I have been really impressed by the beers from Brouwerij De Meester. The first time I saw them, I really didn’t know what to expect. They don’t look very Belgian. And a bunch of the beers they brew are really in the traditional style of Belgian beers. The do however have some self-imposed strictures which are more Belgian.
They only use hops from their local Poperinge area and prioritise natural and organic ingredients. They only use natural brewing processes, without flavourings, artificial ingredients or foam improvers. And their reason for setting up was that they wanted to bring a brewery back to their town of Lendelede in West Flanders.
Here we have their Belgian Quadrupel – Douze. With a name that translates in English to ‘twelve’ I reckon this is a less-than-subtle nod to the famous Westvleteren 12. But let’s see.
It pours a lovely dark brown colour with a reddish tinge. The aroma is full of dried dark stone fruit, sweet caramel malt, brown sugar and a hint of booze.
The taste is not as sweet as the nose suggests, though it is still a rich sweet front end of caramel malt, brown sugar, raisins and dates, prunes or figs, but then a sharp roasted malt hint appears alongside some spicy bitterness that lifts the back end so that it is a reasonably dry, quite effervescent finish with that lingering peppery tingle.
Really interesting beer, very well done though the sharp flavours hint more at being a cross between a Belgian quad and an imperial stout which makes it stand out fron the crowd. Which is what you want to do!
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
A delicious bourbon barrel aged quadrupel, made for De Molens Boreft Festival
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%
An interesting Belgian Quad that has a little bit of imperial stout about it
