Dec 9, 2014

Sam Adams Tetravis

Man, it’s been quite a while since I last reviewed an Boston Beer Company product in these pages. Turns out, it has been! The last product I purchased and reviewed from the company was their Merry Mischief. I’m not sure why I haven’t gone to their beers more often — they were a staple on this site when I first opened shop. I suppose the selections back then were pretty slim.

Any who, Tetravis is a Belgian-style quadrupel that’s been aged in oak barrels for a bit of time — though I don’t get much of an influence from it in either the aroma or flavor. What I do get from this 10.2% ABV beer is a myriad of dark fruits, spices and yeast. Throw in a moderate amount of sweetness along with a warming finish and you’ve got yourself a treat of a beer to sip from during a long cold Winter’s night.

Appearance

Tetravis pours a dark garnet in color with a fizzy, short-lived cap of tan foam.

Sam Adams Tetravis

Aroma

Lightly jammy fruits, raisin, plum, soft clove, yeast, burnt caramel and a touch of booze fill the nose wonderfully.

Taste

Thankfully, the beer isn’t nearly as jammy as the nose let on, but there are still plenty of dark fruit (plum, raisin, fig) notes throughout. It’s yeasty with wafts of clove as caramel, molasses and toffee all present themselves smoothly. The brew is rich with a moderate sweetness and long lasting, lightly drying finish. A truly complex, yet smooth beer.

Overall

Tetravis is a big beer with big flavor and is probably one of the best Sam Adams beers I’ve had in a long while. The flavor profile and alcohol weight also make for a beer that should cellar wonderfully. I’ll be on the look out for more of this one in future shopping trips just for that reason alone.

Rating: 4.25/5

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