De Molen – a brewery that is a staple of the IBC monthlies, and how lucky we are for this to be so. It is a brewery that requires little introduction, but my first experiences weren’t exactly what my opinion is now. I tried my first De mol in Nov of 2017, it was lighter fare and was good without being memorable. I do remember however getting something very similar in appearance the month after and thought I got the same beer again. Little did I know the label design forever remains the same, the wording changes. As does everything within, and sometimes on the outside too (hands up who enjoys a waxy de mol?)
The De Molen in this pack is a waxy De Mol (instant win) - the Party sQuad. It is described as a dry quadruple barrel aged in bourbon, adding sweetness whilst still preserving some bitterness. It was part of the 2018 Boreft beer festival, an event one day I wish to attend, with Jason as my guide. Sounds like a great tour. Who is in?
It pours a darkish brown, with a beautiful beige, bone or off white head. It looks an absolute treat. From a distance I can already smell caramel with a touch of bourbon. On first sip there are some of the qualities expected of a quad. Mild spices, some vanilla, and dark fruits such as plum and fig, the butterscotch and caramel sweetness comes through and takes over, before a small touch of bourbon brushes the palette finishing with a subtle bitterness. This is enough to lick the lips and go back for more. It has a likeness to a barley wine more so than a quadruple for me, but I will not complain. This is a beautiful delicious brew, reaching the highest of heights expected of a waxy de mol. Enjoy!!!!!
A big Belgian Quad aged in red wine barrels, then transferred to Sauternes white wine barrels for a further year
A bold, strong dark ale edging toward a quadrupel style beer
by L’Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont
The classic strong dark Trappist ale from the Chimay Trappist Monastery
An interesting Belgian Quad that has a little bit of imperial stout about it
A Boreft Festival beer from last year, this is a Belgian style quadruple with South American Tonka Beans
De Molen's 'Beautiful & Ruthless' is part quadruple part imperial stout
by Brouwerij Emelisse/Slot-Oostende
The winter seasonal from Emelisse is an ABT/quadrupel. Each year they add a different ingredient - for 2015 they've added English liquorice
The quadrupel/ABT beer from the newest Trappist Monastery from Austria.
The new addition to the Gulden Draak label - a rich and boozy quadruple
A beer dedicated to the original brewmaster, the Gulden Draak Quadrupel has been aged in whiskey barrels
An award winning quad that kick-started the commercial brewing careers of two twin brothers
Formerly known as 'Kasteel Winter', this quadruple stands alone from the traditional Belgian Christmas beers relying on Belgian chocolate and coffee, rather than herbs and spices
The crown in the Kasteel beer range is their Cuvee du Chateau
An oaked Belgian quadrupel from Brasserie des Legends
A rich and boozy quadrupel, featuring Alvinne's Morpheus house yeast
by Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven
The top of the tree from Dutch Trappist Monastery La Trappe
A big-hitting Belgian quadrupel is the introduction to this Belgian brewing collective
by Brasserie Artisinale Millevertus
A big, rich and smooth Belgian quadrupel style, just the thing for a cool night by the fireplace
More like a traditional quadrupel than the Pannepot; brewed for the Dutch market.
One of the best Belgian beers you'll ever taste - so much flavour it's impossible to describe.
A Belgian quadruped brewed with Costa Rican coffee beans
Voted Belgium's 'Best Hobby Beer 2011', no in full-blown production
The grandfather of Trappist strong dark ales - does it get any better than this?
The showpiece quadrupel of the St Bernardus Brewery - as close to Westvleteren 12 as you can get without the real thing.
A bigBelgian Quad from one of Belgium's old family breweries - what's not to like!
The newest addition to the beer portfolio from the only active brewery still inside the city walls of Bruges.
The sister-beer to Pannepot, this quadrupel was first made for the Danish market
A dark blond quadrupel that has been aged in both St Emilion wine barrels and Kentucky Bourbon barrels
A delicious dark quadruple aged for three years in Woodford Reserve Bourbon barrels
A big Belgian quadruped aged in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels for two years
A big mouthful of flavour with this fiery quadruple, brewed in the La Trappe Monastery by one of Belgium's leading female brewers.
by Brasserie du l'Abbeye du Val-Dieu
A big, tasty quadrupel from the Val-Dieu abbey brewery
A delicious Belgian quadruped, aged in oak barrels with the addition of some port wine
by Trappistenbrouwerij De Kievit
Th second beer from the second Dutch Trappist Monastery is a rich Belgian quad of 10%
This smoked dopplebock is a collaboration between De Molen and Poch's Cervesa Artesana from Spain
21 grams of Cryo-hops per litre of beer for this wonderfully dank, resinous, fruity Imperial NEIPA
De Molen's 3,000th brew was this black barley wine with roasted wheat
A Berliner weisse with hibiscus flowers and fresh blueberries
A big, juicy American style double IPA, dry-hopped with Amarillo
An American-style Pale Ale-ish, featuring Columbus & Amarillo dry-hop
Another 2019 Boreft Festival Beer, this is an imperial stout with chocolate nibs and fresh mint
An American Strong Ale, a big malty body, lots of fruit flavours and a pleasant hop bitterness
A combination of English and German smoked malts combine in this rich, tasty dark treat
De Molen's annual spring time release is 'Day & Dew' - an IPA featuring a bevy of US hops and bergamot fruit
This Borefts Festival beer from 2018 is an imperial stout with amarene cherries, finished on cedar wood
A Boreft Festival beer from last year, this is a Belgian style quadruple with South American Tonka Beans
De Molen's first take on the currently trending north-east IPA
A Double IPA made for Boreft's, featuring hops from De Molen's own hop fields
De Molen's new core range Belgian Blond with Sorachi Ace hops
One of De Molen's Bereft Festival 2017 beers, this is a smoked Earl Grey IPA - heavy on the smoke and tea, light on the IPA!
A barley wine with smoked malt and three varieties of chillies. Different but delicious!
A simple, traditional style porter 'made they way porters used to be'
De Molen's take on a Belgian Tripel style - lots of sweet malt and generous hop bitterness
An English Strong Ale, like a smaller version of a Barley Wine
The flagship imperial stout from De Molen - 'Hell & Damnation'
De Molen's 'Hell & Damnation' Imperial Stout
De Molen's flagship imperial stout has been given a hazelnut twist
De Molen's 'Heaven & Earth' - s smoky, peaty Imperial Stout
This is a fun IPA from De Molen with extracts of vanilla, chocolate and orange
A DIPA with Sladek, Citra Cryo and Mosaic hops, plus the addition of hibiscus flowers
An imperial banana choco porter, this is one of the 2017 Borefts Festival beers from De Molen
Originally a one-off beer, this Imperial Hefeweizen has become an autumn seasonal regular
The spring seasonal offering from De Molen is technically an India Pale Lager
Essentially an American Pale Ale, with a decent caramel malt body
De Molen's 'Beautiful & Ruthless' is part quadruple part imperial stout
De Molen's 'Malt & Mocha' is their winter seasonal coffee imperial stout
De Molen's 2018 Boreft Festival '9+1' beer is an imperial stout with added aloe vera
An Imperil Stout with 5 different barley malts, flaked oats and hand roasted coconut flakes
This collaborative brew between De Molen and Omnipollo is an Imperial Pineapple IPA
A session bitter, nudging toward an IPA dry-hopped with Amarillo
One of De Molen special 'Bereft Festival' beers from 2016, a Red Rye Ale
A slightly sour imperial stout with walnut extract, caramel and salt, aged in Bowmore Whiskey barrels
A beer sitting between a pale ale and an IPA, celebrating 50 years of Maris Otter malt
An old-school IPA, the gift of De Molen's brew team to John Brus for his recent marriage to partner Petra
A delicious smoked dopplebock is the result of a collaboration between De Molen and Sound Brewery of Washing State USA
A tasty little red ale from De Molen, it has a fruity aroma, a sweet malty body with a sustained level of hop bitterness
De Molen's farewell to their European summer is this hoppy wheat ale
A light and refreshing summer style Berliner Weisse, dry-hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra hops
De Molen's summer Berliner Weisse for 2019 is fruited with cranberries
'Explain in detail' is a cross between a pale ale and a farmhouse ale
De Molen's Imperial Porter - all the sweetness and complexity of an imperial stout, without the roasted bitterness
A blend of two of De Molen's imperial stouts, then aged in various barrels, blended again and spiked with a wild Brettanomyces yeast
A NEIPA by De Molen with Cryo Citra, Lemondrop, Simcoe and Mosaic hops
A classic Belgian style saison, with a twist - dry-hopped with Cascade & Amarillo
A bottom fermented India Pale Lager, dry-hopped with Simcoe & Citra hops
A saison with winter-type spices added including timut and szechuan peppers, mustard seeds and juniper
A refreshing India Pale Lager, dry-hopped with Cascade for a fruity, bitter bite
This weizenbock with passionfruit and Tango hops is a perfect spring beer
A massive Imperial Stout, with loads of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee
A collaboration between De Molen and Reketye (HUN), this dopple bock features smoked malts and smoked paprika powder
A collaboration between De Molen and Beavertown (UK) sees a beery take on the traditional Gin & Tonic