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

emerge077

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Big "Q" label, cellared for over a year. Bottle opens with a pop, pours a jeweled red-orange into a Westmalle goblet at 60º. Racing trails of carbonation can be seen in the center. After a sip the foam breaks and slowly ebbs away at one side. Slight musty cork aroma, with sweet brown sugar and caramel notes. Dried fruit flavors of raisin, dates, and prune blend with a sweet nutty almond finish and a vague touch of spice. Slight stickiness on the lips, and there is some minor earthy tobacco in the aftertaste. The feel is full and velvety, true trappist style. Not sure if it was aged too long or long enough, but the alcohol thankfully wasn't noticeable. Slighty more enjoyable fresh on tap (4.2).

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2009 01:36:14 | More by emerge077

Halcyondays

California

3.55/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at the Beachwood BBQ, in Seal Beach, CA,

A: Pours a medium amber, a lighter quad than I'm used to, with a medium white head, good retention, limited lacing.

S: Sugary, with lemon zest, dark fruit and alcohol.

T: The taste has a nice fruitiness to it mixed with the solvent character of the alcohol. Tasty, but it wasn't as complex as I would have like for a quad. Belgian candy sugar dominates the taste, with ripe dates, raisins and molasses and a bit of lemon/citrus quality, no hop flavour except a slight earthy bitterness at the end.

M: Nice and crisp carbonation makes it surprisingly easy to drink, with some medicinal alcohol and phenols.

D: I enjoyed this quad, but in the end, there was nothing really special about it to make me come back to it, especially with Rochefort 10 out there.

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2008 01:56:23 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear amber color with a thin head that quickly disappears as expected from some high alocohol beers. The aroma is of malt and honey, with some minor candy tones. The flavor is huge as malt, honey, and caramel are most dominant and make this like a liquid candy bar. Hops are almost a complete no-show here as they can't overpower the thick malt.

Heavier bodied and little carbonation. Very smooth on the mouthfeel. The thick body of the malt seems to stick to the tongue after swallowing. The alcohol is definitely noticeable. Great beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2004 23:43:25 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into glass chalice:

Pours mahogony with scarlet hues. A one-finger creamy head soon becomes a lasting thin cover. Some lacing sticks to glass.

The smell of brown sugar and raisins/prunes soon gives way to tart (lemony/orangey?) fruits. Hints of peppery alcohol.

The taste is of candy-like sweetness balanced by fruity tartness. A mixture of sugar-coated fruits, ranging from prunes to orange and lemon, hitting a few tropical fruits along the way. Finishes with coriander and a warming, peppery alcohol. Alcohol is noticeable, but controlled and adds a nice, spicy touch.

The feel is creamy/coating and syrupy. A light medium body has a nice texture. Spiciness and fruitiness linger on the tongue. Sweetness, with a touch of tartness, hold on into the aftertaste.

This is a luxurious, rich, sipping treat from Belgium.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2007 16:17:17 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

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

Guest tap at Volo.

This beer appears a clear, dark reddish amber hue, with no apparent head, just the remnants as a ring of soapy white lace. It smells of apple, pear, wheaty malt, and alcohol. The taste is caramel, apple, melon, sweet wheat grain, and more warming booze. The carbonation is low, the body smooth and alcohol slick, and it finishes clean, the warming fruitiness standing tall.

A keep-you-warm-in-the-winter kind of beverage, this, with memories of summer fields and fruit, and the booze to suppress them...

Serving type: on-tap

02-06-2010 18:48:56 | More by biboergosum

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at the Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis.

While this was a great beer to have on tap, I got the impression it could really improve and develop after a couple years in a celler. It had a rich fruit flavor with plums and apples, but not much else. I could really tell this brew used sugar of some sort from the sweetness, but that's not a bad thing and actually helped drinkability quite a bit. A good, I'll have to cellar a bottle some time.

Serving type: on-tap

01-04-2007 07:50:18 | More by tempest

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I am drinking a 12 oz bottle that dates back to when La Trappe was authorized to use the Trappist logo (before losing it in 2000 and regaining the right in late 2005). That makes this bottle approximately 6 years old. I am serving it cold in a Chimay goblet.

Appearance: The ale has a nice ruby red color and is slightly hazy. When held to light, the haze is much more apparent, as are the yeast particles floating in the ale. It poured with a moderate head, nothing great, but it did leave nice ring of lace around it.

Smell: The ale has a nice, malty biscuity aroma to it. The malt is not overwhelming. In fact, I'd say that the malt character has probably mellowed significantly over the past six years (I say this based on having had recent brews from La Trappe).

Taste: The ale doesn't taste anything like a quad. Instead of an in-your-face maltiness, the ale is muted and soft on the tongue. There is a definite malt character, but it is no longer on par with a quad. The malts have mellowed to the point that ale is well-balanced. The ale does have a somewhat fruity character, specifically I taste some raisins in the ale.

Mouthfeel: The ale has lost some of the carbonation, giving it a soft taste that does not wash clean the palate. This allows the malt character to linger for longer than usual. That malt character is sweet and very pleasing. I think that this ale has aged quite nicely.

Drinkability: The ale is very strong, maybe even moreso after six years. If you have a fresh bottle, it may be a little hot (malt-related) so let it sit for a while.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2006 13:39:15 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a La Trappe chalice bought in the Christmas gift pack. Pours a deep amber color, murky amber with a light beige tan head fine even Belgian style lacing. Aroma a dish of fruit in a cornacoupia style setting, with mild spices from the Belgian yeast. Awesome amounts of dark fruit soaked in alcohol big malt layers blended wth the balance of Beligan yeast strains. Carbonation is medium bodied effervescent carbonation flows smoothly goes down so easy, excellent big Belgian style quad. Drinkability is incredible smooth easy going I can't believe my senses this is smooth big beer at it's best.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2010 00:35:49 | More by WVbeergeek

barleywinefiend

Washington

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

A: Poured an opaque red, with hints of copper leaving a foamy, white head which stayed with the beer.

S: The smell of sweetness overpowers the maltiness, borwn sugar, dark fruits and caramel.

T: The initial burst of flavor is highlighted by the spicy phenols and flavors that is expected in a Belgian Trappist ale. It turns very sweet and doesn't finish as dry as I normally like with a quad, but still incredibly delicious. Dark fruits, candy sweetness,caramel.

M: Medium body, with carbonation. Sweeter, thicker mouthfeel than some other more popular quads.

O: It's an enjoyable belgian ale, with a lot of the spicy flavors expected in the style. It's on the sweet side, but still a solid representation of the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 16:53:00 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

4.7/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Thanks to JohnGalt1 for this brew.

11.2oz. Bottle

Poured into a chalice a beautiful golden amber color, nice carbonation, very nice one-finger creamy tan head, a few nice small islands and sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, some bannanas, cheeries, and caramel. The taste is great, malty, slight sweetness, yeasty, a nice tone of banannas/cherries, and caramel. Full/Med body, complex brew. Very drinkable, a true gem, highly recommended. Thanks Toby for this extra.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2008 03:05:38 | More by Wasatch

jdhilt

New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a cream, five finger plus (pour very slowly) head that goes slowly leaving a good lace. Clear amber color. Medium carbonation. Nose is a sweet malty nutmeg. Starts smooth and sweet, has a mellow finish. $8.54 for a 750ml bottle from Oliver's Beverage Albany, NY.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2004 01:39:48 | More by jdhilt

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a nonic)

A- This beer has a dark brown aged copper body that is pretty clear with a thick tan head that last and last. There is some very gentle carbonation on the sides of the glass.

S- This beer has a big smell of bananas and candy with a white sugar hint and some floral perfume notes.

T- The taste of sweet white sugar is soon covered with an alcohol heat that has just a hint of fusel flavor. There are notes of circus peanuts and cotton candy in there also. The finish has a nice spice to the alcohol that cleans the pallet of the sweetness.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a slight sticky sweet texture and a pretty big fizz and alcohol heat finish.

D- This beer has a big heat and big fizz but not much malt flavors. The sweetness is very present but not as much depth as I was expecting. The yeast helps give the flavor some depth.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2007 20:16:00 | More by rhoadsrage

Billolick

New York

4.55/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Small bottle from a gift set box, which included the nice glass I'm sampling from.No freshness indication. Pours semi clear, rich dark honey amber, with a light tan head, leaving nice striated lacing. Nose here is of some spice, some sweet candi sugars and slight vanilla. Rich, tasty and complex brew, notes of honey, warming alcohol, rum soaked raisins, figs and wintery spice. World class quad, in the same ballpark as Westy and St. Bernardus. Go get some and enjoy this fine creation in brewing.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2005 20:11:15 | More by Billolick

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at The Flying Pig on 3/10...
Appears a dark, murky brown with a fluffy, offwhite head that slowly fades away. Scattered streaks of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is pretty amazing of dough, brown sugar, ripe black grapes, plums, raisins, along with luscious notes of ripe mango and passion fruit. I could really just sit and smell it all day and be happy.
Taste echoes the wonderful aromas of the doughy, sugary, ripe fruits that makes this beer come together in a nice, lightly spiced dessert brew.
Mouthfeel is slightly sweet up front, mild spices leading to a semi-dry finish. This one on draft blew away any bottled version I've had of this.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2007 21:17:03 | More by weeare138

Zorro

California

4.65/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a cloudy dark brown.

Smell is a big banana smell! Also have a tart apple smell, and a perfume aroma.

Taste is sweet and apples and perfume. One sip reminds me of my Grandmothers apple preserves. There is a brown sugar and pear taste here too. Banana and spices sneak in to the party on my tongue too.

Mouthfeel is very good.

Very drinkable, this is some tasty stuff; I need to spend a summer in Belgium once in my life.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2004 03:03:20 | More by Zorro

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.28/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours like iced tea, rich dark brown/amber, lots of sediment, huge head, legs and good lacing. Smell is alcohol, dark fruits, apple, grapes, sweet. Alcohol is also apparent in the taste however its a nice warming alcohol, very malty, apple and citrus, yeasty. Very warming beer, good carbonation, very mellowed as its been aging for 1 1/2 years. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2005 21:06:43 | More by Viggo

Bighuge

Minnesota

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

This beer is a murky looking burgandy. A well retained off-white head tops the brew. Sweet and malty aroma. Almost "dopplebock" sweet as far as the nose. There are also some subtle fruity tones perceived on the nose. Taste is stong with flavor and alcohol. Almost a stinging alcohol presence blends nicely with deep fruity ester qualities. Some nice wood notes accent nicely. Nicely carbonated mouthfeel. Creamy and smooth. Body is about medium-full. A tasty beer to be sure.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2002 19:35:41 | More by Bighuge

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.85/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours an amber/ chestnut brown with thick, foamy yellowish beige head. Aroma of plum, raisin, fig, chocolate, roasted malt and strong alohol. Sweet up front with taste of dark berries, chocolate and a strong maltiness foloowed by a dry sweet alcohol finish. Very Good!

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2008 08:10:32 | More by corby112

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a slightly dark copper amber color with pretty good head retention and lacing. This is another beer that is just viscuous looking in appearance. The nose is very reminscent of the dubbel, except there's not as much brown sugar, and this beer has more spice. The rootbeer and cola aroma is much more pronounced, though there's some orange peel and light chocolate in the background as well. On the palate, this beer is quite sweet, but the flavor profile otherwise is just stunning. There is just an incredible melange of rootbeer, caramel, vanilla, maraschino cherry and light chocolate. Absolutely, this is beer dessert for those who don't like dessert. Mouthfeel is rich, soft, full and long.... just delicious. Drinkability is OK, though the obvious high alcohol and sweetness is just a bit much. Still, this is just an excellent Belgian Quad, especially if one can find it on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

07-09-2010 22:27:53 | More by johnmichaelsen

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.4/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

33cl Bottle obtained from a 'Night shop' in Brussels and reviewed in my hotel room. The bottle was best before 12/2012 and was poured into two toothbrush glasses from the bathroom on 30 Oct 2010.

Lovely deep amber looking brew, an off-white foaming head sat on top of each small glass, both of which held some good lacing as I sank the beer.

Molasses, sweet, caramel and toffee filled the nose, no hints of hops at all. Add to those smells alcohol and diesel or heavy oil esters.

The taste is also a combination of the above aromas initially. The sweetness hides the alcohol in the flavours at first, but a hop endorsed bitterness at the drying end of the mouthfeel isn't strong enough to mask the power of 10%ABV and the beer ends a little unbalanced.

OK, but not a great beer in my eyes.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2010 22:26:21 | More by BlackHaddock

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

First had: bottle at Armsby Abbey, Worchester, MA

I slept on this beer for a while, but when my wife--in a very quad phase--ordered one at the bar, I finally broke down and shared it.

Poured a dark brown with a small but thick head that retained throughout the session. Sugary aroma, and bready with Belgian yeast. Very strong taste, as would be expected. Sweeter and more fruity than many quads I've had; caramel and brown sugar, plums and nectarines. Definite alcohol bite. Medium mouthfeel, well carbonated, and decently drinkable, but not in large quantities. The sweetness is not a bad thing, but I do prefer other quads to this.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2011 16:52:40 | More by Rifugium

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

DoubleJ

California

3.55/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Wurstkuche. The establishment even had the La Trappe glass to pour the beer into. On to the beer:

There was next to no head on top when I retrieved this beer. It is dark amber, with big hues of brown and orange. Didn't have that "richness" to earn a higher score. The aroma is a tease of things to come. Apples and bananas dominate, with a pinch of fruity yeast. Moderate amounts of alcohol tasted, with a moderate, but thinner to style mouthfeel. There are notes of apples, pears, and fusel alcohol... more resemblant to an eisbock. Bits of bready malt leaves the consumer with an aftertaste.

This is my first La Trappe brew, and I felt this quad was underwhelming for a trappist product. However, it did the trick with an artisan chicken and apple sausage with Belgian fries.

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2009 05:04:29 | More by DoubleJ

glid02

Georgia

4.2/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle purchased from Sherlock's in Decatur, GA.

Pours a hazy brown color with a two-finger light tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of sugar-coated raisins with hints of pears and lighter hints of caramel and milk chocolate.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Smooth sugar-coated fruit flavors - as with the smell mostly raisins with hints of medium fruits - up front are joined by light caramel flavors midway through the sip. Near the end of the sip hints of leafy hops come out just enough to contribute toward a mildly bitter ending. The alcohol is hardly noticeable, contributing only to a warming sensation on its way down.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a solid thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished the bottle quickly and could easily have (perhaps against better judgment) a few more.

Overall this was a very good quad however it was lacking a bit in viscosity and oomph. Still, even a non-stellar Trappist beer is near the top of the heap when compared to the masses and this is no exception. Worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2009 00:36:54 | More by glid02

Gusler

Arizona

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

This bottle is the 2000 vintage, been resting in my "Cellar" for the last year and a half.

The beer pours a clear cherry red with a largish and creamy light tan head and the residual lace a thick and clinging sheet to the glass. Nose is malt with hints of over ripe plums, earthy and sweet and the start also somewhat sweet, nice malt presence and the top medium in feel. Finish has delectable hop spiciness and the acidity stinging, the aftertaste desert dry, a quite pleasant beer, but I much prefer the dubbel and or the triple to this beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2002 07:24:46 | More by Gusler