Judgment Day - The Lost Abbey

Jsenay

Texas

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from bottle into white wine glass

A - Pours tar black with moderate head that dwindles quickly. Lacing is minimal.

S - Slightly metallic smell that trails off eventually leaving the you with a strong smell of raisin, plums, molasses and some warm alcohol notes.

T - The flavor is similar to the nose. You get a nice zest to the palate up front with some grape and raisin flavors. Then it begins to smooth out as it warms on the palate and giving the stone fruit flavors of plum and apricot. It finishes with a bit of mouth drying, warming alcohol while leaving trace flavors of apricot and raisins on the palate.

M - Sharp acidity up front followed immediately by a caramel smoothness. Carbonation is light but strong enough to carry the flavor all the way through the taste.

O - This is a solid quadruple. However, it finishes a little too dry for my taste. I prefer quads that leave your tongue moist with those fruit flavors lingering but, that's just me. The alcohol is there but, it doesn't feel like a 10.5 there is a good sweetness that keeps it masked until the end. I wanted to give this beer a shot before I try the Cuvee de Tomme seeing as this is the base beer for that recipe. If you can get this bottle for ten and under it's definitely worth a try. Seeing as some have payed up to twenty and over for the 750ml I would advise against that. This shouldn't be over ten dollars.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 20:04:16 | More by Jsenay

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-17-2013 15:37:13 | More by twenty5

moonknight31

California

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

05-16-2013 16:57:15 | More by moonknight31

tourdot

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-15-2013 00:48:12 | More by tourdot

JOrtt

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

05-12-2013 23:33:07 | More by JOrtt

drlovemd87

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

05-10-2013 03:11:49 | More by drlovemd87

SHerninko

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-09-2013 17:55:41 | More by SHerninko

pcsnyder

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-09-2013 02:28:34 | More by pcsnyder

CesarLopes

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-06-2013 15:29:17 | More by CesarLopes

woemad

Washington

3.64/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

25.4oz caged and corked bottle purchased at Total Wine in Spokane for $9.99, then forgotten for about six months. According to the date stamped on the bottleneck, this was bottled on July 17, 2012.

Poured a dark brown that actually looks like a dark brown when you look at it, not black. When held up to the light it takes on a pronounced reddish tint. Moderate, bubbly tan head disapears after a couple of minutes, though it is easy to agitate back to life.

The nose is of raisins, prunes and brown sugar. As it begins to warm up, a boozy scent becomes noticeable. Whatever hops are used do not stand out in the least.

The dark fruit aspect (raisins, prunes, etc) is the strongest flavor component. Although the brown sugar I noted in the nose is present, it’s further in the background than I expected. The flavor starts off with a bitter zap to the tastebuds. As it warms up, there’s a slightly different fruity taste, more along the lines of pears and apples. The whole thing is wrapped up in a cloak of alcohol. The alcohol flavor is somewhat hard to pin down - somewhere between wine and bourbon.

Lighter bodied than I expected, with a coating mouthfeel.

Things are slightly more bitter than I have found in most Belgian Quads. Part of that is due to the relative abdication of the sweeter elements of the beer that were in the nose, and part is due to the rather uncompromising nature of the booziness. While I am glad to have tried it, I would rather have had this in a 12oz bottle than the gargantuan bottle I have in front of me, as it would simply be a more reasonable amount.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 03:56:35 | More by woemad

Texasfan549

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

05-03-2013 23:09:47 | More by Texasfan549

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -16%

04-27-2013 08:56:14 | More by Kelp

randylangford

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

04-24-2013 02:52:52 | More by randylangford

Casey3236

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-19-2013 01:00:18 | More by Casey3236

jnoelani

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-11-2013 08:55:09 | More by jnoelani

wmobley

Wisconsin

3/5  rDev -22.5%

04-09-2013 16:21:32 | More by wmobley

g_jenkins

California

3.25/5  rDev -16%

04-09-2013 07:44:37 | More by g_jenkins

largadeer

California

3.25/5  rDev -16%

04-08-2013 21:18:37 | More by largadeer

redliner8

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-05-2013 23:11:57 | More by redliner8

MrVonzipper

California

4/5  rDev +3.4%

04-01-2013 22:06:16 | More by MrVonzipper

HattedClassic

Virginia

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Appearance:
Pours a nice and lasting light tan head and leaves quite a bit of lacing. The beer itself is surprisingly clear but dark. The beer's color is a dark brown with hints of purple.

Smell:
Raisins dominate the nose with hints of dark fruits. I also get coffee notes that mix with the raisin with very light hints of Belgian sugar.

Taste:
The raisins dominate the palate and mix with the coffee. The dark fruits get lost within the raisin taste. I get a slight hint of alcohol and hops as well.

Mouthfeel:
Medium-bodied with biting carbonation. The beer goes down pretty dry.

Overall:
A pretty decent quad. I have to admit that it was lighter than other quads that I've had.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 03:28:45 | More by HattedClassic

shockrocker65

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

03-29-2013 05:09:23 | More by shockrocker65

acurtis

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

03-25-2013 20:26:16 | More by acurtis

brheuer

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

03-25-2013 00:33:52 | More by brheuer

ALBuff

Hawaii

3.25/5  rDev -16%

03-24-2013 23:44:33 | More by ALBuff