SQUARING THE CIRCLE WITH “THE SIXTH GLASS”

I made a big beer trade two months ago in order to land the entire BOULEVARD BREWING “Smokestack Series” of special-run, one-time-only beers. There were 4 in all: a saison, an IPA, a tripel and a quadrupel. Astute readers may remember that me and a couple of pals knocked out 3 of the 4 in one fell swoop – the results are posted here. Would the final beer, a quadrupel called THE SIXTH GLASS, be able to best the “LONG STRANGE TRIPEL”? Could it actually score a hallowed 9, 9.5 or 10 on the 10 scale? I decided to find out one evening at home. Armed with Season 3 of “The Wire” and my Chimay glass, I went to work. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy assignment. At 10.5% alcohol, THE SIXTH GLASS is a live one. A hot one, too – a beer that immediately smacks the taste buds with that eye-watering fusel alcohol taste. That’s a taste I’ll never get used to, and part of the reason I’m not much of a spirit drinker. I don’t like it in beer and never have, and I love it when a double-digit ABV beer finds creative ways of balancing that taste out of the equation. This one did not. It’s a beautiful amber brown color, with a medium-syrupy texture that unfortunately is not smooth of “fluffy” enough. I like my Belgian-style beers to be pillowy and/or well-balanced overall, and despite some pretty intense yeasty tastes, this one just did not do it for me. It’s a shame – out of the 4 beers, two were excellent, and two weren’t very good at all. This falls into the latter camp. 5.5/10.