Judge's Review: 86 Rating - Petrus Cherry Chocolate Nitro Quad by Brouwerij De Brabandere

Petrus Cherry Chocolate Nitro Quad by Brouwerij De Brabandere is a fruited and spiced quadrupel and is being evaluated as a Fruit and Spice Beer (category 29B in the 2015 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines). The fruit and spice in Fruit and Spice Beers should complement the base style without overwhelming it.  Quadrupels (also known as Belgian Dark Strong Ales, category 26D) are deceptively strong dark beers that have a harmony of rich malt, fruity esters and peppery phenolics. This Petrus beer adds cherries and chocolate to the Belgian Dark Strong base and is bottled with a non-widget nitro delivery system. 

This Petrus pours dark brown in color with ruby highlights; the clarity is excellent and the beer sports a small brown head. The aroma is of moderately strong cherry over a lighter caramel malt. The flavor is similarly cherry over caramel malt with a moderate sweetness. The nitro adds a smooth and creamy texture to the mouthfeel. The beer finishes with a light bitterness, moderate sweetness and moderate cherry over a caramel malt flavor; a note of dark chocolate adds a little of contrast to the sweetness and cherries. 

This is a pleasant quad that marries cherries with a simple caramel malt base. The balance between the cherries and caramel is very much towards the cherries making the base style take a backseat to the fruit. The chocolate is so subtle that you wouldn’t know it is there if it wasn’t stated on the bottle. But, regardless of style guidelines, this is an enjoyable, strong fruit beer with a rich cherry flavor. Enjoy this fruit-forward Belgian beer!