Nøgne Ø (w/ Mallaskoski & Põhjala Brewery)

Nøgne Ø’s Belgian Triangle is a collaboration beer with Mallaskoski in Finland and Põhjala Brewery in Estonia. Brewed with raisins and oats, and aged for four months in American whiskey barrels, this is an impeccably smooth release from the folks at Nøgne Ø.

Belgian Triangle pours a dark brown core with maple-syrup edges, its modest medium-tan head confined to the perimeter. Dark caramel and warming vinous red fruits lead the bold aromatics, opening up to toasty bourbon and soft oak. Nicely charred bitterness. There’s a subtle carbonation balancing out layer upon layer of brown sugar and charred caramel, just decadent amounts of raisin character and dried dark fruits. For a quadrupel, this goes light on Belgian-y esters in favor of more caramelized malt complexity alongside the sweetness of the raisins. The whiskey-barrel character is a perfect addition beside that caramelly core. The finish of this quad seems to last forever: packed with candied sugars, dates, figs.

Like most of the beers in this Rare Beer Club special offer, there’s plenty of aging potential in this 14% quad. Belgian Triangle is tasting silky smooth at the moment, but this seems to offer a lot of sturdiness over the next year or more. For pairings: the caramelization plus a toasted bourbon note has us looking to roasted pork—maybe charred barbecued ribs.