Quadrupel beer

What is quadruple beer?

Quadrupel beer is actually barley wine, better known as barley wine. Quadrupel is a strong beer with a high alcohol percentage of around 10%. Quadrupel beer has a low to medium hop bitterness, and when tasting, especially malty flavors come to the fore with this dark beer.

History of quadruple beer

Quadrupel does not have a very long history and therefore belongs to one of the younger types of beer. While other types of beer have existed for centuries, the quadrupel has only been around since 1991, when the La Trappe brewery (one of the two Trappist breweries) gave the name 'quadrupel' to their barley wine. Despite the fact that La Trappe launched the beer type in 1991, we cannot say that quadrupel beer actually originated in the Netherlands. Barley wine was previously drunk in various countries. So La Trappe was actually only the first to use the term 'quadrupel' for the heaviest beer.

Quadrupel beer is therefore also known as a barley wine. Why barley wine? This is due to the high alcohol percentage of 10% on average, which is close to the amount of alcohol in wine. And because beer contains barley, such strong beers are also called 'barley wine'.

“Although the La Trappe brewery gave the name quadrupel to its barley wine, this type of beer has already been drunk in various countries.”

brewing process

Quadrupel is a top-fermented beer, just like all other Trappist beers. Because the beer has matured in the bottle, sediment often remains behind, which can also end up in the beer glass. You can drink this sediment without any problems. Quadrupel beer has a dark copper color and is generally quite clear.

More malt is used in quadrupel than in double and triple beer, which makes the taste even fuller and stronger. The alcohol percentage is 10% and this is also reflected in the taste. In this type of beer, especially malt flavors are clearly present, and the hop bitterness is low to medium. If you are a true lover of rich flavours, quadrupel beer is the best invention of the 20th century!

What's good with a quadruple?

Quadrupel beer therefore has a complex taste with a clear presence of malt and alcohol. In this type of beer you can actually taste everything, from caramel to dark fruit and from spices to brown sugar. Quadrupel has full, round tones and gives a very alcohol-warming mouthfeel. It is therefore important that there are strong flavors against this type of beer:

• Red meats: a good example is venison steak, which goes very well with a quadruple.
• Spareribs: a good balance, so definitely combine!
• Tarte tartin with blue cheese: the powerful taste of this combination is a good match for quadruple beer.