Lambda Brett-Barrel Aged Quardrupel

Lambda Brett-Barrel Aged Quardrupel comes from Bellwoods Brewery, my friendly neighbourhood suds provider. It comes in a really nice looking 500mL bottle with a monkish stained glass theme. A Belgian-style quad, this stuff contains a jumbo 11% alcohol. Sure, this beer is really strong, but at $12 a pop at the brewery's bottle shop, I feel like it might be a tad over-priced.

Lambda is a very dark brown ale. It pours with a thin wisp of tan head. Its strong aroma shouts tart fruit notes from the rafters. I expected that aging this brew in barrels with brettanomyces would give this Belgian-style strong ale a funky sour kick, but it's actually sweet and syrupy above all else. The initial flavours are of port, raisin, and fruitcake. The wild yeast does definitely contribute to the finish, though. The brew closes out with some sour apple and red grape notes.

This is a deceptively strong beer. The jumbo percentage is largely cloaked by the big, sweet, malty flavour. This intriguing strong (STRONG) beer is a neat Ontario take on the quad style, though I feel like it could have benefited from a touch more balance away from sweetness on the finish.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.