Last bits of winter – A Barrel Aged ABV Monster from Alvinne!
This beer is a 12.8% red-wine barrel-aged quadrupel from Brouwerij Alvinne. Note for all the readers out there, red-wine barreled quadrupels, stouts, or whatever, are usually not quite my cup of tea. Knowing we finally slowly got rid of the last bits of snow here in Finland, but it is still cold out there, I was eager to try this one. It has a dark brown color with a little redness.
My first note is definitely the red wine. A strong red wine note. The kind of red wine that has notes of dried fruits with a little bit of sourness to it. Then comes the maltiness. It is not those sweet notes you sometimes may get in red wine-infused beers. This is sour, but also unfortunately feels a bit watered down. Like the football match you wait for all week, and when it’s finally go-time, the game ends up being a 0-0 dull fest. Or the event you go to, but you feel something is missing from the vibe, but you cannot quite tell what it is.
This is definitely an “alone” kind of beer. It is not something that will cheer you up when you are enjoying a social night out, nor is it a beer that you will chug seven and call it a fun night later. This is a beer you slowly sip down, tasting all the notes of the beer, figuring out if you like it or not. Not an easy drinker. Not something I would have on a first date or bring to my best friend’s whenever we are having some time together.
This beer was not for me, but I’m eager for you to try it and see whether you like it or not. Barrel-aged beers are hit or miss, and you can’t tell if you’ll like them until you try.
