GLB Tetrahedron Belgian Quad (Rum Barrel Aged)

[BartOwl]

I picked this beer up at Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke. It has a dark brown colour between a triple and a typical quad, so it is lighter than usual. There is almost no head to this one. Aroma of rum, orange candy, and chocolate. I can taste rum, brown sugar, molasses, with some earthiness in the finish. Also, there is a light spiciness to it, probably due to the yeast strain. At 11.5% the alcohol is hidden well. I was hoping for some more richness and dark malts complexity, when I bought it for ten bucks. It's not quite as impressive as a Trappist quad. However, this is a good beer, and I am glad I tried it. In addition, there was a Tetrahedron Belgian Quad aged in wine barrels, but I did not get that one. I'm glad to see this brewer experimenting with Belgian styles, and they have done a good job of balancing the rum barrel aging tastes against the underlying beer. The rum taste is not too overpower and not too subtle.

[seangm]

I picked this beer up at Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke. It has a dark brown colour between a triple and a typical quad, so it is lighter than usual. There is almost no head to this one. Aroma of rum, orange candy, and chocolate. I can taste rum, brown sugar, molasses, with some earthiness in the finish. Also, there is a light spiciness to it, probably due to the yeast strain. At 11.5% the alcohol is hidden well. I was hoping for some more richness and dark malts complexity, when I bought it for ten bucks. It's not quite as impressive as a Trappist quad. However, this is a good beer, and I am glad I tried it. In addition, there was a Tetrahedron Belgian Quad aged in wine barrels, but I did not get that one. I'm glad to see this brewer experimenting with Belgian styles, and they have done a good job of balancing the rum barrel aging tastes against the underlying beer. The rum taste is not too overpower and not too subtle.

In all honesty I've yet to have a locally made quad that comes anywhere close to the Trappists (or non-Trappist Belgians for that matter), and in a lot of cases barrel ageing a quad seems like an attempt to add complexity to an otherwise lacking recipe. Tripels too, for that matter. I guess those styles just aren't "sexy" enough to warrant a lot of development.

Reminds me that I've got the St. Bernardus Selection Pack sitting in my fridge, can't wait to crack open that Abt 12.

[El Pinguino]

Agreed...hard to get great quads locally. I do a "Merry Quadsmas" event over the holidays and it is a struggle to find decent options that aren't the go-to ones from Belgium.

I do have the 3x versions of Tetrahedron in my fridge right now...holding out hope they'll be ok.

[seangm]

Agreed...hard to get great quads locally. I do a "Merry Quadsmas" event over the holidays and it is a struggle to find decent options that aren't the go-to ones from Belgium.

I do have the 3x versions of Tetrahedron in my fridge right now...holding out hope they'll be ok.

I just had my last bottle of Boulevard BBQ, despite my earlier comments about barrel-aged quads, and it was quite good. I remember finding the bourbon too strong when I had fresher bottles, but this was a 2016 and it came together nicely. That said it was still missing the malty depth and complexity of my favourite Belgians.

From my memory the closest/best North American quad I've had is Terrible from Unibroue. That one was excellent but I don't recall seeing it in the LCBO for the past couple of years.

[sofakingdrunk]

Agreed...hard to get great quads locally. I do a "Merry Quadsmas" event over the holidays and it is a struggle to find decent options that aren't the go-to ones from Belgium.

I do have the 3x versions of Tetrahedron in my fridge right now...holding out hope they'll be ok.

I just had my last bottle of Boulevard BBQ, despite my earlier comments about barrel-aged quads, and it was quite good. I remember finding the bourbon too strong when I had fresher bottles, but this was a 2016 and it came together nicely. That said it was still missing the malty depth and complexity of my favourite Belgians.

From my memory the closest/best North American quad I've had is Terrible from Unibroue. That one was excellent but I don't recall seeing it in the LCBO for the past couple of years.

Terrible was in the Unibroue mixed pack at beers stores like a year and a half ago. 2 bottles in a twelve pack.

[seangm]

Agreed...hard to get great quads locally. I do a "Merry Quadsmas" event over the holidays and it is a struggle to find decent options that aren't the go-to ones from Belgium.

I do have the 3x versions of Tetrahedron in my fridge right now...holding out hope they'll be ok.

I just had my last bottle of Boulevard BBQ, despite my earlier comments about barrel-aged quads, and it was quite good. I remember finding the bourbon too strong when I had fresher bottles, but this was a 2016 and it came together nicely. That said it was still missing the malty depth and complexity of my favourite Belgians.

From my memory the closest/best North American quad I've had is Terrible from Unibroue. That one was excellent but I don't recall seeing it in the LCBO for the past couple of years.

Terrible was in the Unibroue mixed pack at beers stores like a year and a half ago. 2 bottles in a twelve pack.

Looks like TBS is where I've gotta keep an eye out for Unibroue releases nowadays, seems like more of their stuff ends up there.