La Trappe Quadrupel (Koningshoeven / Dominus) - Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V.

Roman5150

Michigan

4.59/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

750ml bottle into tulip

Appearance: cloudy amber mahogony with bubbly 1 finger white head

Smell:dark fruits, cherries, plum, figs, bready notes, coriander

Taste: sweet like a chimay but with more pronounced dark fruits and plum notes. Lots of bready malt on the back end, alcohol is probably the most hidden for any qua i've had. Almost feels more like a trippel... So well balanced and smooth you get a very apple like aftertaste, amazing flavors in this beer.

Mouthfeel: really, really high in carbonation. One of the most carbonated beers ive had, easily masks any alcohol and fits well with this style. Has the feel of a soda pop, but much more full bodied.

Overall: Another great trappist beer, this feels more like a trippel than a quad, but maybe thats just due to how well balanced and drinkable this is for such a high abv beer. Very sweet with lots of dark fruit and breadiness.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 02:17:52 | More by Roman5150

JamesStreet

Louisiana

4.11/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bomber poured into my Boulevard tulip

A - Effervescent amber color that you would expect from a quad. Poured a nice two-finger head. Lingering lacing.

S - First aromas I got were light grapes and some other darker fruits. Also had a hint of flowery aroma to it.

T - got some darker fruits lke dates,figs, as well as banana, and sweet esters. Some booziness to it but not as much as expected. Cloves and several milder spices come through as well on the back end.

M - lighter-bodied feel to it with mild to medium carbonation. Didn't get that boozy heat as it hides the 10% abv quite well

O - Nice Quad and a really good example of this style. I would definitely drink again.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 22:49:38 | More by JamesStreet

RaphaelSC

Brazil

4.56/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

I'm doing this while I'm tasting the beer in a La Trappe Goblet.

A: Pours a dark amber with a consistent one finger light brown head.

S: Predominant fruits notes with some alcohol and hops, very softly.

T: Highly bitter in the beginning, with fruit notes. The hops are overwhelming, but the fruit notes become more clear as you drinking this beer. It really remember the dubbel style, but its quite more complex flavour puts its beer a level ahead,.

M: Not too warm despite the 10% ABV, but warm still. This beer is very smooth but very complex, starts bitter with its hops overwhelming then the fruit notes appear and turn everything upside down. Despite its warmth and smell, the alcohol in the taste doesn't appear which make this beer very drinkable.

O: This is a real Trappist beer, with all the complexity that the style requires. The strong bitter in the beginning started me up, but in the end the fruit tones like other trappists appeared making this beer one of the most intriguing that I've ever tasted, and one of my top 5 too.

Highly recommended, a must drink beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 18:13:53 | More by RaphaelSC

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.9/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Poured from bottle into a chalice glass

Appearance – The beer pours a slightly darker amber color with a small half finger or less white head. The head fades very quickly leaving only a spotty level of lace on the side of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is biggest of a white grape smell mixed with a good deal of alcohol. This gives it a very white wine like smell overall. Unlike wine however, other subtle aromas of an earthy hop and some spicy smells of pepper and clove are mixed within giving it a slightly boozy and Belgian like wine smell overall.

Taste – The taste begins mainly of a mix of a grapy and malty flavor initially. There are some flavors of an apple and cherry flavor mixed with these with the start of the taste, which seem to fade as the taste advances more to the middle and the end. Along with the dwindling of the cherry and apple, the breadiness of the beer lessens, producing a more dry and crisp flavor on the tongue. While all these flavors lose ground, the grapy flavor grows quite a bit stronger in taste and are joined by flavors of a more tanniny bitterness as well as flavors of alcohol. These flavors give the brew a more white wine like flavor which is combined with some flavor of a pepper and spicy nature as well as some earthy and pine hop tastes. In the end the combination of flavors produces a crisp spiced and hopped wine like flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- The body of the brew is on the thinner side for a brew of 10 % abv with a carbonation level that is average to slightly above average. The body really suits the wine like flavors as well as the hop flavors nicely to produce a crisp champagne like feel, all the while keeping it a very drinkable brew even with all its alcohol and boozy tastes.

Overall – A rather boozy and crisp quad with a whole lot of sparkling wine like characteristic. I was actually originally expecting something with more dark fruit flavors, so this was quite a surprise. It was rather interesting and nice and is certainly worth a try, although I think it is not really my thing ,and I think there are tastier quads out there.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 01:18:25 | More by Darkmagus82

FLima

Brazil

4.19/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Brown reddish color with a two finger head with medium retention and floating particles, and left laces.
Delicious aroma of dry and dark fruits, highlighting plums, cherries, blackberries.
Bold flavor, almost a liquid panettone sunk in liquor. Yeasty with lots of dry and dark fruits, plums, dates, cherries and blackberries, you pick. Hints of floral and earthy hops, brown sugar and spices.
Full body with low carbonation and a smooth feeling. Alcohol of 10% ABV is harmonic and warming, even gentle.
Very complex beer, good for having on a mellow pleasant evening at home. Highly recommendable.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 21:39:56 | More by FLima

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

4.06/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From notes taken while enjoying a pint last night on-tap at the Kick-Off in Waterloo, ON.

Pours a beautifully clear and dark amber with ruby tones. Silky and oily mouthfeel, also appropriate for its 10% ABV and sipping nature. Aroma is caramel and toffee-forward with a Belgian yeast and barley backbone. Robust flavour with depth and great complexity. Toffee and caramel on toast, with all positive breadiness elements.

A trappist icon for good reason. Delighted to have found on draught.

Serving type: on-tap

04-07-2013 19:24:07 | More by hopsolutely

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.6/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle purchased from Dan Murphy's in Alexandria.

Pours a surprisingly light ruby colour, almost amber, in fact, and quite clear. Head is a fine off-white, forming a solid film across the top of the glass. Body is really very light, especially for 10% ABV, and the carbonation is furtive and quick. Lacing forms in evanescent but noticeable streaks. Not too bad overall.

Nose is very pleasant: big rounded Belgian sweetness, capped with stacks of spice, estery characters and heady booziness. Along with sweet banana, spice plum and the standard fruit-pie spice, there's a plasticky character, marzipan, aniseed, and crushed flowers. Indeed, it's a little bit lighter in tone than I expected (perhaps it goes with the light colour), but it's big, boozy and quite complex.

Taste is boozy, big and uncoordinated. Spices rollick with estery sweetness and true toffee malt character, with a dried out aniseed and birdseed finish. It roils and foments on the palate, leaving an anarchy of discordant characters screaming to be heard. Finish is surprisingly light, with the leafy sweetness flailing out and leaving its whimpering ghost behind.

Feel is slick and chewy, with an unpleasant plastic remembrance as its legacy.

Overall, it's big, but untamed, uncouth and unrefined. Some might say that's great, but this feels like an experiment let loose like a tiger on a circus crowd. It doesn't have the structure, or the depth of purpose I want in a beer that's this big. This feels like someone let off a mound of TNT in a pile of bricks and hoped they'd get a house out of it. Big and explosive: but without the end result.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 07:08:40 | More by lacqueredmouse

Chrysostom

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

As always, I review live, not from notes, puzzling out the libation brewed in houses of salvation. As always, I review to style (ala BJCP), modified by personal taste (contra BJCP), not solely to personal taste, which would be unfair to many great examples of styles that I don't personally favour.

Without further ado, a review.

Presentation: 750mL corked and caged bottle poured at 45ºF in to a Chimay goblet/chalice. I'd had a few shandies, as they say, when I bought this as take-away from the local beer pub, so I'm not sure of the price - I think it was around $15-16. Thank you to The BODEGA in Columbus, OH.

A: Murky, mostly translucent dark reddish-brown with half a finger of pretty much white head (on a gentle pour), fluffy, which recedes very quickly in to a very thin ring and some scum on the top of the beer, with light to moderate lacing. Standard Trappist dark beer look. A little lighter and a little clearer than a standard, non-aged bottle of St Berny's 12. Even on a more vigorous pour, the head is identical.

S: Unique for a Quad. I'm getting dark fruit, plum, bourbon, some sharp and sweet alcohol like unto wine, some grape must, and a bit of citrus and bready yeast. Both hops and malt are mostly absent from the grape-, plum-, and alcohol-dominated nose. Strong vinous (almost Pinot Grigio-ic) characteristics.

T: Again, unique for a quad, but still definitely within the style - just not along the exact same lines as the Chimay-St Bernardus-Westvleteren triumvirate. More along the lines of a Westmalle Dubbel or an Achel 8 Bruin. A big hit of semi-dry to barely-sweet wine up front (alternates from sip to sip), with big notes of grape, a bit of dark fruit and some caramelized sugar, followed by good bready Belgian yeast (lacking most of the characteristic funk) on the back-palate, which leads in a long, toasty, bready finish, with a bit of alcohol heat giving the toast an authentical taste. Vinous. 4.1, rounding up to 4.25. A plain 4 seems unfair.

M: Thin, bouncy, acidic, and a little biting, with an effervescent, spreading carbonation, leads this beer to feel more like Westmalle Dubbel, or some champagne, than most Quadrupels, which tend towards a thicker, creamier, more buttery mouthfeel. Vinous, yet again.

D: Moderate middle of moderate.

O: A surprisingly good beer. The first Koningshoeven/La Trappe I had was the Oak Aged Quadrupel (Batch 7), which tasted like a stale ashtray - I believe my review gave it something like a 2.18, and contained some lamentations and excoriations of the beer. Upon having this, it's obvious it's the same beer with the same notes, but the thinness of body, strong vinousness, and lack of thick malt were unable to stand up to the oak aging. The same beer, not aged in oak, is immeasurably better. Not the best Quadrupel/Belgian Strong Dark (i.e. St Bernardus Abt 12 and Chimay), but if you're a fan of the style, it's definitely worth a try.

83/100 for the style, 83/100 for personal taste.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 05:16:15 | More by Chrysostom

CraftBrewhaha

Washington

4.65/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

Poured from a bottle, into a glass, then into my mouth.

So I was in the mood for a big ole beer. Somethin' to really get the job done. Of coarse this beer was an excellent pick. Good lookin', tasty as all get-out. 10% ABV makes it a little hard to focus on reviewing this beer, especially with Family Guy playing in the background. It's just a good quad, they've been doing it forever so you can't really go wrong.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 07:29:07 | More by CraftBrewhaha

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

3.93/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

33cl bottle into a snifter

A: Pours a dark, hazy brown color, just about opaque. Three fingers I'd dense white head form.

S: Plums mix with orange peel, prunes, and cloves. As the beer warms, dark fruits come out more and more, mostly prunes. Ends up selling quite sweet.

T: Prunes mix with caramel is essentially equal parts, quite strong on the caramel for the style. Clove is there, but the spices and orange peel are not nearly as strong as the aroma or as top tier Quads.

M: On the thick side with rather low, creamy carbonation.

O: A very nice Quad, but I wouldn't put it in the top tier. A bit to sweet without enough esters and a bit too much caramel.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 02:05:40 | More by coreyfmcdonald

themind

New Jersey

4.23/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Quality, Quality, Quality! this beer is good! another great Trappist brew. I really enjoyed this, it's very drinkable. Pours a small head but has decent carbonation. Has good aroma and mouthfeel. Taste is very good, the monks did a good job on this one.

Bottom Line: If your running the rails with trappist brews, this is a good place to start.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 03:53:16 | More by themind

standardcherry

Massachusetts

3.91/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12oz bottle purchased at the super market. Served into a snifter. One of the first quads I've had so I'm not sure how to review this.

A: Dark red/brown color. A bit of haziness. I don't know if it's standard for a Quad but this is a nice color.
S: Sweet malty aroma. Peaches, caramel, raisins, apples and rum. Turbinado sugar, a tiny bit of citrus. Lots of spiciness.
T: Not as good as the smell. Slight hoppiness. Roasty malt flavor, sweet cherries, bananas, raisins, yeasty spiciness, dark candi sugar.
M: A bit of a dry mouthfeel after drinking. Semi-dry taste. Moderate carbonation and moderate mouthfeel.
O: I'm not a huge fan of quadrupels but this a pretty good one.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 11:20:30 | More by standardcherry

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

11.2oz bottle poured into a Chimay goblet. Some yeast was accidentally added on the pour.

A: Deep red in color with hues of brown. Some particles hang in suspension due to a slightly careless pour. The quarter inch off-white head retains fairly well, but settles after a while. A thin blanket of lacing coats the glass.

S: Wildflower honey, caramel. Golden raisins and bananas foster. Bread pudding. Baked apples with cinnamon. Very dry nose despite the desserts it calls to mind. Yeast brings an earthy and spicy anchor. Lightly musty too. Subtle phenolic action. Slight hint of spicy alcohol.

T: Dried figs, rum-soaked golden raisins, yeasty spice and a spike of clove. Bone dry. Pluck of spicy alcohol. Soft hints of vanilla. Banana bread. Nutty. Dark candi sugar, light toast. Fleeting honeyed sweetness on the finish, chopped almonds, lingering yeasty spice.

M: Deceptively light in body for the style. Stiff, scrubbing carbonation. Slightly creamy, foamy. Low alcoholic heat. Feels a little emaciated.

O: It grew on me a little as I drank it. Not as nuanced and seamlessly put together as some of its other Trappist counterparts, but still well worth a look.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 04:53:24 | More by ryan1788a5

rlee1390

Indiana

4.11/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A-Cloudy orange amber, two finger head with some lacing.

S-Some darker fruits, banana, clove, raisins and plums.

T-Starts with darker fruits, bread, clove and banana. Nice balance.

M-Medium bodied and nicely carbonation.

O-Had as a part to my countdown to Westy XII. A nice quad.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 23:41:04 | More by rlee1390

takemetothelion

3.01/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked up at Bootleggers after really liking the Tripel, so hopefully similar experience. About $11 poured into a tulip.

A- A very clear light dark reddish. Lots of lacing and a 1.5 finger head. kinda surprised at how this one looks. The tripel was much cloudier.

S- Not much to the nose, some fruit and yeast and alcohol

T- Honestly not very complex as I was expecting. Grape and apricot, as well as a strong alcohol. 10% is a lot to hide but thought it would be more robust. Not much harmony with that strong alcohol taste.

MF- Very light, above average carbonation. Pretty drinkable except for the alcohol overpower

Overall, will not get again, not my favorite. For my personal taste I thought there could be more going on. I like darker brew anyways and I was really impressed with the tripel.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 19:12:56 | More by takemetothelion

chinchill

South Carolina

4.09/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I've been looking forward to trying this for some time. Superb, lightly spicy aroma with caramel malt and hints of honey. ABV well hidden. The light spicing in the nose is much more obvious in tasting. Very rich and complex flavor but, unfortunately, it is just too sweet.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2013 19:57:49 | More by chinchill

Beer-A-Lot

Virginia

4.18/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

On tap at Birch.

A - Honey color, nice lacing in glass, thousands of tiny bubbles in head.

S - Aroma of fig, grape, pine.

T - Taste is superb. This one had a year of aging, so it was smooth, balanced, and delicious.

M - Medium body, nice and creamy.

O - I had only tasted this beer in bottle before, so the draft was much better. In fact, I could use the term "awesome." Loved it.

Serving type: on-tap

02-04-2013 17:59:20 | More by Beer-A-Lot

Argion

New York

4.33/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Had this on tap in Greece during my vacation. Overall a very nice beer. I did like the glass it was served in. Beer had a nice dark red color, not a lot of head but a bit of carbonation. Taste stayed the same throughout and it paired well with the German style fare that was served. Overall a very good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-02-2013 05:01:40 | More by Argion

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.91/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a goblet. "19:14" and "K17L10" on the bottle, if that means anything.

3.5 A: Murky orange mahogany color. One finger of creamy off-white head. Retention is okay for the ABV and a short ring of lacing is left.

4.5 S: Wonderful nose on this. Earthy and fruity - prototypical of the region. Dates, figs, plums, prunes, raisin, and tobacco. Light pepper and clove yeastiness. "Clean" earthiness. All the aromas blend together really well. Quite impressed.

3.75 T: Tastes like the nose, except that it's much, much earthier. Usually I wouldn't mind this, but it distracts from the fruitiness. Fruits mentioned above with a light spicy yeastiness. Still good.

4.0 M: Lighter medium body. Pleasant, spritzy carbonation. Smooth.

3.75 D: Tasty beer. I was in the mood for something just like this.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 07:08:56 | More by DavoleBomb

MarioM

California

4.44/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: cloudy amber red with almost no head but creamy bubbles with little lacing. A little on the lighter side compared to other quads.

S: Fruity, Belgian yeast, dark brown sugar, mikados and some booze.

T: alcohol comes through but fruitiness and sweetness is well balanced. Nice sweet malty character with no bitterness but definitely fits the style very well taste wise.

M: Alcoholic aftertaste with great malt and great sweetness.

O: Great quad, a little in the lighter side compared to other squads but flavor wise, spot on. A must have for the Belgian Beer people.

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2013 05:00:20 | More by MarioM

brureview

Massachusetts

4.46/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I have been cellaring this for 7 months- should have waited even longer:)

The beer pours a beautiful ice tea color with a 3 finger head into a tulip. Good amount of lacing.

Lemon, apricot, cloves, lemon chiffon cake- a pleasant but not overwhelming aroma.

The mouth feel is not malty as in other quads, and is well carbonated for the style.

The taste is outstandingly complex-cloves, lemon, apricot, and alcohol.

As the beer warms up, the complexity becomes more amazing- more apricot and the alcohol mellows. This is a true sipper.

In general, a wonderful complex beer. Doesn't fit the tasting notes of a quad. This comes with cellaring it for a while. Next bottle will be a year or more.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2013 03:44:34 | More by brureview

DenverLogan

Colorado

4.59/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

12oz bottle from gift set, with gift set glass...really pretty! Data on bottle says: 13: 06
K28H12

Golden copper color with some small floaties ~ paticulates. Nice head hangs around for awhile with pleasant swirls.

Sweet amber malt aroma. I've been drinking this beer for many years...usually in big bottles and I've generally found it too alcoholic fresh with unpleasant phenols. Aging helps those big bottles to a degree.

This little bottle, however, I'm assuming bottled within the last 3 months, is right on...minimal heat or unpleasantness...a beautiful balance of malts and strength...caramel, fig, sweet plum, milk chocolate, and a touch of alcohol. Very easy to drink.

To double check my analysis, I just took it to a discriminating Colleen and she said, yum, is this a grand cru? She gave the big thumbs up also. Big yum!!

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 07:37:36 | More by DenverLogan

1Nrwyscotch

Wisconsin

4.16/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle poured into a chalice.

A. A deep redish amber with a couple of fingers worth of head which sticks around for awhile.

S. It starts with some light tropical fruit and some sweet caramel malt and finsishing with some spice.

T. Its not quite as complex as it smells. It has a toasted malt flavor and then finsihes with some sweet fruit(cherries).

M. It has some body and a medium mouthfeel.

O. This is a very flavorful beer which has a decent balance and screams Belgium Quad even though its from the Netherlands.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 23:32:59 | More by 1Nrwyscotch

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.43/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a La Trappe chalice. Pours a hazy, almost coppery medium amber with a fine two finger off white head with great retention and lacing. Complex aroma of caramel malt,plums, dark dried fruit, light cherry and banana. A hint of sour and mineral. Flavor is sweet, well integrated fruit, dominated by plums, light hints of stone fruit, dried dark fruit and cherry, sweet malt. Finishes somewhat drier, leaving pleasant residual light hops, fruit and a touch of wood. Medium, creamy bodied. A very nice Trappist quadrupel that is a joy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 05:10:57 | More by LiquidAmber

BlurryVisi0n

New York

4.33/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served an over-sized wine glass (La Trappe signature glass).

Appearance: A semi-hazy amber with heavy bubbles on the body. Head maybe 1/3" off white slightly thick in frame and still hangs around after a few sips.

Smell: Has a banana feel right to the nose, with hint of wheat and honey. Just right.

Taste: A complex brew that has a little bit of everything, sweetness of banana with a pale bitterness that makes you think you chewed the skin. Yeast elements combined of a light sour bread doesn't make you think twice of the price.

Mouth: Dry finish compliments this brew. Nice sticky feel to it with medium carbonation.

Overall: What a total beast of a beer, I mean what is there not to ask for. If you share a passion like I do for quality grab a glass and pour. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 04:38:58 | More by BlurryVisi0n