Ommegang Brewing Co. - Three Philosophers

When I want a nice Belgian ale for drinking, I look to Chimay or Hoegaarden as my staple beers. Both are tasty in their own ways and satisfy my urge for Belgian beers. But there's much more to Belgian beers besides the typical abbey ales. Every so often, one may want something outside the ordinary. This is where the delicious Three Philosophers comes in. Three Philosophers is a Belgian quadruppel, a very strong Belgian ale weighing in at 9.8% ABV.

Some claim that the terms dubel,  tripel  and quadrupel  used to refer to the number of Xs stamped on beer barrels, each X denoting increasing gravity and potency. So a dubel would have double Xs, or XX, and a triple would be XXX, and so forth. Our friend, the Three Philosophers, weighs in at a XXXX strength. Not for the faint of heart.

The beer itself comes in a typical trappist bomber, with a curvy neck and a cork held in by a wire cage (like you'd find on sparkling white wine bottles.) Twist off the wire cage, gently work the cork out (which is under pressure, so don't point it at your eyeballs or anything else), and let the beer breathe for a few moments. Pour this beer into a chalice glass...

...and notice the carbonation and murky amber color. Let the beer sit for a moment and watch the little bubbles make their way to the top. There's a thin head on this beer, and I'm okay with that.

You can definitely taste the cherry in this beer. Since 2% of it is actual cherry, you get a full-mouth cherry flavor that's very pleasing. Yes, there's a taste of alcohol in this beer, but it's not overwhelming like Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut was. The beer tastes thick, strong, and lush. There is some alcohol sweetness to it, with a touch of brown sugar, and it has a sweet, sugary finish. Definitely Belgian, definitely tasty. One word of caution: this beer is great, but strong. You may not want to drink a whole bottle by yourself.