Brewery: Three Taverns Brewery
Location: Decatur, GA
Brew: Quasimodo
Merchant: Taps Craft Beers and Growlers
Service: 750 ml bottle
Style: Belgian Style Quadruple
Color: Brown (36 SRM)
IBU: 48
ABV: 10%
Temp: Chilled only to 50º
Smell: A very nice, sweet aroma rich in fig, dates and spices
Pour: Quasimodo didn’t pour much head—a sign of low carbonation—but that’s fairly common with Belgian Quads. I love the color. On its way out of the bottle the color is dark red and turns brown as the beer collects in the glass. I chose an “oversized wine glass” style (yes that’s a real thing) because it can both trap the aroma and accommodate my big nose. (Sidenote: any large snifter or tulip glass will work just as well.)
This beer is refermented in the bottle. That’s a fancy way of saying there is a pile of dead yeast sediment at the bottom. Pour the second glass easy and stop just in time to leave that in the bottle. It won’t hurt you—it’s harmless—but it is sweet and will make your glass cloudy. You should have a half-inch of beer at the bottom.
Lastly, before partaking, I held it up to the light. This brew looks fantastic.
Taste:The first drag is very sweet with an alcohol bite. While that booziness is immediately present and warm it is surprisingly not overpowering. This is a big, full-bodied beverage for the bold.
After going in a few more sips a subtle roasty-toastiness comes out that is part oak, part caramel and all delicious. Once it’s on you palate for a while there are date, raisin and cherry flavors that really pop and the hops finally start to bitter. Both overwhelm the early booziness and make that aspect much more subtle.
The low carbonation is really nice and contributes to a silky smooth mouthfeel. For such a monster Quasimodo is amazingly sexy.
Pair with: A plate of strong cheeses, sausages and crackers
3 caps
Wayne Pelletier
September 1991. I drew from a tall, golden, hazy glass of a fresh and local hefeweizen in Bamberg Germany. Since then I've tasted more than a thousand brews. Here in the Greater Atlanta area we're pretty fortunate. Our local heavies: SweetWater, Atlanta Brewing and Terrapin all do world-class work. But the scene goes much, much deeper. That's where I like to find fresh pints. The goal is to draw attention to those finds on a 3-cap scale. Three seems simple but that isn't to say everything is great, average or terrible. Quite the contrary is the reality. I have come across very few craft/micro beers that are just no good. I assume these are all good beverages brew by good people with good intentions and you should as well. If I cross paths with a local brew that is truly terrible I won’t waste your time, or mine, writing a review. 3 CAPS: Hurry. This is a rare brew worth going out of your way to find. I swear it. 2 CAPS: A very good beer. Stands out as great in the style. 1 CAP: A decent brew that is average for the style. Prost!