Malheur 12° and the Quadruple Fermented Ale

Malheur 12 is a Belgian Quadruple from the De Landtsheer Brewery in Buggenhout, Belgium. De Landtsheer is a relatively new brewery, founded in 1997. The brewmaster started out his career growing hops, but coming from a long line of brewers he decided to become one himself. Malheur is the brewery's series of beers and the number represents the ABV. The brewery only uses whole, fresh hops of the Hallertauer, Saaz, and Styrian variety. De Landtsheer also distributes the Westemalle Trappist beers. 

Quadruples are Belgium's version of a barley wine or strong dark ale. Quadruple refers to the brewing process where sugar was added four separate times to continue fermentation, this also includes bottle fermentation. Many Belgian Quads are also open air fermented. The beer is placed in shallow fermenters and air-borne yeast is allowed to cultivate in the beer.

I bought this on tap at Pangaea Two Brews Cafe. It has an ABV of 12%.

The beer pours a dark, opaque brown with a big head that quickly dissipates. The aroma is subtle with hints of dark fruit, big malts and some spice. The taste is sweet with the big roasted malts up front followed a complex mix of dark fruits, spice, alcohol and gentle, mild hops.Its very nicely carbonated - the bubbles help play the flavors off each other for a great balance. It's medium bodied although it would feel thicker if not for the carbonation.

This is a really good beer and a Must Have It. My girlfriend who hates the taste of hops, really liked this style. It has a rich complex flavor that's not heavy handed.