pours. People are both the best raters of things like food and drink, and also poorly tuned instruments. There are so many biases at work -- your mood, your palate that day, how many beers you had before, etc. -- that I just can't take tickers seriously. What I am proposing is a premise/argument that the ticker on Ratebeer with 20,000+ ticks is contributing meaningless content and is wasting time. But hey, if they are happy, good for them.

These are ALL nuanced beers. The Abt 12 has different complexities than the Rochefort 10. The Delirium Noël is way different than any other of these beers. I would argue that none of these beers are bad. You could go into the store and walk out with any of these beers and be okay. However, for my palate, I'm quite content knowing that I can buy an Ommegang Three Philosophers or a Rochefort 10 at just about any liquor store, and get that authentic dark strong ale experience without having to jump through any hoops. I've rated both the Three Philosophers and Rochefort 10 very high in the past. 

The Delirium Noël is the real dark horse in this tasting. Many "what the fucks?" were made after it scored so high. My theory behind the beer's success is that it is complex, has these awesome bread/rye notes, and pulls out some serious raisin punches. The vinegar/soy/umami that I was tuned into (my tasting partners were not) suggests to me that the beer has suffered from some autolysis...Delirium bottle-conditions all of their beers, and you can pour out some really nasty yeast chunks if you aren't careful. Who knows how old that bottle is.

Why did we all pan the Westy 12? I have no idea. I didn't pan it, initially. I actually had it ranked in the 4th spot before finalizing my rankings. I think the bottle I have might have some age on it. But also, the Westy 12 wasn't as assertive or bold as the Rochefort 10 or the Ommegang Three Philosophers. I won't speak much to the hype...because this blind tasting was limited. We only had one bottle. And there are biases at work. So maybe in another blind tasting we would rank it higher. Maybe in another blind tasting we would have a bottle that tastes different. There is definitely bottle variation with this style of beer. So there are a lot of unknowns and limitations at work here. Also, our sample size was too small and hardly significant. To legitimize this tasting, we would ideally have 20 people tasting these beers. That should provide more useful data...but I did what I could.

And that's all I really have to say. This blind tasting was fun, and I recommend that people jump on this ship and start blind tasting beers themselves. Beer reviews ARE bullshit. But blind tastings add an element of credibility to what is otherwise a lot of words. Words. Ratebeer. 20,000 ticks. Tick tick tick tick. Tick.

Random Thought: WHAT?!!?! No review score? Duh. How the hell am I supposed to rate these beers from a blind tasting? Also, I can't speak for my compadres. 

Blue Moon Winter Sample Pack 2014: Blue Moon Mountain Abbey Ale

Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin   

Purchased: 12oz bottle from the Blue Moon Winter Sampler 2014 bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Abbey Ale, 5.6%

Reported IBUs: 16

DAE Macro sampler packs?

Over the past few years of penning horrible blog reviews, I have never actually reviewed one of America's classic beers: Blue Moon Belgian White. I did review their god-awful Grand Cru once upon a time, but how about some of their more seminal releases? I couldn't pass up on the Winter Sampler Pack for 2014. This thing cost about $15, and comes with five unique beers. Well, five really, because who hasn't had the Belgian White? About MillerCoors aka Blue Moon:

Blue Moon was first brewed in 1995 at one of MillerCoors' R&D arms; in a sandlot, in Denver, Colorado, by Keith Villa. Keith Villa is an OG player these days. He's off judging beer, and talking about his PhD in brewing from the University of Brussels. There's a PhD for everything these days. Seriously though, it's Blue Moon. Read the Wiki. 

This is where things probably start to get weird....Blue Moon doing an Abbey Ale? Eh? The Mountain Abbey Ale is brewed with pale, "winter white wheat," and chocolate malts; this uses Mittelfruh hops, and features some dark Belgian candi sugar because DAE Belgium. 

This beer pours into a pretty nice reddish-brown body, kicking up a finger of brown-tinged head. The beer is carbonated well, but appears filtered...and yeah. Calling this an abbey ale is about as nebulous as calling this a Belgian Ale....so I'm not sure what to expect, but let's see.

The aroma is pretty mild and smells like a Brown Ale...I'm getting some toasted and nutty notes. When I swirl the beer, I'm starting to get some of the candi sugar, with some plums and dark fruit sweetness. This also has a saccharine sweet caramel presence, which seems characteristic of all these Blue Moon beers.

This is like a Belgian Ale light...really, it drinks much like a malty Bock or even a Brown Ale with some hints of sugar. This mostly dials up caramel sweetness, with some light toasty notes and some nuttiness. The kiss of candi sugar suggests some dark fruits and sort of legitimizes this, but this mostly tastes like a solid Brown Ale.

This is pretty solid as far as Brown Ales go. The candi sugar does add a nice dimension to the sweetness, and the toasty and nutty notes all work well together. It's not particularly complex or interesting, but it has reasonable depth. It seems very average, if not a bit outside the typical abbey ale guidelines. Up front is a nice dose of caramel, faint hops, and toast; the mids roll into more toast, some nuttiness, and hints of sugar; the back end drops candi sugar and some dark fruits. Overall it's pretty decent and hard to hate. 

Rating: Average (2.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. This almost falls into below-average territory because honestly, this isn't a very inspiring Belgian Ale and I really have to work hard to dig out the nuanced and rewarding flavors. Having said that, this is probably an average or average+ Brown Ale thing. It would certainly pair well with the cooler weather, minus that weak ass ABV. I'd treat this like the many Winter brown ales that inevitably sit on shelves come November. 

Random Thought: My Garmin watch won't turn on and my life is in ruin. 

Victory Variety Pack Round-Up: Golden Monkey

Brewed By: Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, Pennsylvania 

Purchased: 12oz bottle from Victory's Variety Pack bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American-style Tripel, 9.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

I realize that reviewing Victory's heritage brews is like reviewing Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale or Anchor Brewing's Anchor Steam. Here's the thing. The four beers contained in this Variety Pack (PrimaPils, HopDevil, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey) are classics in their own right. But the times, they've been a-changin'. So it reasons that what was once a classic might be viewed differently today than in retrospect. You know. Plus this is my blog/LiveJournal. If you don't like it, suck on deez nuts. But  About Victory: 

Victory Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. The brewery was founded by Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski, two avid brewers and lovers of beer. Although Victory opened on February 15, 1996, the duo were brewing brewing beer long before opening their own company. You can read more about their accomplishments on the brewery's about page. The brewery uses German malted barley and European and American whole flower hops (the use of whole flower hops is one unique aspect of Victory). Victory is currently working on expanding to Parkesburg. For more information about Victory, check out their website or their Facebook page. 

The Golden Monkey is a big-ass, American-style Tripel brewed with 2-Row malts and whole flower European hops. They also throw some coriander seed into this one. This is another classic example of an American-style Tripel, albeit one that the Bros didn't like very much back in 2001/2002. Oh wells. 

This pours very much like its name implies: into a golden body, kicking up two fingers of dense, fluffy, golden-tinged head. This is nicely carbonated, and looks the part of a Tripel, albeit less cloudy than some of the Belgian ones. This is conditioned, however, and you do get some yeast sediment in your glass.

Victory Golden Monkey

The aroma here is also classic Tripel, with vibrant grains, clove, banana, funky yeast esters, and deep hops that include notes of citrus, lemon, and coriander. This actually smells really appetizing, especially for a fresh beer. Part of the allure of the style is that you get these aged bangers from Belgium, but us Americans tend to ratchet up the candy sugar and ride the booze and spice train.

This is super drinkable, with big clove and yeast funk crashing down like a tidal wave. It coats your entire tongue, and also delivers some really clean grain and bready notes. This is stupid drinkable, as the style should be, and you would never guess this is 9.5% until it knocked you on your ass. Along with all the clove is a ton of lemon, floral and grassy hops, and some notes that are probably wheat malts (but go unlisted on Victory's website). This is actually super clean, despite being a very straightforward affair.

And despite being straightforward, this has fulfilling palate depth and complexity. It's just big and drinkable and refreshing...without any of the bullshit. Granted, it's not very adventurous, but it doesn't hit you over the head with too much spice or any of that. It lays out the clove and big funky yeast; and then rolls into some coriander spice, dough, bread, banana esters, and big lemon and floral hops; the back end fades with wheat, more clove, and a surprisingly estery and bready finish. I like this beer a lot.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I really like how simple but refined this beer is. It's not blowing anyone away, but this is a good effort for an American Tripel that has a few bells and whistles...namely a super smooth body, coupled with an insane amount of clove funk, and lots of depth and complexity. I'd bang this again, and pair it with some white pasta, meats, and cheeses. Fantastic, available brew. If you are stumbling onto this beer and are new to the Tripel style, check it out.

Random Thought: One more to go...

Stone Stochasticity Project Quadrotriticale

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Belgian Quadrupel, 9.3% 
Reported IBUs: 40

Tonight we are trying another beer from Stone's Stochasticity Project. In case you are not in the loop, the Stochasticity Project is Stone's other label for people who aren't stupid. Are you stupid? Do you like talking gargoyles? Well turn around, there is nothing for you to see here. About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

The Stochasticity Project Quadrotriticale is a Belgian-stile Quad brewed with triticale, "a hybrid grain combining the pleasant flavor of wheat with the elemental durability and spice of rye." To be more exact, this beer uses Pilsner and Flaked Triticale malts, Dark Candi Sugar, Ardennes Strain Belgian Yeast, and unknown hops. Let's get this gargoyle-hating beer into a glass.

Stochasticity Project Quadrotriticale

From the onset, this looks the part of a Belgian Dubbel with those dark ruby red and orange tones. The beer kicks up two to three fingers of creamy, dense, wheat-fueled head....it's the stuff you expect with a dark Belgian Strong Ale. This beer is also super effervescent with tons of carbonation. Head retention is nice, with a wispy coating hanging around for the long haul. There's also tight like a tiger lacing.

On the aroma: good things. I'm actually surprised at how straight this beer plays things. I say that for a few reasons...one being how weird Stone's Saison was, and two, the Belgian beers that Stone brewed for the Vertical Epic Series (and that they alluded to in the description of this beer) are somewhat off the beaten path. I'm getting big candi sugars, cherries and dark fruits, clove and phenol spice, and some nice waves of caramel and vanilla. This has a really nice depth to the aroma, with some bready, rye-like notes popping against the Belgian candi sugars and perfume fruits. It smells surprisingly awesome.

Wow...this is a pleasant surprise. This is actually really good, and kind of embraces everything I love about the Dark Strong Ale style while retaining a little bit of Stone's unique point of view. This is full-bodied and expansive with a substantial mouthfeel. You want that for this style of beer. However, this cleans up somewhat refreshing and dry, with dark fruits, rye bread, wheat malts, and then some nice hoppy punch. I wonder if Stone slipped some American hops into the boil...up front, this drops blissfully balanced and clean Belgian candi sugars, with lightly bitter hops and rye bread, phenol spice, hints of cherries, and then bam...the back end cleans up towards the slightly bitter. Nice.

This is full-bodied, but very drinkable. It hides all the boozes, with none of the 9.3% showing up in the taste. Palate depth is fantastic, while complexity isn't quite up there with some of the heavy hitters. I do like this beer, however. Up front: sugars, bread, rye, bitter hops, candi sugars, phenol spice; the mids roll into dark fruits, hints of cherries, more sugars, more dark bread and rye; the back end gets uppity with the hops, and finishes somewhat dry and clean with lingering sugars and bread. There is some nice boozy warming.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm calling this a Strong Above-Average. This is a fantastically crafted beer...I hope Stone continues to brew this one and keeps it on the shelves. I'd even call this memorable in some regards, I could not only see myself buying this again but I bet this one would be fun to age. This has potential to pair well with strong cheeses and a meat tray, grilled meats, rustic dishes likes stew and potatoes, and cold Winter nights. I have to tip my hat to Stone for this one; this is a good beer.

Random Thought: Stone killed it with their Indiegogo campaign. 

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.

Unibroue Grande Réserve 17

Brewed By: Unibroue (Sapporo) in Chambly, Canada  

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint, 9.4 fl oz) bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (Vintage 2013)

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: 35

I debated between tonight's beer and the bottle of Two Brothers Fathom that I have sitting in my fridge. I really want to give Two Brothers a crack at redemption, and the Fathom is exactly that. But I'm kind of in a Belgian mood...and oak...mmm, mmmm, mmmm. About Unibroue: 

Unibroue is a brewery out of Chambly that specializes in Belgian beers. The brewery was founded in 1990 by André Dion and Serge Racine. The duo invested in the failing brewery, La Brasserie Massawippi, and became majority shareholders. In 1991, they finalized the takeover of La Brasserie Massawippi, and completely merged with their company, Unibroue, in 1992. Dion became the President and CEO, and Racine becamse the board of directors. In 1992, the brewery released their first beer, Blanche de Chambly, and decided to specialize in Belgian brews. In 1993, the brewery moved to their cutting-edge microbrewery in Chambly, Quebec, and by 1994 the brewery was exporting beer to the U.S. and Europe. In 1991, Brewmaster Paul Arnott joined the company; trained in traditional, monastic Belgian brewing, he helped release new beers including the Éphémère series of beers. 

In 2004, the Sleeman Brewery purchased Unibroue, and in 2006, Japan's oldest commercial brewer, Sapporo International, purchased Sleeman. Since then, Unibroue has been regarded as a global treasure, as they export their beer everywhere. They produce some of the best, high-quality beer in the world. These guys are one of my favorite breweries, and it's always a treat to drink their beer.

The Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 is some classy shit, even by Unibroue standards. This beer was first brewed in 2007 to celebrate the brewery's 17th anniversary. Due to the beer's popularity, the brewery decided to make this an annual release in limited quantities. This French Oak aged strong ale is described as having big malty notes, with mocha and cocoa accents, oak on the finish, and some nice spice and vanilla undertones. 

The bottle is as descriptive at the website. The front says "Aged with French Oak / Bottle Refermented Ale / Dark Ale on Lees / Ale Brewed with Spices, Aged with French Oak, and with Natural Flavors added." The back of my bottle says: "Best before 02-28-2018."

Unibroue Grande Réserve 17

The 17 pours out into a raisin-purple color in low light, kicking up three-plus fingers of fluffy head. This beer is exceptionally Belgian in appearance, from the bottle to the beer. Bright light kills vampires and betrays this beer, revealing a swampy, orange-brown body with golden tones on the edges. It's very much like your typical Belgian Dark Strong/Abbey Dubbel -- mysterious in low light, and ugly under the spotlight. You could float a bottle cap in the foam that is sustaining forever on the beer, and there are nice broad strokes of lacing. There's a lot of carbonation going up in here, and that's without any nucleation points in my glass. Hooray for Belgian beer.

I went with an over-sized snifter/tulip for this one, only because of the oak. To me, oak ~ snifter. I was never good at math though. WOW. The aroma here is overwhelmingly phenolic, with huge earthy leather, leathery cocoa, and leathery chocolate. The powdery cocoa you get on the nose flirts with an almost Fantôme-esque aroma that I have come to describe as "smokers jacket." I've also heard old bike seat, but who the hell sniffs old bike seats (ironically enough, I have one about 3 feet away from me...hmmm). Beneath the cocoa and spicy phenols are some seriously deep dark fruits. I'm getting stone fruits, cherries, plums, and figs...the spice on the aroma is somewhere in the realm of cinnamon or nutmeg. Try as I might -- and I'm being totally honest here -- I'm not getting any oak on the aroma. That's okay though, this smells really impressive otherwise. WHAT I AM getting on the aroma, especially when I pull my nose away from the beer a bit and just smell it casually, is some really nice vanilla and vanilla/caramel sugars. Is nice.

Before I rattle off boring descriptions about how great this tastes, I just want to tip my fedora to Unibroue. Even though this is a big beer at 10%, it really fills its body in a substantial way. This is a BIG beer. I'm reminded of the always fantastic Rochefort 10, which has a milkshake mouthfeel (seriously...Steak and Shake doesn't have anything on Rochefort). This isn't quite the experience that the Rocherfort 10 is...but not many beers are. I'm getting a lot of stone fruits and spices in here, with cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, big candied dark fruits, aggressive and peppery phenols, and big pastry notes. This veers into the land of fruitcake and angel wings/chruściki/faworki. Damn, that's some personal nostalgia. My grandma and grandpa used to serve those angle wing pastries whenever I would visit, and they were my favorite. There are nice layers of oak and vanilla in this beer as well, with some hints of cocoa. This is just...fantastically layered stuff. As I continue to sip on this, I'm pulling out some Quad-like notes of cherry, banana, and other overripe fruits. This is seriously fantastic. 

When I review beer, I get a little selfish. Especially when I'm drinking a bomber or a big 750ml bottle. I like to allocate half the bottle for my review notes, and the other half to pair with food. I'm enjoying this beer so much I'm going through the whole damn bottle as I type this out. This is just an impressive display of brewing, and really captures the essence of what I'm looking for in a big Belgian Ale. This is rustic, raw, phenolic, fruity, funky, sweet (there's some big candy sugar notes), and there's even some hop bitterness for good measure. The Dark Strong Ale is one of my favorite styles of beer, and this is nicely executed. As noted earlier, this is full-bodied and big, but still quite drinkable thanks to lots of carbonation. You get a little booze in the finish, and some big warming as you drink this, but the alcohol is integrated into the beer nicely. This is seductive. Palate depth and duration are off the charts, with each sip lasting up to a minute with lingering flavors just hanging out. And this is very complex...notes range from cocoa to dark fruits to vanilla to leather to pastries. Up front: dark fruits, stone fruits, cinnamon, nutmeg; the mids roll into more phenolic spice, with some leather and dusty cocoa, Belgian funk, bitter hops; the back end has growing bitter hops, with vanilla, complex sugars, caramel, pastries, fruit cake, and an endless tunnel of flavor...man this just goes on forever...you eventually reach some boozy warming, and the beer kisses you with spiced cake and spiced rum. This almost has that Winter Warmer vibe, and I promise you this is better than any Christmas pastry at your Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is world class...but it's not top class. I'll toss this a Light Divine Brew, with the disclaimer that you need to check this out if you are a fan of Quads, Dark Strongs, or Belgian Ales. There's so much good stuff going on here...and this really highlights all the good things that Unibroue does. Like...this beer is Unibroue at their best. And that's high praise for a brewery cranking out top-notch gems like La Fin Du Monde and the Trois Pistoles. You could argue that this is a little fruity/phenolic one-dimensional, but that's a dick move. Like I said earlier, not every beer can be Rochefort 10. What pushes this beer over the edge for me is that rustic cocoa/leather thing, and the subtle pastry notes. This is a beer to pair with food: cold cuts, strong cheeses, European pastries, turkey, ham, Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner, etc. It's almost a shame that I popped this today, but at $10 a bottle you really should not pass this up.

Random Thought: So yeah, today was hot and humid like Florida. I think it hit 90 outside, with 94% humidity. And then it thunder-stormed. It's thundering outside right now. Tonight's beer is not a good pairing for this hot weather, but I think I will pick up a second bottle for this upcoming winter. And again, I promise that I will get to the Two Brothers Fathom. But there really is no pressure...the Fathom is a fantastic beer.

Une Année Tripel

Brewed By: Une Année Brewery in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 750ml (1 Pint 9.4 FL OZ) bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (Batch 9 - 10.23.13)

Style/ABV: Belgian Tripel, 8.7%

Reported IBUs: ?

Local Chicago Abbey Ales? Yes please. 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 Tripel, has the disclaimer: "The Tripel is often considered the most approachable of Belgian ales." I don't know if that is true, but this subtle and boozy Strong Ale punches in at 8.7% and is described as having notes of big fruits, moderate spice, and hints of American hops poking through.

Une Année Tripel

This one pours into a swampy, dark orange/gold body, kicking up a finger of reluctant, off-white head. The head quickly settles into some cauldron bubbles for that nice cauldron effect, with sea foam head on the outer edges of the glass. When held to a bright light, this beer is a vibrant and juicy, hazy orange color. Looking through the beer from the top unlocks those sunset/sunrise tones, and it's kind of a beautiful thing to behold. The head is white with orange streaks, leaving clingy residuals and epic sheets of iceberg lacing. Honestly...it's a good looking Tripel and that's all she wrote.

Apparently Belgium doesn't have a gosh darn thing on Chicago, as this smells inviting with giant citrus splashes, orange, sliced orange, perfume phenols, clove and bubblegum funk, wheat, and boozy perfume. This smells legit like an Abbey Ale, and not at all on the fruity/raisin end of the wheat stick like some imports end up. I'm still not sure if that's an issue of freshness or what, but I know what I like in my Tripels and I'm getting that here.

I'm a little bit less impressed on the taste...but there's a clean elegance to this beer, and plenty of fruity notes in the realm of orange, orange candy, fruity wheat, apples/pear, apple slaw salad, perfume spice. This has a good amount of Belgian funk, with wheat and bubblegum showing up, and some kisses of clove. But the main feature here seems to be the citrus and the hop bitterness. This is definitely in the moderate to higher end of the hoppy Tripel spectrum, but I like it. I'm getting welcomed bitterness that adds a peppery and spicy accent to the alcohol. It kind of reminds me of the Maredsous 10 Tripel, which has some nice spicy booze. As does the New Belgium "Trippel."

At any rate...this is still seductive and hides the booze well. You don't get much of the 8.7%, which is why this style rocks. Give it to your kids/wife. I'm just kidding. Don't listen to me. This is medium-bodied, with good carbonation. It has some creaminess, and the wheat malts help add body. The bitterness from the hops plays off the bubblegum from the wheat, and you get a nice citrus-bubblegum thing that gets bitter like spent gum. I'm enjoying myself here. Palate depth is on point but the complexity lags a big. I mean...this is above-average stuff, but there's a lot of good Tripels out there. Up front: citrus, citrus candy, sweet citrus, perfume phenols, perfume citrus; the mids roll into more citrus, with the addition of some Belgian funk, clove, bubblegum, growing wheat, and hop bitterness; the back end imparts some nice bitterness, and rounds out with lingering orange and citrus. Boozy, peppery, phenolic spice then follows. This is...surprisingly good. This could be a local contender and something I would pick up on the regular. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is one of my favorite styles of beer, and I'm happy to report that they pretty much nailed it. Success! There's not much else to say here...except that I would totally pick this up again, especially at around $10 a bottle. This is a beer to pair with strong cheeses, grilled meats, grilled lamb, and for me tonight...chili. I actually wouldn't recommend pairing this with chili, but you know, I eat what I have on hand. 

Random Thought: I shaved my beard! All of it! AHHHH. I have good reason though...it's getting hot out. I think I'm gonna roll with the stubble look, only I'll probably look like a hobo instead of Ryan Gosling.

Affligem Dubbel

Brewed By: Brouwerij Affligem / De Smedt (Heineken) in Opwijk, Belgium

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Belgian Dubbel, 7.0% 

Reported IBUs: ?

TIL Affligem is Heineken's bitch....about Affligem:

Affligem has a long history as an Abbey, going back to 1074 when six knights quit their day job of kicking ass, and traded their swords for a more peaceful life. Ten years later, and the Abbey was born. Like most Abbeys, Affligem was subject to numerous take downs and rebuildings. In 1796, the French state shut down the Abbey. It was not restored until 1887.

The Monks at Affligem were brewing beer since the early days of the Abbey. During World War II they handed over their recipe to sustain/preserve the business. The brewery is located in Opwijk, Belgium, and is owned by Heineken. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

The Affligem Dubbel is an...Abbey Dubbel. This one really needs no explanation. Described as dark and spicy, this one should feature lots of clove, spice, anise, raisins, molasses, and bananas. The bottle is cool, and the glass is no slouch...let's see how she stacks up.

Affligem Dubbel

Wow...this is a raw, rustic Dubbel. I'm digging this from the onset, with the beer's dark reddish-brown/orange body. The body is hazy, and you can see yeast suspended in the beer, along with a stream of carbonation rising upwards from the chalice's nucleation point. This one kicks up one to two fingers of thick, bready, caramel-tinted head. This just looks the part of an Abbey Ale, all rustic and conditioned...nice. [there's good, clingy head retention/glossy alcohol legs]

The aroma is even better than the appearance. I'm getting some apples and wheat up front, with some caramel sugars. If you dig deeper you get rich raisins, breads, brown sugars, bready desserts (I think raisin bread is a safe call), mild anise, clove, green bananas, perfumed dark fruits...it's just deep and layered, and goes way beyond the apple and wheat notes you initially get.

The taste follows through with the nose, almost spot on. That's not a bad thing, as you get blasted with sweet caramel, raisins/molasses, apples, and wheat up front. There are figs and stone fruits abound in here, with perfumed dark fruits firing on all cylinders across the tongue through the beer's velvety-smooth and perfectly carbonated body. I'm getting some hints of bread in here, brown sugar, raisin bread, dark fruits, dried dark berries, and tons of spicy phenols ala clove and cinnamon. Finally, I'm getting a dash of light anise/licorice.

This is classic Abbey through and through. Maybe it plays things a little safe, but the execution is flawless. And this feels rustic and vintage. I wonder how old this recipe is. I'm not getting any of the beer's 7.0%, but this is full-bodied and authoritative. The mouthfeel is perfect, with great duration, and tons of creamy, carbonated goodness. Complexity is fairly high as well. This expands in layers, with apples, raisins, wheat, caramel, and molasses up front; the mids hit carbonated figs, dark fruits, perfume, clove spice; the back end has malts, with breads, cakes, raisin bread, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove...the finish is dry and lightly dusty. This is well-balanced, and big. Nice... 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I can't believe I'm saying this about a Heineken-owned product, but this is a Light Divine Brew and one of the better Abbey Dubbels I have had. What pushes this beer over the top is the absolutely PERFECT and MEMORABLE mouthfeel, and the layers of complexity. This beer is also perfectly balanced, with good bitterness, tons of spice, lots of malts, and a dry clean finish. As this warms up the spice and malts are popping, and adding the yeast from the bottom of the bottle seems to add character. I'm just enjoying the heck out of this beer, and I could see myself buying this beer again in the Winter months. I feel like this is the perfect beer to pair with a meat and cheese tray, preferably during a football game. You could also pair this beer with stews, hearty soups, grilled meats, and ham. This is just some rustic and refined goodness. I'm surprised...I'm intrigued...I give this a VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION, especially at around $10 a bottle. Check it out. 

Random Thought: I feel like classic Abbey/Belgian Dubbels are quite different from the candi sugar overload American counterparts. There is nothing wrong with that, but surely this style distinction is worth noting. Compare something like Solemn Oath's Big Box Make Magic to the beer that we have in front of us, and yeah. Two awesome beers with completely different experiences. 

Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) Tetravis

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 1PT 9.4 FL OZ (750ml) bottle purchased at Malloy's Finest Wine & Spirits in IL; 2014 (2013 vintage???)
Style/ABV: Belgian Quad/Dark Strong Ale, 10.2%

Reported IBUs: 18

The Barrel Room Collection is one of the best things Sam Adams has going, and I'm quite partial to the series. I enjoyed the Thirteenth Hour Stout, but I think this will be even more fun to review. Belgian Dark Strongs are also among my favorite styles of beer, so there is that too. About Sam Adams:

The Boston Brewing Company/Sam Adams is, of course, the brain child of Jim Koch (and Harry M. Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid). Founded in 1984, Jim Koch got the ball rolling after college when he decided to resurrect and brew his favorite family recipe. That recipe belonged to his great-great grandfather, Louis Koch, and dates back to the 1870s (where it was brewed in a St. Louis brewery). That infamous family brew is the Sam Adams Boston Lager, of course. You can read more about the history of the Boston Brewing Company HERE, or check out their website HERE.  

The Tetravis is described as "A bold Belgian Quad with rich notes of currants, raisins and clove." This beer does feature some Kosmic Mother Funk (KMF), which is an ale aged in oak tuns for a year to give the beer notes of black pepper, oak, vanilla, and acidity. The KMF is a fruity and sour beer, and goes through a second fermentation with the wild yeast, Brettanomyces. The KMF was developed specifically for the Barrel Room Collection Beers, and is blended with the various Barrel Room Collection beers. The Tetravis uses Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops; Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Special B, Carafa 1, and Munich malts; brewing sugar and Kosmic Mother Funk; and Belgian-style ale yeast. The beer is conditioned with champagne yeast.

So...first off, let me give props to Sam Adams for doing a really good job designing the bottles and bottle art for their Barrel Room Collection beers. The Tetravis bottle features a sexy cage and cork, cool purple-on-black art, and just awesome bottle detail. It looks like they used the wax print you find on Stone bottles. Just, sexy stuff. 

Sam Adams Tetravis

The beer itself pours into a dark purple/red/dark raisin color. It looks to be hazy and conditioned. The beer kicks up a finger or two of Belgian-esque head, and the head has some tan/khaki colors. There's some alcohol legs, and lacing. Head retention is pretty good too, with a centimeter of Belgian sea foam sticking around. If you shine a bright light through this beer, you get the classic red/orange colors typical of the style. There is quite a bit of carbonation visible in the murky body, and the head takes on some orange/amber tones in bright light. It looks the part of a Quad. That's a good thing.

On the aroma...classic Belgian Dark Strong aromas. It reminds me a lot of the Chimay Blue, with big notes of dark fruits, peppery and phenolic Belgian yeast spice, clove, Belgian candi sugars, and a little oak/Brett funk. There are some bready notes on the aroma as well, hinting at fruit cake, toast, molasses and caramel, and dark sugars. You get lots of raisins, figs, hints of banana/overripe fruit/cherries, some grape, big clove, pepper, white sugar, candi sugar, and dem molasses. It smells very typical to the style...with just that kiss of oak and funk. 

Wow...I'm impressed. This is huge, with a dense mouthfeel that has tons of depth and flavor. The beer is also creamy and smooth, with some velvety oak on the finish. I'm getting clove/peppery phenol, dark fruits, figs, cherries, dark sugars and molasses, bitter dark rye bread, toast, Belgian candi sugar, tons of phenolic spice, and some serious bitter caramel/burnt sugar and spice on the finish. This beer also finishes super dry once the velvety oak thing subsides. It's like a super dry red wine. I don't know if that's the barrel or the Brett, but yeah. This beer has some nice earthy vibes as well, with some shades of medicinal and leather. It's all over the map in the best ways, I guess. I'm gonna go ahead and say it's complex. Yeah, come at me Sam Adams haters.

Alright, we've established that this is a full-bodied beer with great palate depth -- duration is good, too. Complexity is also pretty damn high. And this is way too drinkable for 10.2%. I'm having no problems quaffing this. Quafs so hard. The beer is supported with lots of carbonation, and the mouthfeel ends up feeling quite velvety smooth, with hints of oak and candi sugar sweetness, and then the whole thing dries out with woody-Brett and burnt, dark sugars/molasses. There's a lot going on here....up front: peppery spice, phenol, clove, dark fruits, raisins, figs, fruit cake, toast; that rolls into earthy and aggressive funk, maybe some hops, more spice and phenol, earthy dark rye, toast; the back end dials up the peppery spice, wood, some oak, Brett dryness, and a dark sugar/caramel/molasses finish. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this...I would put this on par with the Sierra Nevada Ovila Quad With Plums, and that beer is fantastic. This is one of the better American-style Dark Strongs, and you really can't beat the price of around $10 for 750ml. This is just a complex, big, rustic beer. It's not easy-going nor is it one-dimensional like some of the more "meh" Belgians can be. I know this is a Sam Adams beer, but they really nailed this one. I'm about to pair the second half of this bottle with some nachos and cheese; this beer will certainly stand up to grilled meats, strong cheeses, rustic dishes, heavy soups and stews, potatoes, and peppery poultry. I'm digging this, and I hope to see it around.

Random Thought: After I shit all over the average-to-mediocre Rebel IPA, I don't even feel bad going 4.5.