Trappist Westvleteren 12 follow-up

I was gifted a bottle of the Trappist Westvleteren 12, and wanted to follow up with my previous Belgian Quad blind tasting. I figured I would do a more traditional review of the Westy 12, and compare it to one of the readily-available, American-import-Quad-stalwarts, the St. Bernardus Abt 12. 

The beers: 

Abt 12

St. Bernardus Abt 12
Brewed By: St. Bernard Brouwerij in Watou, Belgium  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Costco in Chicago, IL; 2016 

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 10.5%

Westy 12

Reported IBUs: ?

Trappist Westvleteren 12

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

Purchased: 11.2oz/33cl bottle generously gifted to me (imported from Belgium); 2016 

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 10.2%
Reported IBUs: ?

The Westvleteren 12 definitely pours into more of a battered body. The beer is swampy, murky, reddish-brown, and could be confused for pond water. Admittedly, the aroma of the Westy 12 is a lot more appealing than the aroma of the Abt 12. The Westy 12 touches on dark raisins and prunes, plums and dark fruits, and hints of licorice. But the main aromatic character is the huge earthy aroma. I get a lot of tobacco, leather, chocolate, fruit bread, and molasses cookies. It's a complex, rich aroma. The beer tastes a lot more subtle than you would expect. It is a dry, complex, wine-like, boozy drink. You get the leathery notes, then the molasses and prunes/plums/dark fruits. The beer is vinous and earthy, with a medium-body and moderate carbonation. It finishes boozy and dry.

Rating: Strong Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

The things I do on Saturday nights...

On the other hand, the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is like a nubile; filtered, ruby-red, and clean with good head retention (where the Westy 12 had virtually no head retention). The aroma is offensively sweet compared to the Westy 12. I jotted down "fruity, hefeweizen-like yeast." I was also picking up lots of bubblegum, banana, vanilla, clove, candy sugar, and perfume. The Abt 12 carries the aromas into the taste, with big cherries up front, followed by lots of stone fruits, banana, perfume/candy sugar, and some brown sugar. The beer is phenolic and sweet. The Abt 12 has a slightly fuller body, in my opinion, and does not finish as dry. It is a boozy beer.

Rating: Decent Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

Realizing there is a lot of bottle/age variability, palate bias, etc., I'm happy to report that the Westy 12 fared better in a nuanced tasting than it did in my blind tasting. It is entirely possible that the Westy 12's subtle, dry character makes it a poor standout in a blind tasting. Compared to the Abt 12, the Westy 12 is considerably more complex and has a lot more nuance and depth. It's also more "mature," in terms of the overall flavor profile. 

Having said that, I'd still rather just buy a Rochefort 10 or a Ommegang Three Philosophers. 


Random Thought: I binged Netflix's Stranger Things this weekend, and I have no regrets. The show is a wonderful amalgamation of 80's tropes and nostalgia. It reminded me of recent films, The Guest, and It Follows (and to some extent, Super 8 and The Crazies). If you have an appreciation for 80's horror and sci-fi, you better get watching. 

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. 

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.

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. 

Engelszell Gregorius Trappistenbier

Brewed By: Stift Engelszell Trappistenbier-Brauerei in Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austrian

Purchased: 11.2oz/333ml bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 Vintage)

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 9.7%

Reported IBUs: ???

So I had a really cool Engelszell glass, and then I broke it. FML. Anyway...about Stift Engelszell:

Stift Engelszell is the only Trappist monastery in Austria, and was founded in 1293 by Bishop Bernard (Wernhart), and was technically settled in 1295. The abbey suffered spiritual and financial decline during the Protestant Reformation, until it started to receive support from the Wilhering Abbey from 1618 onward. In 1699, the abbey suffered a disastrous fire, and from 1720 to 1746 the abbey fell into the hands of various administrators. In 1746, Leopold Reichl, the last of Engelszell's abbots, began to rebuild the abbey. In 1786 Engelszell was dissolved by Emperor Joseph II.

According to Wikipedia, in 1925 Engelszell was re-founded as a Trappist monastery by refugee German monks who were expelled from the Oelenberg Abbey in Alsace after World War I. In 1931, Engelszell was again elevated to the rank of an abbey, but in 1939, the abbey was confiscated by the Gestapo. Four monks were sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp, and others were imprisoned or drafted. At the end of the war, only a third of the community returned to the abbey. Sine 1995, the abbot has been Marianus Hauseder, and there are nine or so monks in the community.

In May 2012, the abbey was approved by the International Trappist Association to become the 8th producer of Trappist beer. For more information, check out the abbey's website, or this lovely Wikipedia article.

I had this beer on tap, and I thought it was really good, so let's see how she holds up in the bottle. The Engelszell Gregorius Trappistenbier is a "dark triple" punching in at 9.7% ABV. This one is brewed with water, malted barley, honey, hops, and yeast. My bottle has a bottle-on date of 2013/09.

Engelszell Gregorius Trappistenbier

The beer pours into a hazy reddish-purple/brown body, kicking up three fingers of bready, dense, brown/tan/khaki head. The head doesn't hang along for long, quickly fading into a finger of sustaining suds. There's some glossy alcohol legs and minimal lacing. The beer looks to be hazy, and has that typical Dubbel/Dark Strong body that is probably a hazy reddish-orange color in bright light.

The aroma is a nice blend of dark fruits, medicinal funk, leather, and some Belgian Yeast spice. I'm getting raisins, plums, prunes, some purple grape, leather, peppery clove, medicinal funk, hospital room (<- I know, right?), and lots of Belgian Yeast goodness. Namely the clove, hints of peppery spice, and medicinal funk. It's fruity and earthy, and it has a rustic edge much like the Benno did. 

This is surprisingly nuanced in the taste, with rustic leather and Belgian funk. There are tons of earthy notes and medicinal spice, with leather, clove, hospital room and bandages, peppery spice, and some hints of grain. The beer also features lots of earthy and complex dark fruits, ranging from plums, prunes, raisins, and some darker, overripe cherries. There's definitely some aspects of a stereotypical Quad, with hints of banana, honey, white sugar, and overripe fruits. The booze is well-masked. There's some subtle burnt sugars and caramel in the mix as well.

This is a full-bodied beer, but it's on the lighter side of full-bodied. Palate depth and duration are good, and the complexity is nuanced but present. It's well carbonated and hides the 9.7% very well. It's very earthy and rustic, featuring big spice, leather, and medicinal funk characters, followed by dark fruits, and then some interesting caramel sugars. I like this a lot...particularly as a beer to pair with food. It's very vinous as well. Up front: Leather, medicinal spice and hospital room, and dark fruits (raisin/plums/figs); mid palate rolls into clove, some bready/grainy notes, more spice and funk, a little hop bitterness; back end is fruity, vinous, earthy, leather, dry....nice.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. This is big, complex beer, and it has a lot going on. I would pair this with strong cheeses, grilled meets, duck, rustic foods, potatoes, carrots, peppery turkey, and big soups and stews. It's a very solid brew, and it's pretty damn available...I like that. I give it a lukewarm recommendation, and yeah. 

Random Thought: I've never been looking forward to Monday more than this weekend! Hoory!

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad (2013 BBQ)

Brewed By: Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri

Purchased: 750ml bottle (2013 Vintage) bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Quadrupel, 11.8%

Reported IBUs: 26

With the recent news that Boulevard is being sold to Duvel, people have been freaking out, man. And I don't know why. Duvel hasn't fucked up Ommegang, and Duvel itself is an awesome beer. With that said, about Boulevard:

Boulevard Brewing Company hails out of Kansas City, Missouri. They have a very nice website that is cleanly formatted, informative, and is not loaded with Java and Flash scripts. The company was founded officially in 1989, but began in 1988 when founder John McDonald began construction of the brewery. In 2006 the brewery had a major expansion, which allowed for additional brewing capacity. You can find more info on the brewery's history HERE. According to Wikipedia, Boulevard is the largest craft brewer in Missouri, and the 10th largest craft brewery in the United States.

This Bourbon Barrel Quad is part of Boulevard's Smokestake Series, and is a Limited Release beer. Punching in at 26 IBUs and 11.8% ABV, this beer is loosely based on the Smokestack Series' The Sixth Glass. This beer is aged in oak bourbon barrels for up to three years, and then cherries are added for some extra flavor and kick. The beer is then blended (16% Ale, 84% Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Cherries) to perfection. This one features your usual trimmings: a base of Pale Malt, Cara 300, Munich, and Malted Wheat; Magnum and Styrian Golding hops; and Dextrose, Brown Sugar, Dark Brown Sugar, and Candi Syrup. I'm excited so let's glass this up.

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

The beer pours into a murky, effervescent, swamp-red-brown MAROON color. I kicked up two fingers of tan, off-white head. Initially, the head wasn't sustaining, but now a pinky's worth is just hanging around. In bright light the beer is a juicy/swampy orange color, with lots of streams of tiny carbonation rising upwards. There's lacing and some glossy alcohol legs. When you get into three-year-old-barrel-aged-beer territory, you're not going for looks. And looks can be deceiving. That girl with some road ware? Way more fun than that shiny Escalade straight off the lot.

There's a lot of Bourbon and cherry on the aroma. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised at the amount of cherry on the nose...the cherry does work in tandem with the dark fruits and overripe Quad-fruit aromas. You definitely get some Belgian yeast and spice-perfume on the aroma, with some clove, hints of white sugar, and banana. There's a lot of sugar on this beer's aroma: candi sugar, hints of a darker brown sugar, and lots of fruity/cherry sweetness. 

So...this beer is pretty much what it advertises. A shot of thin Bourbon with lots of cherries. The cherries themselves are not artificial or medicinal, but rather bright and acidic, playing off the Quad and the barrel. You get plenty of cherry, overripe dark fruits, some Bourbon, a little booze and even a hint of burn, and plenty of hints of brown sugar and Belgian spice. As I swish this around in my mouth, I pick up on some of the candi sugar and dark fruits, and some woodiness pops up here and there.

I can't help but compare this offering to the Ommegang Three Philosophers. That beer is the epitome of Belgian Quad excess, and what delicious excess it is. This beer right here, the 2013 BBQ, is very good. But is it divine? The mouthfeel here is medium-full, thinned out a bit by the Bourbon/barrel, and supported by lots of carbonation. For 11.8%, this beer is stupid drinkable. Also consider that this is aged in bourbon barrels, and has lots of heat on the back end. This is like the anti-Deth's Tar, which became a bit cloying and boozy in the final stretch. Palate depth is okay, and complexity is good. There's some heavy hitters in this category/style, what can I say. You get a blast of perfumey sweetness and cherries up front; that rolls into heavy sugars, brown sugar, and bourbon; the back end layers in some vanilla, oak, wood, and more cherry sweetness. There's some bourbon and alcohol burn on the back, and it's welcomed. The finish is boozy and dry. Belgian spices/dark fruits come and go. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. The slightly thinner mouthfeel coupled with the above-average complexity leave me wondering how something like the Three Philosophers or Rochefort 10 would taste if aged in a bourbon barrel on cherries. But hey! At least his beer has me dreaming. Let me clarify: this is not a bad beer by any means. It's above-average. It's worth buying, at least once, even if the 15-20 dollars per bottle is kind of pricey. I would pair a beer like this with dessert. Dry chocolate cake...yum. You could also pair this with grilled meats and cheeses, or anything that plays off of chocolate and cherries. Really good stuff, not divine.

Random Thought: I opted to get some stuff done tonight rather than watching the Bulls game. I know, I know, "I guess I'm not a true Bulls fan." Whatever. It's game one after a whole lotta hype. And D Rose is just getting back into the swing of things. We have a long way to go.

Val-Dieu Grand Cru

Brewed By: Brasserie de l’Abbaye du Val-Dieu in Aubel, Belgium 

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 10.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

I'm excited for tonight's beer...Dark Strongs/Quads are among my favorite styles of beer, and the bottle of tonight's beer states: "This authentic Abbey Ale is based on the recipe perfected centuries ago by the monks of Abbey du Val-Dieu." You can't argue with that. About Val-Dieu:

The Cistercian Abbey “Notre Dame du Val-Dieu” was founded in 1216 by monks from Hocht, near Maastricht (the capital city of the Dutch province of Limburg) and the county of Dalhem. The legend goes that the uninhabited valley into which they settled was so hostile the locals called it the "valley of the devil." The monks renamed it "Valley of God," or Val-Dieu in French. Val-Dieu was the only Belgian abbey to survive the French Revolution. Today, the abbey is still linked to the Cistercian Order, and the abbey of Lérins.  

According to Wikipedia, the abbey's original church was destroyed in 1287 during the War of Limburg Succession, and again in 1574 during the Eighty Years' War, and again in 1683 by the armies of Louis XIV. Under Abbot Jean Dubois, from 1711 to 1749, the abbey flourished, until the church was destroyed again in the French Revolution. 

The brewery (Brasserie de l'Abbaye du Val-Dieu) was established in 1997 at the abbey farm. Originally, the monks of Val-Dieu brewed beer to make the water drinkable and to avoid diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid. The beers brewed at the abbey today are inspired by the original recipes of the monks. The abbey emphasizes basic ingredients, a rigorous brewing process, and straight up legit water from the regional Gileppe dam. For more info, check out the abbey's website, or the Val-Dieu website.

The Val-Dieu Grand Cru doesn't have a webpage, but this Dark Strong Ale punches in at 10.5%, and should be delicious.

Val-Dieu Grand Cru

The beer pours into a cola black/purple body, and kicks up one to two fingers of dense, creamy, Strong Ale-inspired head. The head is creamy and foamy, like beaten egg whites. When you shine a bright light through the beer, you can see that the body is a dark ruby red color. There's a storm of carbonation violently erupting upwards off the nucleation point on my glass, and the head is soaking up the red tones. It's a good looking beer, with all the stuff in the right places. 

As I popped the cork off this, I was greeted with lots of funky yeast aromas. I'm getting a lot of raw yeast. Underneath that is a ton of dark fruits and stone fruits. I'm getting grapes, apples, pears, and raisins. There's some wheat/raisin/straw, ala an aged wheat beer. Honestly, for better or worse, it smells a lot like the other Val-Dieu beers I've had.

At 10.5%, this beer is going to have body. And it does. I'm reminded of a lighter version of the Rochefort 10, with tons of malt density, boozy dark/stone fruits, powdery rum, sugar cookies, perfume, sweet candy sugar, and lots of dark fruits. I'm pulling out grape, prunes, plums, figs, and some wheat/apple. The whole thing has lots of must/dust and perfume, and you get some seductive boozy warming on the back, with some spicy/phenolic pepper and clove; rum, dark fruits.

This is a dense, full-bodied beer...but it's also quite creamy and smooth, and supported with lots of carbonation. Like most Belgian Strong Ales, despite the huge ABV, drinkability is very high. That's a problem, because you want to sip on something like this, preferably on a chilly Autumn/Winter evening. Fortunately, this beer has some nice complexity, and the palate depth is divine stuff for the style. You get powdery/perfumed dark fruits up front, with some nice spices; that rolls into dense sugars, spices, sugar cookies; the back end is boozy (in a good way), with more dark fruits, rum, pepper/clove...the whole thing is very nice. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. While the palate depth and mouthfeel are off the charts (rivaling the Rochefort 10), I feel like this isn't the most complex Dark Strong I've had. At this point, I'm pretty much nitpicking. Go ahead and buy this beer with confidence. In fact, this is probably the best offering from Val-Dieu, so if you are going to try their beers make sure to pick this one up. This beer will pair well with strong/dry cheeses, meats, grilled meat, hearty starches with fat (Poutine? mmm), glazed ham, duck, turkey, savory potatoes, or a nice hearty bread pudding. I enjoy this style more in the Winter months. 10.5% will get you drunk and warm you up.

Random Thought: I've decided that home brewers and guys who go fishing on the weekend have a strong overlap. Maybe I've made this observation before, but in case you missed it: both fishing and home brewing are an excuse to isolate yourself away from your family and go drink beer all day. It's not a bad thing at all, but it explains why most home brewers are middle-aged dads who play shitty, nostalgic music in their garage and hammer beers while their wives do whatever. Not a bad gig.