Pizza Port Mother of All Beers
Mother of All Beers is the biggest beer we make at Pizza Port Brewing Company in Solana Beach. This Belgian Style Quadruppel features many Belgian ingredients including dark candi sugar, roasted wheat, and Belgian Chocolate malt. This is the base beer for the Cuvee de Tomme without the cherries and aging in oak barrels!
3.9
210 reviews
Solana Beach, United States
Community reviews
I was loading all the beers in our boxes into a cooler for the RBSG grand tasting and I decided while I was at it I ought to load the box sitting next to ours in the cooler as well. The first bottle I pulled out was Mother of All Beers, shocked and concerned that I had revealed a trophy not yet to be unearthed I looked around to make sure no one had seen the treasure I had briefly revealed as I slipped it carefully back into the box. The owner of the bottle had his eye planted firmly on me and he told me to watch what I take out of that box. So kind was this good soul that later on when he opened the bottle he sought me out and poured me a glass. I forgot his name but thanks kindly for sharing this gem!
The beer pours a deep brown with a great head and some lace. The aroma is raisin and bourbon with a pile of rain drenched wood with nice earthy tones and some farmyard funkiness. The flavor is cherries with some bourbon vanillin. Notes of boozy port and sourness come through very nicely and are balanced by some chocolate maltiness. The beer is nicely dry and this bottle must have held up well, because it was very nice.
RBSG Tasting. Bit of fig, woody cardboardy cigar. A bit much caramel. Woody and quady sometimes, sometimes more chocolate rich.
I understand that there has been a lot of concern about how these bottles have held up over time, but the bottle at the RBSG Grand Tasting 2010 held up fine! Pours hazy red/brown, thin head, spotty lacing. Nose is sour cherries, oak, vanilla, spice, brandy, red fruits/licorice. Flavours are red fruit, root beer, candy, tart cherries, fairly long-lasting finish. Damned nice.
Bottle shared at the 2010 RBSG Grand Tasting, thanks to whoever shared this with me. Poured a hazy brown with an off-white head that lasted. Aroma had notes of both dark and light fruits with caramel, light chocolate and a bit of candied sugar present. Flavor had a hint of alcohol with dark fruits and chocolate, lightens with caramel, candied sugar and light fruits.
Bottle shared by Rciesla @ post NotB tasting. Alternate looking bottle to pictured bottle. Brown pour with tan head. Spices, sugars, oxidation, fruits, and paper notes. This beer was something, if you have a bottle open immediately, its not going to get better.
DRINK THESE NOW. Bottle, the original bottling of MOAB with the plastic transparent label. Pours an amber brune boyd with an off white head. Immediate aroma of oxidation moth, crab apple overripe fruits and paper, dam that SUCKS. Malty sweet with some under lying sweet fruit tones of plums, apples, and vinous chewy sugars. Sweet and malty again oxidation notes. I don’t think i could possibly drink this bottle at its current age, i frowned as i tried to drink more but to no avail, i am not a fan of oxidation notes at all. Please drink your bottle now if you have a later vintage! My score is probably inflated.
In short: A past due-date fruity and caramelized dark Belgian ale. Sad.
How: Post-EBF tasting session with East-coast crew
The look: Cloudy dark amber body topped by a beige ring of foam
In long: Lots of sweets ripe dark fruits, plenty of caramel, some port wine. An overall slight but very annoying sensation of decaying organic matter. I got all excited when someone opened that bottle. What a let-down. I hesitated to rate it but given that this is still a much sought-after beer that trades for killer beers I think it is only fair to say that jumping through hoops to acquire one those rare bottles is a risky move. This was probably great a few years ago. But what was once a desirable Mother of All Beers is not a decaying Grandmother of All Beers.
Bottle at Ryan’s hotel room after EBF’s Night of the Barrels. Pours a murky mrown with a thin white head. Smells of prunes and bad blue cheese Flavors are mostly malty old plums, tart, old. Empty. Maybe this used to be good, but it wasn’t amazing now.
Bottle. 25.4 oz. Split with Vinny at Monk’s Cafe, Philadelphia. Pours plumb-chesnut brown with a thin, tan, sticky-laced head. Aroma of toffee, raisins, figs, scotch, barley, roasted malts, vanilla, corriander, and hints of dry hops. Medium, biting body with a viscous, slightly tart aftertaste. Finishes slowly with a boozy, lofty slow-burn. Outstanding brew all around.
750 mL bottle at the Relentless Thirst Gathering in Richmond, VA, 8.29.09. Pours a reddish brown color with a thin head. Decent head retention and lacing. Fruity aroma of cherries, berries and raisins. Taste is tart cherries, chocolate, citrus and a yeasty bready note. Medium bodied,
Bottle from Chris Cquiroga. Thanks so much for the chance to try this Chris. @ Post Belgian Fest killer tasting dubbed Sea O’Floydster, with a load of cool people including Cquiroga, floydster, seaoflament and many others including my girlfriend and dr.bill. Pours reddish brown with a tan ring. Nose is sweet and malty and overall quite nice. Taste is sweet, rich, malty and very smooth.
Bottle on 11/30/2008 at the 3rd Annual Richmond Industry Gathering. Murky brown body with a big tan haed. Sweet caramel and hop aroma. Yeast, caramel, and citrus hop flavor. Medium body with moderate carbonation.
Bottle shared by toncatcher by way of cquiroga. Thanks for sharing this retired gem. Sour funk aroma, flavors of cotton candy, vanilla, and some sour lemon peel. Very enjoyable.
Bottle shared by miketd, Cleveland tasting. Pours a brown color with a sopay tan colored head. Aroma is raisins, caramel, prune, fig. Flavor is yeasty, whole lotta dark fruit going on, prune, fig, raisins, caramel notes, candi sugar. Palate is full bodied, medium carbonation, finished sweet. This was quite good, however fell just short of being great, perhaps the hype killed some of that for me.
Sampled in our hotel room, GABF 2007. I think cquiroga brought the bottle; apologies if it was someone else (everyone just threw their bottles in our bathtub full of ice, so it got confusing). Smell belies the bourbon, with some candi sugar. Flavors remind me of Thomas Hardy’s in the golden raisin and malts. Very lively carbonation. Vinous. Bitterness in the finish is somewhat acrid. This was enjoyable, but I have to say I"m a bit disappointed.
Thanks to cquiroga for sharing this epic beer at the RBSG 08 Grand Tasting. Pours a dark brown color with a dense tan head that leaves thick lacing. Aromas of raisins, oxidized apples, caramel. Primarily dark fruit flavor with fig and raisin. Also some candi sugar, vanilla, and caramel which make this beer rather sweet. Spicy fruity alcohol in the finish. Full bodied and warming.
Sample from an 05 bottle at RBSG shared generously by cquiroga! Nose of Raisins, caramel, candisugar, and a vanilla note; cloudy dark brown with a small beige head; flavor of figs, raisins (very dark fruity), lightly yeasty and sweet! Glad I got to taste this as it is one of the mix between AS and Vinnie of RR Despirartion (a favorite)!
Deep mahogany in colour with a very clear first pour, thin off-white coloured head, some light lacing. The aroma is of light yeast, some sourness, light cherries, some alcohol, candy sugar sweetness. The flavour is sweet, only some light alcohol, excellent balance, lots of fruit, cherries and yeast. Sweet and slightly warming mouthfeel, medium/large body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes long, filling, warming with a fruity sweetness.
Crazy. These aged Pizza Port beers are fantastic. Very drinkable despite the high alcohol content. You would never know that it was nearing 12%. Truly unbelievable.
750ml bottle obtained in a trade with DarkElf back in July of 2005, thanks Stephen.
Opened on February 27, 2008
Vintage 2005.
~RBSG ’08~
Bottle at the Grand Tasting. Pours a dark brown color, with a creamy tan head, and prevalent lacing. Nose has bourbon, hoppy floral notes, some chocolate, and a slight smokiness. Flavors of chocolate and sweet caramel are abundant, with brown sugar, sweet dark fruits, mango and very subtle citrus. Smooth body, with a nice bitter finish. A very drinkable quad.
Cquiroga completes the quartet of rare PP brews I thought I might never get to try with this one at RBSG. Many, many thanks sir! Pours dark brown in color, with a small off white head. Smells pretty sweet, lots of dark fruit, and maybe some candy sugar or vanilla in there. The flavor was very smooth and warming. The alcohol seemd a bit subdued, but still had some kick left in it. The flavor was more on the sweet side with some great fruit and malt combos. Another treat!
At RBSG, I didn’t take good enough notes. I just remember lovin’ this one!
Wow another rare treat from cquiroga brought to RBSG. I think this is precursor to Judgement Day, which one of my favorite beers of their regular lineup. MOAB has a great aroma. Very good. Sweetish. Dark brown color. Aged well. Frothy off-white head. Very good.
(BIG THANKS TO CHRIS FOR THE SAMPLE.)brown body with not much head.awesome aroma of caramel malts,molasses,brown sugar,dark fruit,and spice.full mouthfeel and seriously an awesome beer that has held up well over time.
Attractive cloudy brown with a beige head. Raisins, spiciness, caramel in the nose - not that fruity. Flavor has notes of caramel, earthy hops, raisin, cherry, white grapes, dates, figs and perceived spiciness. Sweet, ends moderately bitter. Very full/thick on the palate for a quad (doesn’t have that "airy-ness")with moderate carbonation. Solid.
750ml bottle. thanks to chris.....poured a dark brown with some reddish plum hints. a thin slightly off-white head congegrated around the edges of the glass....aroma of perfectly aged ripe dark fruit and a superb sweet malt backbone.....flavor was extremely smooth, sweet with an emphasis on plums, raisins, and figs. carbonation could have been more tame as it was a little too lively....all in all, a finely tuned and aged quad that i was glad to share with another beerlover.
Shared by Pantanap at kanarama. The beers just kept coming. Poured a deep brown/plum into the glass. Aroma was figs, plums, and some port. Flavor was round and balanced, dark fruit, slightly tart, nice vintage wine character to it. Never tasted this fresh, but it seems like time has treated this well. Really tasty. Thanks Kan!
More old notes. Poured a deep brown.Aroma is mostly fruity, with hints of chocolate and dark malt. Flavor is lots of raisin and plum. Palate was good a light sweetness.
04? Bottle@Dr.Bills Red in color with a thin and long lasting head. Slighty sweet smell with high alcohol presence. Tart chocolate and slightly off taste with a nice end.
Thanks to Mike for this one. Brown body. Toffee, caramel, and butterscotch in the aroma. Flavor is sweet and tart, fruity with some caramel. A nice beer but it’s easy to see how this could be brought to another level with barrel aging and cherries.
750ml bottle. Pours a dark garnet brown, moderately cloudy, with some thick, resinous, viscous brown legs that crawl down the sides of the glass when swirled and rocked. The nose on this is huge, complex and deep, with scotch bananas, woody fruit, nutty, dry oak barrel tannins, and a full, thick, robust yeast presence. The Belgian yeast is near-perfect: semi-dry, balancing and complex, and it allows the gentle malt sweetness to show through, with a kind of walnut, plum and raisin flavor throughout that is just killer. Finishes as big as it starts, with raisins, plum, wood, chocolate, toast, sits heavy on the palate but acts soft and delicate. Awesome recipe, awesome execution.