Rio Reserva - De Struise Brouwers

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

750 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Hazy deep orange. Thick white head. Great retention. Thick layer forever.

Smell - Very sweet. Some wine barrel notes. Red wine. Nothing like a quad.

Taste - Really sweet. More malty. Some vanilla flavor and oak. Less wine barrel. Dry and oaky. Not a terribly complex quad.

Mouthfeel - Heavy and sweet. Way too much on both accounts. Well carbonated.

Overall - Least impressive of Struise quads. Wanted this to be much more.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 01:14:21 | More by Alieniloquium

Halcyondays

California

3.79/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

On-tap at Beachwood I, 2008 Vintage,

A: Pours a dark amber with a medium white head, some spotty lace.

S: Smells like spirit, one of the most alcoholic noses I've ever had. Some good malt and yeasty notes are there in the secondary.

T: Nice quad base, lots of heavy malt with a right cross of ethanol in the finish which actually works pretty well with the base beer. An interesting Belgian.

M: Full-bodied, rich, heavily alcoholic as I said, solvent character is very evident.

O: A unique quad with the heavy EtOH character, but it was never hot, and it was an interesting beer to try. Though if you want this at its peak, I'd say give it another 5 years.

Serving type: on-tap

01-11-2013 23:26:26 | More by Halcyondays

eric5bellies

Australia

3.89/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Shared with Eugene, Sam and Dylan in Antwerp Belgium.

A - Pours a clear copper colour with orange tinge, has an off white head that does not retain.

S - Plenty of oak, oranges , berries. really nice, but not really quad like.

T - Plenty of oak, cherries and dark fruits with a citrus flavour. The sweetness is a little overpowering, and the alcohol a little pronounced.

M - Medium body and carbonation

O - An unusual quad this one, I still think there are many better examples out there, but try it for something different.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2013 12:05:12 | More by eric5bellies

Brabander

Netherlands

3.95/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this one also on tap at CBC in may this year. I only forgot to write down my experience with this beer.

Yesterday i was at De Kulminator in Antwerps and this beer came on the table during a tasting. Because i had to drive i corked the bottle and took it home with me to finish the bottle at home.

Poured in my De Molen snifter there is almost no carbonation left and the head is gone also. As to expected when the bottle was opened a day before.

What stays is the smell of the beer and it's darkyellow colour. Very nice mouthfeel. The beer has to warm up a little but then it shows it's quality. Next time i have to get me a fresh(er) glass!

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 15:07:41 | More by Brabander

spicelab

Australia

3.98/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

750mL bottle with thanks to mulder1010. Reviewed from notes.

Hazed amber with a beige head of modest staying power which drops to a collar.

Wild, bitey, floral and herbal melange. Alongside this are dried apricots, fairy floss, liquer, musty woodiness and a mild pithy sourness. Layered and exciting.

Flavours display a little more sweetness and a little less complexity. Lots of muscovado sugar, earthy herbal notes and dry woodiness.

Syrupy and full with decent booze heat that is borderline harsh.

This is great. Hectic in the best possible way.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 00:07:30 | More by spicelab

DavoleBomb

Ohio

4/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a goblet. This was not cheap, but I guess four years in a barrel will do that to a beer.

4.0 A: Moderately hazed light amber color. Not quite a "blonde" quad. One and a half fingers of creamy beige head. Retention is about what you'd expect from a beer this big and a short, incomplete ring of lacing is left.

4.5 S: The nose mainly consists of an interesting interplay between the two barrels used. The wine barrel offers a big sherry fruitiness with mixed berries (raspberry foremost), cherries, and sweet vinous grape. The bourbon barrel contributes a lot of vanilla, earth, melon fruitiness, and a touch of leather. The base beer rounds this out with caramel, plum, figs, and dates. Peppery spiciness. Overall, this is incredibly fruity with all the aromas smoothened out and integrated well. No hints of booze. Lots of complexity here. Well done.

4.0 T: The taste is more of the mishmash of flavors that I was expecting to discover in the nose. Huge fruitiness again doesn't quite get along with the bourbon, but they aren't at odds as much as they could be. Absolutely tons of raspberry, strawberry, vinous grape, and cherry sherry notes. Fig, date, plum, prune, melon underneath. There's even some tobacco and raisin in there as well. Earthy bourbon with leather, vanilla, and some peat. Pepper and a bit of clove from the yeast. Caramel, toffee, a light booze, and a sugary sweetness. Superbly complex, but not everything gets along with each other. Still, quite tasty.

4.0 M: Medium body. Good spritzy carbonation. Good creaminess, but a bit chewier and stickier than I prefer. Smooth enough though.

3.5 D: Very interesting beer that is worth a try. I doubt I'd buy another bottle if I had the chance though, but I'm glad I got this one. The bourbon is a bit at odds with the fruity notes, but at least it's a unique experience.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 22:31:28 | More by DavoleBomb

impending

California

4.11/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

A-

750ml into a tulip. Pours a nearly clear butterscotch amber garnet, toffee color dense froth retains nicely, minor lacing.

Aroma also shares toffee and butterscotch. The bourbon barrel is not overt but vanilla is. Undefined pulpy fruits, candied, but not the usual suspects of fig, raisin or date.

The barrel is now obvious and the bourbon as well but no more than in a fruitcake which this shares many qualities with, a liquid lightly bourboned spiked fruitcake. Sweet. Vinous qualities. Slight roastiness in the mild mineral bitter finish. Full bodied thick but lively mouth feel. Hits a whole new stride of delicious at room temp when the complexity hits full breadth. More a barleywine than a quad. Does not pair well with food.
cheers
jd

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 05:18:52 | More by impending

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.4/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Its with an outlandish attitude that Struise applies a highly creative take on the typical "dark strong ale" and turns it blonde. Throw it in some Kentucky bourbon barrels and let it ride. ...for three years! The flavors and textures that result are amazing!

Rio Reserva pours with a viscous, burnish orange color that immediately reminds me of maple syrup. Light on carbonaiton, the beer builds a lumbering creme that tops the beer like espresso froth. But the lighter beer underneath takes on shades of peach, orange, and amber. Light on retention and lace, its obvious that the beer celebrates its cognac aesthetics rather than its foam character.

Sweet and complex aromatics rise from the snifter with maple and caramel leading the way. Fruit and vinous spice complement the sweeter scents with berries, apples, banana, fig, date, and cider and oak. Bourbony notes of vanilla, almonds, coconut, and booze both caress and strike the nose in a very inquisitive way.

The taste delivers all that the nose promises and more. The sweet and lightly syrupy beer seeps into the mouth with bourbon warmth and all those nuances of caramel, maple, cherry, oak, coconut, peanut brittle and almonds that the barrels contribute. With a light vinous white wine or cider note, the tannin-rich taste weaves through the malty sweetness and rounds out the balance wonderfully. But the beer continues delivering complexities of ester and phenol balance with apples, pears, under ripened berries, banana, and apricot to counter the spiciness of white pepper, clove, and coriander.

Lightly syrupy in mouthfeel, the beers texture is rich, silky, velvety, and warm. As the sugary weight washes over the palate, the alcohol thinning pulls the flavors into the soft tissues of the mouth for the full brunt of taste to be appreciated. The beer's light carbonation provides the early creaminess of marshmallow while finishing whimsically dry like cotton candy. A long and extended finish of heat and sweetness satisfies the sweet tooth much like the praline of pecan pie.

The unusual take to turn the dark Belgian ale blonde leaves the beer tasting much like classic Belgian dubbel ales, but with the power and complexity of quadrupel ales. The results remind me of Founders Nemesis '09, except with far superior results.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 17:18:24 | More by BEERchitect

Fux

France

4.5/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Copenhagen Beer Celebration.

A: Light, pale, clear orange with a thin creamy head. It really doesn't look like a quadrupel but it's still very appealing.

S: Whiskey, red fruits, berries, orange, orange peel, oak. Heavy and fruity at the same time.

T: Woody, fruity (red fruits, also coco), vanilla. Hoppy. Finishes dry. Strong, balanced.

M: Medium bodied. Warming alcoholic kick but still very refreshing.

O: Surprising, tasty, heavy and refreshing, all in one beer. The usual wonderful balance from Struise. We've got a winner ;-)

Serving type: on-tap

05-14-2012 21:41:41 | More by Fux