Bruery Terreux - Quadrupel Tonnellerie (2016)

This 2016 barrel-fermented quadrupel with blackberries is packed with sweet caramel, dark fruit, fig, and soft oak, while Belgian yeast esters and bold acidity complement the oak and fruit. Quadrupel Tonnellerie pours a deep cherry-brown color, capped by light-tan foam. Generous aromatics of tart cherry and blackberry character land first, expanding into bright red fruit, complex tangy acidity, and a mouthwatering sweet/sour vibe overall. Definitely not a conventional quad profile at this point, and instead packed with fresh berries and tartness.

There’s complex, vinous acidity forming the core here, emphasizing blackberry and cherry. A potent, complex tartness and nice underlying warmth from the barrel lead, offering toasty oak and vanilla and almond. Those barrel contributions go great with the blackberries, plus hints of brown sugar and caramelized maltiness at the core. Certainly not a traditional quad in this final form, but a great showcase of berries and acidity alongside subtle darker malts.

The fruit expression is still quite potent in this, and we can see it aging smoothly for another couple years; delicious right now. The emphasis on tart fruits and berries have us thinking of roasted turkey or brie.

What The Bruery has done for beer in Orange County, California, while impressive, is just a part of their contribution to the greater brewing landscape. Once just a confusingly named, obscure little brewery from a curiously named little Southern California town, The Bruery is now known to the majority of beer geeks across the country and beyond. They’ve continued to develop their extensive barrel-aging program, launched the Bruery Terreux line, opened The Tasting Room at Bruery Terreux in Anaheim, and ultimately become one of the most respected breweries in the nation. They’ve even recently added a third Bruery location: The Bruery Store at Union Market in Washington, DC, establishing a wee East Coast outpost.

As a result of their unbridled creativity and skilled brewing practices, The Bruery’s beers are still some of the most highly coveted out there, period. It was back in 2009 that they released the beer that took the brewing community by storm: Black Tuesday, a massive imperial stout (clocking in around 20% ABV) aged in bourbon barrels for well beyond a year. Hugely oaky, rich, velvety smooth, and borderline nourishing, it caused both a stir and an annual tradition. The demand for this stout led people to drive and/or fly from hundreds (or even thousands) of miles away.

A handful of breweries have managed to take the “limited-release” concept as far as The Bruery has done with their beers, with annual vintages that sell out in a single day. Some folks have even gone one step further, creating the release equivalent of a serial novel, as The Bruery did with its recently completed 12 Days of Christmas series of annual beers.