Friar's Quad - New England Brewing Co.

tigg924

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: dark reddish-brown in color, minimal head, cloudy, medium carbonation

Smell: dark bread, dark fruit, brown sugar, and alcohol

Taste: follows the nose--dark bread, dark fruit--maybe plum, brown sugar, and alcohol

Mouthfeel: medium-heavy bodied, medium-high carbonation, sweet with alcohol burn

Overall: One of my favorite beers so far from New England brewing. This is a nice and complex quad that hits all the flavors you would expect in a quad. Makes a nice holiday beer. I will look for this the next time I am in Connecticut.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 16:27:12 | More by tigg924

wyatt13

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

05-30-2013 03:53:30 | More by wyatt13

metalgdog

New York

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

05-22-2013 01:39:56 | More by metalgdog

ShanePB

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -20.2%

05-15-2013 19:56:29 | More by ShanePB

jaxon53

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

04-21-2013 17:00:45 | More by jaxon53

Hugonaut13

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

04-19-2013 15:01:53 | More by Hugonaut13

hoppymcgee

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

04-16-2013 18:52:24 | More by hoppymcgee

MasterSki

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Another New England offering shared by theTomG. Served in a Half Acre taster glass.

A - Lightly tanned foam settles to nothing at all. Mostly transparent dark amber body.

S - Candi sugar, dark fruits, some red fruits, a touch vinous, with only mild spicy Belgian yeast character to it.

T - Taste is fairly similar, with prunes, dark fruits, candi sugar, plums, cola, a bit of tart apple skin, and some nebulous bready malts. Alcohol is reasonably well-hidden.

M - Chewy, medium body, with lower carbonation and a sticky finish. Again, not much alcohol heat on the palate.

D - One of the more solid American-made quads I've had, although it's still a pale imitation compared to Trappist offerings. I'd drink this one again, although I wouldn't seek it out. Definitely enjoyed it more than the barleywine.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 16:10:20 | More by MasterSki

Hanzo

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

04-14-2013 15:48:07 | More by Hanzo

CTJman

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +13%

04-03-2013 01:10:55 | More by CTJman

braugon

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%

03-26-2013 20:11:07 | More by braugon

alexgash

Connecticut

3.79/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

16.9 oz. bottle. Served at cellar temp.

Garnet-maroon body. Clear. Thick finger of light sandy-beige head. Some lacing. Lots of fruity sweetness on the nose. Concord grape jam is at the center of it. Caramel syrup, figs, rum, and a hint of woody bitterness.

Plum and grape skin tannic bitterness and woodiness up front. Jammy grape sweetness quickly swoops in and gets behind the wheel. Figs and singed caramel flit about. Slight herbal note sits in the background. Rummy alcohol comes on near the finish, providing warmth and some spicy, peppery jabs. More grape jam in the finish with lingering vegetal, tannic bitterishness. Medium-bodied, with a slick feel. Needs a little more complexity, depth, and body to get up to the level of the great quads, but this one is not bad.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 02:07:32 | More by alexgash

juliusseizure

New York

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

03-06-2013 01:44:07 | More by juliusseizure

diverite

Connecticut

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%

03-04-2013 13:18:26 | More by diverite

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

16.9oz bottle poured into chalice

The body sits a dark brown with no head whatsoever. Some tiny bubbles around the edges, no lacing.

Subtle and clean nose. Figs, raisins, dates. Some mild cocoa notes. Not a whole lot going on.

Some nutty flavors roll over the palate with figs, raisins, and dates through the finish. Mild smoke flavor. This is too clean to compete in this style.

Medium body with low carbonation. Thin for the style.

I look to my quads to be fortifying and strong. This just scratches the surface.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2013 03:15:18 | More by ColForbinBC

mendvicdog

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%

03-01-2013 16:32:00 | More by mendvicdog

Beerontwowheels

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%

02-27-2013 14:49:49 | More by Beerontwowheels

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%

02-27-2013 06:31:19 | More by marlinsfan4

duceswild

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

02-27-2013 06:03:43 | More by duceswild

oline73

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%

02-27-2013 01:33:34 | More by oline73

nmann08

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

02-24-2013 01:41:07 | More by nmann08

Snarf103

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

02-12-2013 03:19:12 | More by Snarf103

KelsoSaaz

New York

4.36/5  rDev +16%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Early 2012 bottle, though no date to be found, poured into NEBCO tulip.

A: Pours a deep mahogany - amber that shows when held up to the light. Free floating sediment. Fine, tan, 1.5 finger head.

S: Boozy, dark fruits, cherry and fig especially, sweet bread and molasses with Belgian sugars.

T: Dark fruit: cherry, raisin and fig that start sweet then fade to slightly tart, with warm brown sugar, honey, and sherry flavors towards the finish. Belgian and chocolate malts with little hop bitterness. It hides its alcohol very well, with only a nice warming sensation to hint at its high abv.

M: Heavy yet smooth, chewy, syrupy with low carbonation and warm booziness.

O: One of the better Quads, though not quite on Rochefort 10's level. NEBCO continues to please with this one. This beer is great for holiday meals and for fighting off cold winter weather. Worth seeking out IMO.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 02:55:56 | More by KelsoSaaz

tehzachatak

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

500 mL bottle poured into my 668 tulip. #properglassware

Note: I have not had this beer before - Matt told me it was about a year old, and that it tasted much more like he wanted it to now than it did at bottling. So I have been possibly a little biased before having the bottle!

A - Pours a not particularly beautiful ruby-brown with a half finger of ivory head. Very little lacing. To style, pretty good.

S - Slightly oxidized malts, sweet malt, some candi sugar, some alcohol soaked fruits. Not an overwhelmingly strong nose. Not quite as complex as I hope from a quad/BSDA.

T - A little bit oxidized. That's the first thing I get - typically, I do not react well to oxidized flavors in anything except stouts, but I kind of like this. More fruit than the nose. Some bready malt, definite candi sugar presence. Definite plum notes.

M - Nice and thick, perfect carbonation (pretty low). Well hidden 10% alcohol.

Can't imagine this was very good fresh, but I enjoyed this!

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 23:19:45 | More by tehzachatak

raythealeman

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +6.4%

01-31-2013 00:34:28 | More by raythealeman