Badwolf Brewing Co. - "Cyngus X1 Grand Cru" quadrupel

Hot on the heels of my review of Arthur Guinness & Co's really neat double extra stout, here's an interesting bottle I grabbed back in July - it's a hefty Belgian-style quadrupel ale from Manassas, Virginia's own Badwolf Brewing Co. Clocking in at 11.50% ABV, it's a bit too heavy for summer drinking but works well with a cool, crisp, late October evening. Or perhaps something to warm you up in this deep freeze we have been experiencing!

I was first drawn to it, in the shelf at D'Vines because of the moniker on the label: "the first beer that ever mattered." Now, I wonder if they're referring to the first of THEIR beers that ever mattered, or the first beer in general that mattered. In any event, a tall order, so let's see what's under the hood.

Today's bottle is a Belgian quadrupel - as noted in previous posts, this name is related to the strength of the beer...in olden days, casks would be marked with an X to denote strength. So this would be four Xs, while lighter variants are dubbels and tripels, terms still used today. How widespread this practice was is I don't know, but it's made its way into beer terminology. I've had quads before, and am a big fan: the best example is a fine Belgian quad from Boulevard, the Bourbon Barrel Quad. This one has been aged for three months in barrels from A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, VA, and the 12.68oz bottle comes coated with a thick layer of black wax over the top. Took me quite a bit to pull that wax off, actually.

Upon pouring (into my commemorative SAVOR glass, no less) a powerful nose of puckery wood sour is generated. Very strong and projects well over two feet away. The eye is a really pleasing deep reddish-brown color, and there's very little foam generated.

First flavors that hit your tongue are caramel, along with some toffee - nicely in balance and quite powerful. For being a powerhouse, it's velvety smooth and lacks any overpowering alcohol flavors. There's some "booziness", a term used to describe the quality of heavy beers, often with a sweetness from alcohol, but this beer doesn't overdo it. Again, another surprise given the fact it's almost the strength of wine. It finished up with the toffee, and that most welcome wave of boozy sweetness.

This is serious, and perfectly done. What strikes me the most is its uniformity - the flavors are both identifiable yet blended, and the formidable alcohol is hidden. There's no unwelcome textures or flavors and it's like a wave of warm, woody goodness. It's $9.99 for the bottle, so definitely still in the realm of affordability and well worth the cost in my opinion. I'd even pay more for this. Seek it out if you can! Perhaps buy two - drink one now and age one for next year.

Nota bene: I have actually started working at D'Vines part-time. Rest assured that the shop has never provided me a discount or anything in exchange for mentioning them on this blog; it's merely a great place to pick up good beer.