- Une Annee’s Quad with bottled siblings present and future: Airing of Grievances, Maya, and Life Beyond Death
When I reviewed Goose Island’s Belgian Fest in September, I pointed out that not one brewer had brought a quadrupel—a conspicuous lapse, given that the quad is among the few Belgian styles that even an entry-level beer nerd can tell you about. They’re customarily dark and strong, with a rich, malty body and mellow flavors of fruit and spice from specialized yeasts; Rochefort, La Trappe, St. Bernardus, and Westvleteren all make famous examples. When winter is getting all up in my business, quads are one of my favorite beers to drink—in a dead heat with doppelbocks.
Even poured roughly, Une Annee’s Quad doesn’t foam much, but its scanty head persists more or less indefinitely, like a tiny lace doily made of even tinier bubbles—though I suppose it’s possible that this is less a feature of the beer than of the little Westy goblet I’m using, which for all I know has etched nucleation sites on the bottom of its bowl to encourage exactly this phenomenon. The beer’s aroma is malty and fruity, as it should be: I smell brandied cherries, red grape skin, cinnamon cider, fruitcake, and dark raisins cooked in oatmeal.
Next to be bottled are Maya (in late January) and the black saison Life Beyond Death (which ships this week). I haven’t tried Life Beyond Death yet—it hasn’t been brewed before—but I have had Maya, and it stands out in its crowded field (Belgian-style IPAs, like IPAs in general, have proliferated beyond reason). Brewed with grains of paradise, it’s wonderfully spicy and floral—I don’t have any tasting notes at hand, but I remember pink guava, kaffir lime, and white pepper. Une Annee’s bottles tend to cost $9.99 or $10.99, depending on the retailer; Maya will be two bucks cheaper, as will Less Is More when it arrives.
Philip Montoro writes about beer and metal, singly or in combination, every Monday.
