The Bruery 7 Swans a Swimming
7 Swans-A-Swimming is the 7th beer in our "12 Days of Christmas" series. For this verse of the story, we chose the path we don’t often take – we brewed to style. No bells, no whistles, just our best take on the Belgian Quadrupel style. Brewed with nothing but water, malt, yeast, hops and a bit of Belgian dark candi sugar, this beer may not be as out-of-the-box as some of our past winter brews, but it’s just as tasty. Rich and complex, this robust dark ale juggles notes of raisin bread, dried apricots, burnt caramel and roasted pecans. The sweet flavors provide a full body and the bright yeast wafts the sweet holiday notes out of the glass, into your life. 7 Swans-A-Swimming is a perfect holiday sipper. Delicious right now, but suitable for aging up to 5 years, upon the release of 12 Drummers Drumming.
3.7
185 reviews
Placentia, United States
Community reviews
aromas of malt, cherry and plum. dark red in color with nice long lasting head. taste is of cherry, plum, raison, berries
December 15h, 2014 - With just ten days until Christmas I am doing my best to afford enough calories for all the Christmas beers available in stores, including this sticky, sweet and toothsome 7 Swans a Swimmin’. Dark like an unlit Christmas tree, it pops up a temporary head which mellows quickly. The aroma is packed with berries and other round fruits, like blueberries, grapes and blackberries, with a juniper edge giving off that wintertime evergreen smell. The flavor, though is extremely sweet and sticky, and I suddenly feel knee deep in a syrupy trap. There’s more berries here but the sugar is turned up, almost as if the beer is desperate to outpace Christmas’ other sweet delights and desserts. The aftertaste is the worst offender, leaving behind an oozing trail of sticky berry sweetness. In small doses and after a meal this is an excellent beer, but a full bottle for one person is simply too much, even in the season.
Bottle. Pours clear reddish chestnut, medium creamy tan head, dissipates fairly slowly, good lacing. Aroma is Belgian spice, candi sugar, molasses and some dark fruits. Flavor is medium plus sweet, light bitter. Medium body, soft mouthfeel. One of the better Christmas beers for sure.
750 ml Bottle. Compared side-by-side with the bourbon variation. Deep brown in color, thin bubbles head. Aroma is huge malt. Dried fruits, dark bread, yeast, and mild cherries.
Again, huge malt profile with a good amount of noticeable yeast. Dried fruits, toffee, pitted cherries, dark bread. Everything is here, pretty nice example of the style!
Shared 750 ml. bottle poured to snifters displaying a darkest brown color, with some ruby highlighting, tight bubbled, brownish tan head foam, and spots of lacing. The nose was plum & concord grape, subtle, fruitcake-like spice, with dark caramel & candi sweetness. Ditto on the flavor, medium+ bodied, with moderate carbonation, light tartness & tanginess, and comfortable, boozy warmth.
Deep superdark brown with a thin beige cap. Lovely nose of raisins and plums and almond and applebutter and gentle winter spices. Deep rich flavor with a slightly sticky mouthfeel and amazing nuance. There’s notes of dates, plums, raisin bread, brown sugar, apple spice, pecan, apricot, and belgian candi sugar in a big way on the finish. Rich and sweet and loads of fruit. This is a benchmark for quads.
Thank esp0r for sharing this bottle as my #4000. Enjoyed at the same yearly trip to the woods I started rating beers at 6 years ago, and the same we shared our rating #1000 each a couple of years later. In the dim light from the fireplace its a dark brown, almost clear body, with a small beige rim. Aroma is toasted caramel, dark fruits, wood, small alcohol notes, sweet yeast enters. Taste is nutty, lightly roasted, sweet and mild spicy. Lasting sweet tickling, ripe orange, mild banana notes. Pleasing yeasty and fruity finish. Lovely :)
Bottle: Brownish in color, a little ruby hue, thin foamy tannish head, little lacing. Bready aroma, faint dark pitted fruit. No real musty or basemen/barnish notes to speak of. Sweet caramel bready start. Dark pitted fruit is very faint. Moderate to full body and mouthfeel. &nsp Really plain example of a Quad. Clean and sweet, but none of that musty basement or barnish notes. Not as "out there" as some of their other examples, but this one is a bit more subdued. Tiz okay, but fairly borin.
Sampled at GABF 2015, In the tasting glass brown-amber and beige head. Nose of sugar and fruit. Medium body. Distinct alcohol. Flavor is as aroma with a spicy finish. Very rich and decadent.
Bottle at James’ cellar cleaning tasting. Pours an almost hazed brown amber with a thin white head. Big sweet fruit and malt. Medium bodied, big and sweet, cloying. Lingering fruit and sweetness. Too sweet to be enjoyable to me.
This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a head of fine to medium sized ivory colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a opaque dark black brown colored body. The nice aroma was brown malt sweet and dark malt. The vinous mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start mediumly tingly at the finish with a lingering sweet aftertaste. The yummy flavor contained notes of roasted malt vinous sweet mild hops candy and dark malt. Delicious and one I would certainly like to have again.
Bottle at clockwork cellar cleaning tasting. Nose is dark fruits and some cocoa. Tastes of plums, banana, earth, berries, candied sugar, malt, caramel. Fairly sweet and boozy, I’d like to give myself some credit for not getting bombed on these high abv brews
Bottle - pours brown - nose/taste of dark fruit, caramel, alcohol and grape - full body - sweet!
Aromas of dates, plum/raisin skin, bread. Taste is dates, raisin skin, plum, honey, bread.
Bouteille de 750ml avec capsule métallique. Une bière brune avec des reflets ambrés. Une mousse beige. Un nez intense de fruits noirs confits, de sucre brun, de caramel, de réglisse, le tout avec une pointe d’alcool. Une bouche ronde, chaleureuse dans le bon sens du terme, des saveurs de fruits confits et de noisette sur de la cassonade. Une finale longue et savoureuse. Facile à boire pour ses 11%. Une réussite.
750 ml bottle purchased at Bine & Vine in November 2014 ($11.69). POURS a dark cola brown color with one finger of tan foam that soon recedes. AROMA of dark sticky toffee, grilled fruit, wine (both red and white), raspberry vinaigrette(!), and yeast. FLAVOR is actually sour with significant notes of green apple and mild fruity vinaigrette; some toffee and dark fruits (and alcohol) are in there but muted behind the acidic sourness. Finishes with acidic tartness. Well, it looks like this is at least mildly infected. Strange since I had cellared the bottle properly these past 14 months and there was no gushing. Bummer as I do love quads, especially on a colder San Diego day like today. I have another bottle for the vertical in five years...no idea if that one could be infected or not. (154, 1008)
Couleur caramel très foncer avec un petit col tan. L’arôme a plein de fruits mûrs, caramel et elle est aussi un peu terreux. En bouche il y a des fruits mûrs, un peu de sucre du malt caramel et un peu d’houblon floral dans la finale qui lui donne une finition un peu sec et terreux.
On draft at Elijah Ps. Dark brown and opaque. This is pretty much to style with the good and bad. The bad is that alcohol is tasted throughout and is also felt. There is plenty of good. Lots of classic flavors that are all good. Banana, earth, nutmeg, huge malts, occasional cocoa, raisin, and bready yeast. Some of that meanders in and out. A lot to like on a cold January evening.
Dark brown pour, smaller head. Aroma and taste of Yeast, brown sugar, dark toffee, Christmas candy, raisin, bananas, spices. Medium body. Perfect holiday zipper. Alcohol well hidden
Pours dark brown with reddish hues. Aroma of dark fruit, candiii sugar, and spice. Dark fruit flavor with bread, caramel, and spice. Excellent beer.
Pours a deep dark reddish brown color. Aromas of dark fruit, caramel, and some spice. Flavors are dark cherries, plums, and some spice. Alcohol is really hidden in the deep flavors.
Bottle from CBB, served in a snifter. A series I’ve been interested in since I first heard of it, I am really happy that the Bruery’s Twelve Days of Christmas series made it to Japan though less so we got it in the summer!
7 Swans a Swimming is a Abbey Quadrupel that rings in at 11%
It pours a luscious brown with a filmy beige head and a rich aroma of banana bread, figs, candied plums and burnt candied frosting. Medium bodied with a raspy carbonation and fairly dry finish.
The taste is richly sweet, bready with candied berry flavors giving it a lightly bitting tartness and some molasses contributing sweetness.
Really really nice stuff that suits a cold winter evening to a tee.
Bottle thx Heather and Frank 2 years old A: licorice, raisin bread, caramel, alcohol app: hazy reddish brown minimal white head t/p: full body with sweet finish of average duration. medium carbonation o: a nice quad. Smooth easy to drink well brewed.
Draft. Pours amber brown with an off white head. Rich and sweet, apple-like sugar notes, raisins, and plenty of residual sweetness. Tasty, but still a bit too sweet.
Tap @ Barcade tonight with Erica. Pours very dark. Sweet malty candy-caramel flavor upfront and then the Belgian medicinal quality kicks in to finish it off. Viscous mouthfeel overall, very syrupy. Some nice alcohol warming which is appreciated for devoting 11%.
Deep dark brown pour with a purple tinge while pouring. Candied nuts, prunes and other dark fruits in the nose. Full and sweet, alcohol well integrated, and warms on finish. Slightly spicy yeast and cloves, with strong anise which kind of ruins it for me.
Bottle. Pours a deep dark brown with a small dense lacy tan head. Aroma of dark fruit, yeast, caramel and toffee. Flavor was quite sweet with caramel, dark fruit, brown sugar, raisins, yeast, candi sugar and light toffee. Sticky texture, medium body, low carbonation.
Mahogany color and clear. Foam is creamy and persistent. This is an excellent of a Belgian quadruple. Fruits like raisins, figs, and plums. Some alcohol balanced with sweet caramel malt. I think letting this sit for a while is not only a good idea, but brings out more character too.
Bottle shared with a friend. Another great beer in this series. Dark fruits, plum, raisin both in the aroma and flavor. Sweet finish. Wish I had one to age.
Aroma caramel, alcohol, raisin,
Appearance brown, tan foam,
Taste medium sweetness, lightly bitter,
Palate medium body,
Overall a little to hot for me and for that reason only I would not suggest this beer to a friend