Robin Shepard
For 30 years the Sprecher Brewery has built a reputation for solid German lagers. Its flagship Special Amber (a Vienna lager) and Black Bavarian (a schwarzbier) are testaments to that. “But we think our Belgians match up with anybody’s,” says brewmaster Craig Burge. I have to agree. The beer Burge made to celebrate the brewery’s three decades in business is called “Sprecher XII,” and it delivers as one of the biggest and boldest Belgians around, a brew that craft beer enthusiasts simply refer to as a “quad.”
What is it? Sprecher XII by Sprecher Brewing Company of Glendale.
Style: The Belgian quadruple is the strongest in a series of Trappist styles, beginning with the single (better known as an abbey), the dubbel (double) and the tripel (triple). Quads are the strongest of the Belgian beers, often over 10% ABV. It’s a dark beer that ranges from black to deep red or garnet, with a rich bold maltiness that combines with yeasty hints of raisin, dates, figs, grapes and plums. The quad is not hoppy. It’s known for alcoholic warmth and a complex sweetness, with wine and liquor-like characteristics.
Background: This is the first time that Sprecher has offered a Belgian quadruple. “I’ve never had the chance to make one, but I felt that our 30th anniversary was the perfect time,” says Burge. He drew upon his travels throughout Belgium during the mid-1990s to construct the recipe.
The name “XII” is a reference to the historical designation used by 19th-century Trappist monks, who identified beers by numbers roughly corresponding to their original gravity, which is a measure of the unfermented wort. Burge makes XII with a lengthy list of European malts. To that big grist bill he adds Belgian candi sugar to boost the beer’s strength, which ends up at 10.5% ABV. The beer is aged for six months; five of those are with bourbon-soaked oak spirals. Spirals are long pieces of oak, cut or lacerated in a spiral to maximize the amount of wood that comes into contact with the beer. XII is fermented with a Belgian yeast. “I spent the better part of a year doing pilot batches to determine what we liked and what we didn’t,” says Burge.
The beer is sold in four-packs for around $11. Sprecher turned out only about 80 barrels, and about half of that amount was packaged in four-packs, with the rest going into kegs for draught distribution. While it’s been somewhat problematic to find 12-ounce bottles in Madison, you should still watch for it in the city’s craft beer taphouses. You can also find it at Sprecher’s Restaurant and Pub in Middleton in bottles. I got my four-pack at Riley’s Wines of the World. It will also be served at this weekend’s Isthmus Beer and Cheese Festival in Madison.
If you like Belgian Quads, or if you want to learn more about them, this Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. the Malt House on Madison’s east side is having a special tasting that will feature Sprecher XII, Todd from Lakefront Brewery, Centraal Quadder from Central Waters Brewery, and the well-known Belgian dark-strong ale Grand Reserve (Blue) from Chimay. Also, the Parched Eagle will debut a version called Stella on Friday night at the brewpub in Westport. And the Great Dane Pub and Brewery just brewed a quadruple and is expected to release it in mid-February.
Tasting notes:
Aroma: Firm maltiness with raisin and plum. There’s also a light hint of citrus in the background.
Appearance: A deep bronze-mahogany that’s almost black. A thin, soft, bubbly brown head.
Texture: Full-bodied with an alcohol warmth that builds from the start and remains through the finish.
Taste: Smooth, dark-roasted maltiness. Lots of spicy plum and raisin sweetness.
Finish/Aftertaste: A yeasty plum sweetness follows, with lots of warmth. There’s a very inviting ending that calls to you to drink another glass.
Glassware: The tulip glass celebrates the color and soft head of Sprecher XII. It’s also nice way to encourage sipping of such a big and bold beer.
Pairs well with: This Belgian quadruple’s rich sweetness makes it a very good dessert beer. If you’re looking for a cheese pairing, the earthiness of a soft-ripened Camembert will bring out the yeastiness of the XII, or, if you want to complement the sweetness of the dark fruits, match it with an extra dark and semi-sweet Belgian chocolate (not a super-sweet chocolate, because that will compete with the grape and plum notes in the beer).
The Verdict: I really enjoy the warmth and sweetness of Belgian quadruples; they’re great beers for a Wisconsin winter. Sprecher XII, with its background notes of plum, figs, caramelized sugar and syrup-like molasses all blended together, really fills the bill for a bold and flavorful version of the style. Compared to other big Belgian beers like Chimay Blue or the quadruple St. Bernardus Abt 12, Sprecher’s XII has a little more body; it’s sweeter and richer in dark fruit accents. If you can find it in a four-pack, try aging it — it’s an excellent beer for that. Brewery founder Randy Sprecher plans to, and will do vertical tastings, cellaring some of the bottles for at least a decade. If that’s the case, I’m really looking forward to Sprecher’s 40th anniversary!
