St. Feuillien Quadrupel

St. Feuillien Quadrupel by Brasserie St-Feuillien was reviewed as a BJCP Category 26D, Belgian Dark Strong Ale. The beer is presented in a large goblet at 52 degrees F after a full and hearty pour. The color is a brilliantly clear dark-reddish brown, and, alas, exhibits a poor foam stand.

The aroma is fruity, nutty, spicy and alcoholic, with a very obvious brown sugar character backing it up. It comes off strong, fairly malty and quite rich, but not as deeply caramel and dark-fruity as some examples. In contrast, the spiciness basically matches the malt character giving it a bit more dryness in character. These spice angles — allspice and Ceylon cinnamon-like — are quite nice and relatively unique.

The nose is vinous, almost solera-like, with complex woody notes, rich sugar-malt, black figs and a whole lot of ferment and alcohol. The starting flavor is extremely rich, with candied dark-fruit, a nice nuttiness rounded with malt-sweetness and a big dose of alcohol heat. The mid-palate dries out nicely with light bitterness and spice notes, with lingering demerara sugar-malt character. The ethanol and spicy malt last through the aftertaste, with a long and ethanol-infused off-dry finish. Body and conditioning are both full, and I detect no astringency (just heat).

Overall, the beer is rich and boozy, with nice angles of fruit, spice, candied malt-sweetness and heft, all in a tight and relatively dry package. The beer would be fantastic with a nice meat and cheese plate to start a meal. Of course, you could finish the meal with it too, solo no less. Quite delicious, indeed.