Posts Tagged ‘Belgian quad’

Brewery: Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
Location: Cambridge, MA
Style: Belgian Quad

When it comes to beer buying, the OAB HQ can be real suckers for a couple of things. Call it “artisanal” and we’re probably going to buy it. Have a strange or interesting or bold label, and we’re probably buying it. Have both – we’re definitely buying.

So, we ended up bring back two bottles from the Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project on our Western Mass. road trip. The first up is Pretty Things Baby Tree Quad brewed with dried plums.

This is a majorly dark beer. Deep ruby color with a medium amount of carbonation. The head was a bit thin and fell rather quickly. A big Belgian malty/sugary/fruity scent leaps from the glass. This is a big sweet ale with a solid fruitiness. It’s not exactly plummy – more like the plum adds a fruitiness to the overall flavor. There is a slight bitterness under the big sweetness that is a welcome change from many purely sweet quads. You can certainly taste the 8.6% ABV – a little harsh at times but it mellows as the ale breathes. This is a lovely artisanal ale and one I look forward to trying again sometime.

One note on the use of the term “artisanal” as opposed to the usual “craft”. I believe all artisanal beers are craft but only some craft beers are artisanal. It’s mostly a matter of production scale and techniques. A home brewer is working the artisanal side of brewing. A company like Dogfish Head may employ the experimentation of an artisan brewery, but their scale places them in a craft category. I know it’s a hair split, but one I might explore further some other time. What is important here is Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project demonstrates a devotion to the art of brewing that places them in world of artisanal brewing.

I haven’t really done much of a restock lately to the cellar. We’ve been a bit too busy around OAB HQ drinking various foamybeers – our own line of brews. A recent trip to pick up more brewing supplies lead us to drop by Oliver’s discount Beverage in Albany. so, the latest beerventory…

Growlers
Cave Mountain Hefeweizen (bought at the brewery on $8 browler Sundays)

6 packs
Widmer Drop Top Amber Ale
Widmer Drifter Pale Ale
Saranac Summer Brew
Wolaver Ben Gleason’s White Ale
Sherwood forest Friar’s Belgian White ale
Boulder Brewing Hazed & Infused
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

12 Pack
Smutty Nose Sampler featuring Shoals Pale Ale, Old Brown Dog, IPA and Robust Porter

Bombers
Long Trail Brewmasters Series Double IPA
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Amber Ale
Arcadia Ales Cocoa Loco
Arcadia Ales Cereal Killer
Southern Tier Jah-Va Imperial Coffee Stout
Southern Tier Iniquity Black Ale
Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale
Smuttynose Gravitation Belgian Quad
Ommegang Biere de Mars
He’Brew Jewbelation 12
Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale
Flying Dog Wild Dog Weizenbock