“9.8% Rhum Raisins Quadrupel with a rich malt complexity, which leaves it thicker than the Trappist versions. For the eyes, a dark brown colour with dark red reflexes and a clear brown foam. For the smell and taste, delicious dark fruity esters and smooth balance between alcohol and malts. The label refers to the vision of rails after leaving the Train des Ridéra table.”

Glassware: Trappist Chalice.

Appearance: Very elegant looking beer; ultra deep mahogany with a short but finely beaded tan head which does its best to hold together. Wavy lace clings to the glass as it ebbs.

Aroma: If we were blindfolded it wouldn’t be the easiest of guesses what we had here as the typical Quad features are squeezed out by the rich rum and raisin. Strong spicy notes of clove, star anise and black pepper, dark fruits i.e cherry, blood plum, cranberry, dates and figs, toasted granola, ink, cooking chocolate, candi sugars and bubblegum. Wow!

Flavour: Well it’s no secret that the richness carries over from the nose. Very earthy, very complex notes of dark fruit, burnt toffee and peppery spice gets things underway. More of the sweeter dark fruits and caramelised orchard fruits huddles up around them. Then retro-nasally we get a lot of molasses, rum and raisin, candi sugars, lightly roasted malt and cooking chocolate. We could keep going but it could end up as an essay!

Mouthfeel: Rich, creamy and luxurious. Finely carbed and medium bodied. The 9.8% ABV reveals itself a little but it’s generally well behaved.

Overall: Definitely one for the die hard Belgian beer fans. Even though it’s only a 330ml bottle it was getting quite copious by the end. A very respectable offering all the same.