Unmapped Quadruplication Quadruple

Unmapped Quadruplication Quadruplel. 10% ABV. Unmapped Brewing, Minnetonka, MN.

Last Sunday, I stopped into Unmapped Brewing in Minnetonka for the first time, thanks, again, to Jason. I didn't have my notebook and my phone that I use for a camera had run out of power, so I couldn't document the visit for a Minnesota Breweries One by One. This would be, and will be, #120, by the way. I did a flight of four (Topo Wit, Saison Amelie, Mind the Map ESB, and Apricot Sour), and a pint (No Trace IPA), but I decided to take this one home, instead. It might have been a risk, but I have full faith in brewer Derek Allmendinger. I've known him for a few years, before his brewing career (Schell's, Surly, Excelsior) began, and I think he knows what he's doing.

Clear, deep, dark crimson coloring, slim whitish head.

In the nose: sweet, candy-ish Belgian esters are streaming out of the glass....let's go in deep. Ripe, rich dark fruits, a touch of tart, ....figs, dates, raisins, all the good ones. A little vanilla, a touch of clove, and, I'm reluctant to admit this, but a part of me wants to say marshmallow. Honest.

I'm dying to taste it. So, in the mouth: Mmmm. Mmmm! Yeah. A wonderfully balanced, yet outsized beer, this one. Sweetness and dry, not overly anything. More of that rich, delicious dark fruit, dark malt flavor, minimal hops, and increasing alcohol. A little cocoa, some more of that ephemeral "marshmallow" I was thinking about, and oh, so good.

Quadruple is a flexible style. So many variations. Only constant, really, is big malt and big strength, plus Belgian yeast, and that je ne sais qui. Many interpretations go heavy on the malt, heavy on the booze, usually in the wrong direction. This one gets it done in a whole other way.

This is one of those beers that keeps me thinking while I'm drinking. I keep thinking new thoughts about it, new revelations unfold, new sensations trip off the tongue. A little bit of bubblegum below the dark, chocolatey malt. It's altogether delicious.

This is the big one! Like its sister-beer Disorientation, Quadruplication is brewed to honor the age-old traditions of the Trappist monks. Darker malts and dark candi sugar are used to craft a full bodied ale with a deep chestnut color. As this beer warms up, it grows in flavor complexity- each sip offers a new experience. Hints of caramel, plum, grape, and licorice can be noted in different stages of its journey.