4x4 Belgian Quad

One might not expect to find a Belgian-style quadrupel in Northern Ontario, but that just what one gets when one cracks a 471mL can of 4x4 Belgian Quad, a 10.5% offering from Sudbury’s Stack Brewing.

First off, I should probably address what was, for me at least, the elephant in the room: a quad in a can?! I was pretty wary, but I persevered, dear reader, because I owe it to my art!

Stack’s quad was a fairly dark entry—it started pouring a walnut brown and just kept getting darker as my glass filled up. Atop this dark brown ale resided a slight cap of loose tan head. 4x4 had a pretty feisty aroma, characterized by a generous measure of malt, fruitcake, and a bit of spice. On the flavour side of the equation, I found many of those same sweet notes, but also leather and a slightly tangy fruit finish reminiscent of a red wine. It is in the finish that one gets the first real indication of how strong this stuff actually is.

All things considered, 4x4 was a pretty cheeky offering from one of Ontario’s unsung brewing bests, though not nearly their best work. First off, I have a bit of a hard time classing this as a quad—it has the strength and some of the right flavour elements, but it lacks the heady funk that comes with Belgian yeast. For me, this beer was closer to a barley wine or some other genre of winter ale. But classification aside, I found this brute to be a relatively tasty effort. It didn’t have the full-bodied texture I was hoping for, but the flavour was interesting and many-layered.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.