Lozen Boer

Brewmaster’s Collection Private Reserve

De Prouef Brouwery

Original ABV: 10 percent

ABV after aging: Unknown, but I’ll estimate 13-15 percent

750 mL corked bottle

Time aging since purchase: 30 months

Sampled: May 24, 2009

Year of aging finally means I can taste this quadruple Belgian I socked this away 2-and-1/2 years ago. Lozen Boer was one of the last beers I bought for aging in Columbus, but because you can’t break out a quad every day, it has sat longer than expected.

A quad can thrive after five or more years of aging, This ale proves it can hang with the big dogs of the style – Chimay Grand Reserve, Rochefort 12 and St. Bernardus Abt 12.

Creamy laces clings to the dark ruby body that appears unchanged from a young bottle. But the nose betrays its age. A sharp pepper reveals what the yeast culture has done during its time in the dark. Shoot, I can smell the pepper and a complementary molasses tones from across the room. Pepper signifies a heightened alcohol content

With time, the complexity of a young quad/abt enters new dimensions as a few flavors begin to dominate and others fade away. Lozen Boer winnows down its lineup to molasses and a finish ripe with dried fruit – dates with an undercurrent of raisins.

Even with the pepper, the alcohol sneaks up thanks to its unbelievable smoothness. Lozen Boer becomes dangerous if imbibing more than a glass.This sucker blows past the alcohol threshold for wines and straight into port territory.

While Lozen Boer comes off as balanced when sample new, it’s well worth the $10-12 expense to stand up a bottle in a cool, dark place for a few years. Quads mellow wonderfully with age, and anyone overwhelmed by the strength and complexity of a young bottle would enjoy the august, port wine developments aging produces.

Rating: 9/5/10 (I added a full point due to aging's effects).