Brouwerij De Halve Maan ‘Straffe Hendrik’ Quad

Rating:

image“Tall Hendrik Quadrupel, launched in 2010, can be described as a rich beer, intensely dark and resounding in taste”.

There’s always a lot to admire about a big, rich and complex Quad. Especially when it’s brewed to a strict Belgian family recipe for well over 150 years. We really like their strip too, there isn’t a great deal to it but it’s very distinguished and it certainly caught out eye. We served in a beer tulip as the murky brown pour produces a short compacted head that collapsed to a collar with average lacing. The aroma is rich, complex and syrupy with cloying sweetness. Molasses, nougat, carob, brown sugar, port, raisin, nuts, spice, vanilla and plum all work together to offer this complex and moreish aroma. Just mind blowing how unique and pungent this is. The mouth feel is creamy and full bodied with mild carbonation. The palate is simply amazing, displaying brilliant length to the back end. Each sip the flavour starts small and literally opens up on the palate. Molasses, caramel, vanilla, roasted malts, dried fruits, spice with a firm alcoholic warmth (11% ABV) are all amongst it. It’s like a big, alcoholic Christmas cake in liquid form. It’s amazing how the Belgians cram so much flavour and complexity in to a beer without muddling any of it up. One is definitely enough but it just has to be consumed to understand. Excellent quad here, Belgium….we love you.