Ovila Quad - Brandy Barrel Aged - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

ngeunit1

California

4.28/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Dark red-brown with a finger of frothy khaki-brown head. Fades normal.

S - Sweet dark caramel malts with raisins, dates, other dark fruits, Brandy, oak, vanilla, Belgian yeast, clove, pepper, spices, and some booze.

T - Sweet dark caramel malts, raisins, dates, other dark fruits, oak, Brandy, vanilla, Belgian yeast, clove, pepper, other spices, candi sugar, and some booze.

M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a sweet and warming finish.

D - Nicely balanced Quad with great mouthfeel. The barrel adds some nice complexity.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 05:49:27 | More by ngeunit1

djre4orm

Virginia

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-13-2013 19:03:27 | More by djre4orm

robbrandes

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

06-12-2013 06:29:53 | More by robbrandes

GrindFatherBob

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

06-03-2013 09:31:23 | More by GrindFatherBob

RBassSFHOPit2ME

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

06-03-2013 04:31:36 | More by RBassSFHOPit2ME

troegaarden

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-17-2013 04:13:13 | More by troegaarden

marct

Nevada

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-10-2013 19:01:40 | More by marct

impending

California

4.11/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

A-

375ml into a tulip. Pours a deep cola mahogany, café au lait colored decent head, ok lacing.

The aroma reached from the glass, the brandy initially. Early rotting dark fruits, semi sweet molasses, vanilla, oak while the brandy recedes over successive sniffs.

The taste is precisely what the scent indicated. Tons of dark fruits. Just a tad dry with a low level mineral bitter, the oak is most pronounced in the fading aftertaste. Medium full bodied creamy but not cloying mouthfeel. Warms well. The world needs more barrel aged quads.
cheers
jd

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 04:50:39 | More by impending

willhans8

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

04-24-2013 08:00:51 | More by willhans8

chefduff2

New York

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

04-21-2013 16:20:41 | More by chefduff2

thegerm87

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

04-20-2013 03:44:40 | More by thegerm87

AlexChillton

Arizona

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

04-08-2013 09:27:02 | More by AlexChillton

SalukiAlum

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

04-02-2013 17:55:55 | More by SalukiAlum

scottfrie

California

3.38/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

375ml bottle into Portsmouth snifter.

A: Pours a deep cranberry red with a short lived light brown head that faded into a faint collar leaving wisps of lace down the glass.
S: Buttery notes of barrel, sweet brandy scents, plum jam, raisins and other dark fruits. Light volatile alcohol.
T: Sweet brandy, sherry, prunes, black pepper and spice, light cocoa, light vanilla, cola, red wine, toffee, and a touch of leather in the finish. Boozy and sweet aftertaste with spice following.
M: My least favorite part of the beer. The carbonation is soda-like, and the body is too thin and light. Slick, tingly, watery and greasy mouthfeel.
O: Not as good as the original or the plum version (which I thought was awesome). Pretty good flavor but nothing special in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 02:48:41 | More by scottfrie

brotherloco

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

03-18-2013 01:09:44 | More by brotherloco

USMCPayne

Texas

4/5  rDev -4.1%

03-15-2013 13:24:26 | More by USMCPayne

THECPJ

Delaware

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

03-12-2013 19:27:51 | More by THECPJ

kscaldef

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

02-28-2013 21:03:51 | More by kscaldef

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

4.34/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

$6.00 for 10oz, served in a snifter
Sampled 21FEB13

[A] Arrives with a half finger high medium light tan head with a loose foamy texture. Retention is short leaving only a thin but complete ring around the glass. The body is dark garnet and hard to see through. However, some transparency can be see when the glass is tilted and, towards the end of the glass, the clarity is magnifying. No lacing to speak of but the body leaves a clear residue after each sip.

[S] The nose is incredible. At almost the exact same time, the sweet, ripe, dark fruits and the brandy barrel hit the nose. The balance is perfect or close to it. Sweet dates, earthy prunes and bruised plums add another layer of complexity. Apple character comes through as well but I suspect that the brandy is responsible for this and not the yeast.

[T] The brandy comes through first on the palate - clean and well integrated with distinctive apple notes. Again, dates, prunes, plums. A little blackberry and currants. Butterscotch and caramel come through after the alcohol fades. Light tannic dryness on the tail end.

[M] The mouthfeel is not bad, but it's not impressive either. The carbonation is a touch high and the body a bit thin. If both of these area were improved, the flavor would linger longer on the tongue, and there would be very little room for improvement for the beer as a whole.

[O] Amazing beer. And a top 3 American-made quad in my opinion. Interestingly, this beer was listed at 12.4% on the beer menu - not 10.2% as indicated on BA (even though the lower number seems more likely). A bigger, fuller mouthfeel would have easily pushed this beer to world class limits.

Serving type: on-tap

02-23-2013 16:34:42 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

KevSal

California

2.39/5  rDev -42.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Been looking forward to this for a little while!

375ml poured into a tulip glass

A- looks as decent. Dark ruby hue with a slight head that disappears quickly. The bottle art and design are fabulous though!

S- uhh it's alright, it's goin places. I know it's Brandy barrel aged but this one immediately smells like a red wine! Alch up front, some apple, and finally a bit of brandy. Don't really smell the base beer much at all

T- crushing, the smell was leading my to at least something tasty, however this taste like cola mixed with red wine, and it's not working. Barrel vinous characters heavy on the flavor. It's all barrel and brandy and alch, pretty messy...

M- mouthfeel is heavy mixed with bubble cola.

O- I had huge hopes for this one, and was trying pretty hard to score one. Did I get a bad bottle? Will the dubbel be similar, and that was actually aged in wine. Huge dissapointment from one of my favorite breweries. This is nowhere beer a 93, glad it was cheap and in a small bottle. Go with the quad with plum instead.
Cheech my dog finished the last bit, he seemed to enjoy it at least.

May be a bad bottle, will keep my eyes out for tappinga and give it a second chance.

Edit: funny enough I had the ba dubbel the next day at work, split with a friend thinking it would be the same. Nope ba dubbel was stellar! Get that instead

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 08:50:38 | More by KevSal

CaptainNomihodai

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.1%

02-23-2013 02:26:16 | More by CaptainNomihodai

Cramerican

North Dakota

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

02-21-2013 20:50:37 | More by Cramerican

jacewg

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

02-18-2013 13:52:19 | More by jacewg

drummermattie02

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

02-14-2013 16:49:32 | More by drummermattie02

vcoggins

Texas

4/5  rDev -4.1%

02-01-2013 14:02:25 | More by vcoggins