• Kristin Hubbard
• On February 27, 2013

10.00%

When I looked outside at the forming white blanket my only concern was what brew could satisfy my cold spirit? I want big + I want malty + I want boozy. Luckily, I had a New Belgium Cascara Quad in my fridge. I’d been saving this (inexpensive) gem for the right time and today’s much needed snow offered a sweet reason to make it mine.

This heavily malted, dry fruit spiced brew pairs its booziness with notes of cherry + coffee + a metallic flavor.  The warming effect gives away to a slight head high leaving me wondering if it’s the strong sweet flavor I enjoy or the overwhelming heat from the alcohol. Surprisingly the beer finishes dry. For a quad a lot of booze is to be expected but I feel the best quads I’ve had are able to hide their 10%+ percentage’s with complimentary flavors whereas this one is exaggerated with the overwhelming booziness of the malts. There’s a ton of heat in this mix, almost making me wish I could’ve held onto it for another year or so for the next snow storm. Maybe I’ll grab another and see if it smoothes/calms down a little.