Engelszell Gregorius
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Tasting Notes
The aroma opens with dark dried fruit — figs, raisins, prunes — layered over warming alcohol and a thread of dark chocolate. On the palate, flavors of molasses, toffee, and stone fruit dominate, with a subtle spice from Belgian yeast that keeps things from going flat. The body is full and chewy without becoming cloying, a balance that takes some doing at this strength. The finish is long and warming, with bittersweet cocoa and a faint herbal note that lingers.
About the Brewery
Engelszell is an Austrian Trappist monastery — Stift Engelszell — located in Upper Austria near the German border, and it holds the distinction of being the only Trappist brewery in the German-speaking world. It was granted official Authentic Trappist Product status in 2012, making it one of a small number of recognized Trappist producers globally. The monastery has been brewing under that certification for a relatively short time compared to Belgian counterparts, but its beers have been taken seriously in Trappist circles from early on.
Food Pairings
A strong aged cheese like Gruyère or a washed-rind variety works well because the beer's sweetness offsets the cheese's pungency without either party backing down. Braised beef short ribs or a slow-cooked lamb shank match the molasses depth and hold up to the beer's weight. Dark chocolate desserts — a flourless torte, say — echo the cocoa notes already present in the glass. Roasted nuts, particularly walnuts, bring out the beer's dried-fruit character through contrast rather than repetition.
Style Guide
The quadrupel, or quad, is a Belgian-origin abbey ale style defined by its deep malt complexity, substantial body, and ABV that typically runs from around 9% to 13%. It grew out of the Trappist brewing tradition, with La Trappe in the Netherlands often credited with formalizing the name in the 1990s, though the underlying style had existed in various forms at Belgian abbeys for decades. Where a dubbel leans toward moderate dark fruit and a tripel goes pale and spicy-dry, the quad is the heaviest and richest of the family — dark, chewy, and built for slow drinking.