Well, what we have here is a Quad coming out of the only authentic Trappist brewery in Austria. Quite a milestone when you consider there are only 10 authentic Trappist breweries in the world. Other than Holland and Belgium, Austria is the only other European country that can carry the label. The only non-European brewery that carries the label comes from the USA.
Served in a beer tulip the murky dark brown pour produced a tight 1 finger beige head that slowly fades and settles to a fine layer over the top. Laced well. Really dense and viscous aroma here, it feels like you could cut it with a knife. Big syrupy notes of banana, honey, caramel, fig, dates, and brown sugar are somewhat thinned out by soft hints of spice, alcohol, pear and brine. So complex. Creamy, almost glutinous mouth feel with mild carbonation. Full bodied. Upfront it’s cloyingly sweet, almost vinegary as it’s showcasing sharp booze astringency (9.7% ABV) and an intricate malt profile to balance. The mid-palate offers up spicy overtones while dormant hints of treacle and honey move forward to deliver a rich, sticky finish with lingering chocolate on the back end. As far as complexity goes this quad is a winner, so many flavours crammed into one beer make this very quaffable but far from sessional. Shout out to Österreich you certainly deserve the Trappist label.