Herevana – Bootleg – Belgian Firings-Quad
Bootleg Belgian Firings-Quad. Double down from the Dubbel I just had, of course, why go the one when you can go them all.
Bootleg Brewery Ltd make the Bootleg Belgian Firings-Quad in the lovely Matangi, Waikato, New Zealand, and this one is a Quadrupel / Abt with an ABV of 8.6% and 20 IBU, this 500ml bottle is 3.4 standard drinks in NZ
Beer born on the 7th September according to the label. It’s had it’s time 🙂
Quad’s the top of the tree perhaps, the big one. It’s a hard act to follow on from the Rum-Burgundy I just had, and that was some beer.
This one has a much more interesting aroma on opening, it’s like a ready yeasty note. Interesting.
Polished veneer colour pour that sits lot redder in the glass. No head to speak of, a scant film perhaps.
There’s nothing really in the aroma on the glass that leaps out, that’s not a bad thing though.
So, there’s a race up front, the alcohol tang wins. It is a quite a big wall of noise to pick through.
This is a ‘straight up’ Quadrupel then, this is it, it’s all there is, live and die.
The big reset then, no searching for a thing, the adjunct, just let’s do a beer. Let’s go an unusual beer, one you don’t see in NZ that often, either too hard or too unpopular.
There is quite a lot of sweetness into this, there is also a bit of deeper hoppier rift going on, which is quite interesting to find.
What you are missing is that this is pretty strong beer, and that you’re into whirlpool. The one where you sup an sip and find yourself drawn in closer and into a kind of euphoria and love.
There’s a lot to like, but I don’t think this is quite the money, That is very subjective though, as there’s not like a lot of beers that you can compare this too, and there’s certainly not a fridge full of beers you could side-by-side this against. Which is where you end in that you have to think about this beer what you think about this beer.
I’m missing a lot of things on reflection, that dark fruit, the stronger malt notes. and this might have veered off track a bit. It is like it wants to have a foot in two camps, and that makes it a little less.
Having said all that, it is deceptively easy and nice drinking and really brings you into what it is.
The Pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a 8 on the arbitrary number scale. I like the sweeter Dubbel more than this, but that might just be me. I’m not sure about this being complete or rounded, I just don’t have the ability to recall other Quads and make a subjective declaration. But I’m pretty sure this isn’t it, there’s not enough of the yeastiness, or that dark steeped fruits that bring quite a lot to the style.
Music . The Nightingales – Mind over Matter. Sounds like they’re having a good old time.
Herevana beers are those I drink at home, I’m not at some beer festival, like, for instance, Beervana, but am just in my kitchen, usually, dining room table, sometimes, or outside, occasionally, where I can take an average picture and write in real time about the beer that I’ve invested in, both in a monetary and emotional way.
Philip himself.
Boozy, indulgent……more belgian hybrid action from the small batch fermenters – this is another one that pushes boundaries.
Brewers Notes
Quadrupel / Abt
The Quadrupel, or Abt is a dark, complex, rich, smooth and dangerous strong Belgian ale with a delicious blend of malt richness, dark fruit flavors, and spicy elements. Like a larger dubbel, with a fuller body and increased malt richness. Not as bitter or hoppy as a tripel, but of similar strength. They sometimes tend to be drier than Belgian Strong Dark Ale, which can be rather sweeter.
A life just as ordinary 