375 mL bottle for the 2025 re-release, pictured.

An aggressive pour gives a great, high, beige colored head. This is short-lived though, and falls back to a millpond stillness with no retention or lace to speak of. Not too worried given the style and the ABV, but I have seen much, much better in the genre so have to mark it down slightly.

There’s a brown sugar and molasses element on the nose of this beer.

The light, burned feel rolls into the tastes. It seems like a lightly burned caramel. On examining the label there is mention of exactly that. It’s a good descriptor of this beer and its initial impact.

Plenty of alcohol, but it’s never solventy or unmanageable.

This beer doesn’t feel like a Belgian Quad, but I suppose that’s a reasonable expectation since it isn’t per se! It’s definitely not as fruity or as yeasty as a typical example of that, but it does bring it’s own charm to the party. No figs or raisins here for me, more just molasses and some treacle. You’ll definitely want to have a willingness to pick up some of those charred elements, but if you do, and you don’t look for something typically quad like, you’ll likely be pleased.

I had this beer back on the original release (2014, pictured below sampled in November of 2020), but never made any notes.

Also drank on 07/12/17, 2014 vintage pictured below.