The Bruery Partridge in a Pear Tree
Belgian-Style Abbey Ale
Quadrupel, Verse One
Love or hate the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song, you re bound to love this rich, malt-accented ale. After sharing a bottle with family and friends, there s a good chance you'll all be singing with jubilation!
(from 2008 label)
Belgian-style quadrupel ale brewed with spices
11.3%
Tradition and innovation, consider this a blend—and we innovated by staying the course. Inspired by the rich and welcoming flavors of a certain pear dessert, this quadruple ale sings traditionally familiar notes of dark sugar, caramel, and spice. This well balanced, seasonally spiced ale is meant to be shared over special occasions with family and friends.
(from 2020 label)
A Bruery twist with the addition of poached pear
Taste
Belgian esters, spices
(from https://www.thebruery.com/products/partridge-in-a-pear-tree-2020)
Quadrupel, Verse One
Love or hate the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song, you re bound to love this rich, malt-accented ale. After sharing a bottle with family and friends, there s a good chance you'll all be singing with jubilation!
(from 2008 label)
Belgian-style quadrupel ale brewed with spices
11.3%
Tradition and innovation, consider this a blend—and we innovated by staying the course. Inspired by the rich and welcoming flavors of a certain pear dessert, this quadruple ale sings traditionally familiar notes of dark sugar, caramel, and spice. This well balanced, seasonally spiced ale is meant to be shared over special occasions with family and friends.
(from 2020 label)
A Bruery twist with the addition of poached pear
Taste
Belgian esters, spices
(from https://www.thebruery.com/products/partridge-in-a-pear-tree-2020)
3.6
183 reviews
Placentia, United States
Community reviews
Bottle - Christmas 2017 - Pours dark brown - nose and taste of apple, dates, cinnamon, toffee, caramel and candi sugar - medium/full body
Bottle split at RB Best awards dinner, thanks to Peter Fucken Hale, 30/01/16.
Chestnut brown with a decent tan head that clears to edgework.
Nose is tangy fruits, dark toffee, spice, dates, prunes, Christmas cake.
Taste comprises rich fruits, raisins, spice, toffee melt, prunes, stewed dates, fruit loaf.
Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close.
Solid boosty shit.
Way past, overly sweet, oxidation and melted wethers originals with random expired christmas spices.
Bottle shared at Ratebeer awards show. 30/01/2016. .A hazed nut brown colourd pour with a halo of light tan head. Aroma is plum fruit, mint, cakey malts, toffee, pear. Little age on the nose. Flavour is composed of sweet, plummy jammy fruits, apple cake, little earthy wood. mint. Palate is sweet and sticky, moderate carbonation.
Bottle shared by phaleslu at RBWG: Poured a caramel color with no head. Aroma was huge dark fruit and malts. Taste was boozy with light fruit and sweet sticky malt.
Bottle shared during the 2016 RB Best Awards. Big thanks to Pete for sharing this whale with the fellas. Pours clear amber with a creamy topping. Heavy liquefied caramel in the nose, along with figs, dates, bread and fruitcake. Richly sweet flavour, with moderate suggestions of oxidation, more bread, caramel, ripened semi-dark fruits. Full bodied, chewy, with fine carbonation. Warming on the finish, with more hearty caramel, faint cocoa, earthy bitterness, dried fruits. Nice stuff overall. Has aged pretty well.
8400th rating. I traded for this bottle back in 2009 and have hung onto it ever since, originally planning to hold a tasting for the whole set when the lineup was complete, but ditching that plan. I thought about selling it for a while, but then the value more than halved. So I eventually found the right time to share it- the first-ever RB Awards. It pours a hazy amber with a small beige head that settles into a ring. Notes of caramel, brown sugar, toast, fruitcake, chocolate, peanut brittle, figs, dates, raisins, and a bit of vanilla. Medium-bodied, with a sweet mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Has held up shockingly well. I’ve heard such mixed things with this much age on it, but this bottle was good. Still - I wouldn’t rot it any longer if you have one.
[1/30/16] Bottle sample at the Encomium bottle share, after RateBeer Best awards ceremony at Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa. Thanks everyone who shared bottles! Murky brown. Wood, vanilla, caramel, nuts, dark fruits, oxidation. Sweet, a bit spicy.
Bottle, thanks Pete! Hazy brown liquid with medium light tan head. Aroma of dried fruit, raw sugar, raisins, light port wine and vanilla. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with notes of raisins, raw sugar, toffee and bourbon. Medium to full bodied with low carbonation. Quite nice still.
750ml bottle pours out a brownish topped with a small head. nose is old pit fruit some sweet malts. taste is more of old notes pit fruit and a nice spice.
750 ml bottle to taster at the Ratebeer Best Awards (thanks phaleslu). Looks good; a cloudy caramelish brown with lighter beige head that steadily dissipates into lacing. Smells hot and boozy with notes of dark fruit and Belgian yeast. Tastes like it smells with a mildly tart medium-full to full-bodied mouthfeel. Not bad, but underwhelming.
Bottle at ratebeer best, thanks phaleslu. Murky brown pour with thin white head. Aroma is really fruity, tons of raisins, rhum, winey boozy port notes, cooked prunes. Taste is rich, sweet, oxidized, port, prunes,date sugar.
This bottle was offered by Peter hale at rbwg. Thank you pete! A bit hazy reddish brown appearance with a thin brown head. Caramel, oxidation, cardboard, toffee aroma. High sweetness and low bitterness. Syrupy and very rich. Caramel syrup and vanilla. A little old but I’m excited to try this none the less.
Bottle at RBWG 2016. Thanks phaleslu for knocking out a huge want. Aroma is dried figs and some dried leaves. Light tea. Dark red with a small off white head. Taste is deeply cherry and dried fruit roll up. Some light cherry flavors as well. For a beer this old it has held up well. Thanks Peter!
Way better than I expected, big thanks to Adam for the bottle many years ago, opened Zwanze 2014. Sweet with caramels, vanilla, dark fruits, but not cloying and surprisingly a really nice texture. Smooth, almost creamy. Drinking very well at the moment, don’t regret opening this one bit.
Bottle. Brown pour with a kaki head. Sweet caramel malt aromas. Uber sweet with caramels and booze notes. Vanilla and oak lowlights. Average body and mouthfeel.
Aroma: Raisins, Sweet Bread, Mild Caramel
Appearance: Deep Brown/Reddish Hue, Passes Mild Light, Off White Head Ring, Some Lacing
Taste: Raisin, Faux Caramel, Sweet Bread
Mouthfeel: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Semi Sweet
Lots of pear some. Funky pear flavor but it doesn’t mix well worth the palate. OK to drink but difficult to pair.
A murky brown ale with a thin mocha head. In aroma, loads of dark fruits, molasses, iron notes, curacao, OK. In mouth, a sweet fruity malt with dark fruits, cooked apple purée, molasses, maple, a bit bit tired, OK.
Bottle shared by Amyliz4. Muchas gracias.
The beer appears dark brown with a quarter inch of tan head. The aroma is fabulous, with prominent yeast and malt, brown sugar, caramels, toffee. Smells Belgian and wonderful. Fabulous taste. Easily one of the best American examples of a quad I have tasted. Brown sugar and molasses are tempered by a bready yeast presence. Medium bodied and silky smooth on the palate. Overall, a very good beer that I am ecstatic to try.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 01-01-2012
I find it funny that I never had a chance to try this. Well at RBSG Patrick Rue was giving us a tour of the barrel room and he so graciously shared a bottle with us. I am guessing this has been cold since release, and its held up pretty well. Better than I expected to be honest. A cloudy brown pour left very little head. The aroma was full of toffee, rich brown sugar, figs, dates and golden raisins. Flavor is sweet, lots of dried fruit coming through, some vanilla, maple.
Poured from bottle, pours a very hazy brown with a quickly diminishing off white head that is gone before you blink, the aroma has a ton of dark fruit and fig, the flavor is big and bold with a ton of fig and dark fruit with a slick mouthfeel. I really didn’t expect much out of this one but I would drink again if I ever had the opportunity to.
A - Pours a cloudy ruby with a touch of brown mixed in with a thin finger of khaki head. The head fades very quickly leaving behind a touch of lace.
S - Aroma is full of dark fruit with some plum and a touch of apple with a hint of Belgian yeast spice, brown sugar, and a bit of booze.
T - Starts off with some sweet dark fruit with some plum and dates with some brown sugar sweetness and some Belgian yeast spice. Through the middle, some apple comes through with some more residual and candi sugars and some fuller dark fruit flavor. The finish is a mix of lingering dark fruit sweetness with some abbey yeast, spice, and some booze.
M - Medium-full bodied with mild carbonation. Feels smooth with a warming and sweet finish.
D - Very drinkable. Really smooth and nicely balanced. Good American take on the Belgian Quad style. Good rich dark fruit flavors.
10th October 2009
Hazy brown beer. Crispy semi dry palate. Moderate carbonation. Fruity malt with a coca cola like tang and a pinch of chocolate. Finishes with more of the same and a little alcohol (which is generally well hidden). Unusual flavour combination. Drinkable.
Huge thanks to Amyliz4 for sharing this bottle. Served in a Bruery tulip.
Pours a moderately-dark brown with a good light tan head. Nice spotty lacing and a thin collar. The nose carries some strong dark fruits and a bit of sweet malt. Quite a bit of stuff going on there. I’m impressed, as I hadn’t heard the best things about this. Malt provides a really nice backing presence. No discernible alcohol presence. Flavor is quite rich with a medley of dark fruits. Some very mild earth. Medium body and pretty chewy. Super smooth. Really excited to finally try this one and glad it lived up to the hype.
A - pours dark red/orange brown with no head.
S - sweet wine/port vanilla toffee alcohol. Sweet dark and sour fruits. hints of bourbon. Hint of fig and cinnoman.
M - heavy body low carb, dry alcohol warmed ending.
T - sour notes dark dried fruits on the nose, toffee dark fruits cola palate, lingering tang and cough syrup.
O - good drinkable quad. Tangy, dark fruits cola spice.
7+
Bottle... Poured reddish color with thin beige head. Big sweetness, candied/caramel apple flavors. A little bit of hard cider qualities, mild yeast spice, pepper spice, citrus, and a smooth finish. Hardly any alcohol flavor with a hint of oxidization. Dark fruits, hints of sweet nuts, and a hint of toasted grains and sweetness. Quite sweet all over this one even at the finish.
From a bottle,fruity smell,brown, minimal head, hazy, medium sweetness, sticky, medium body, One of the best Quadrupels i’ve had.
A: The beer pours a very dark amber color, some brownish qualities to it, with a finger and a half of off-white head.
S: Smells intensely sweet. Lots of raisins and plums, maybe a bit of fig. Some caramel and molasses notes to it. Also some prominent spice notes, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon.
T: More of the same on the palate. Sweet dark fruits and sugar overwhelm you. It’s almost syrupy, in fact. Booze, spice, caramel, molasses, plums, and raisins sum up the different flavors well.
M: Quite full in body with a low carbonation which doesn’t help.
O: Sort of a mess. Funny that at the time I didn’t think much of this beer and as a result got rid of this beer for almost nothing in return.
From notes:
Pours a very dark ruby red/chestnut brown color with bright red/mahogany edges when held to a light source and a 1.5 frothy yellowish beie head. Decnt retention, slowly fading into a laying ring that leaves sporadic spots of lacing behind.
Sweet dark fruit aroma with zest, peppery spice, Candi sugar and slight medicinal syrup. Hints of raisin, fig, plum and date.
Full bodied with a pretty prominent malt backbone that balances out the sweet dark fruit, peppery spice and cough syrup notes. Pretty sweet and spicy up front with lots of candy sugar, pepper, grape, raisin, plum and fig. Slightly dry finish with subtle alcohol warmth but overall a well masked ABV.