Halve Maan Straffe Hendrik Quadrauple

Halve Maan Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel is a dark, strong Belgian ale at 11% ABV, brewed by Brouwerij De Halve Maan in the historic centre of Bruges. Launched in 2010, it is the strongest beer in the brewery's Straffe Hendrik range, sitting above the Tripel as a more intense, complex expression of Belgian strong ale brewing.

Brouwerij De Halve Maan is one of the last authentic family breweries still operating in Bruges city centre, with a brewing history on the same site stretching back around five hundred years. The Maes family took ownership of the brewery in 1856, and it has remained in the same family for six generations, now run by Xavier Vanneste. In 2016, the brewery completed a 3.3 kilometre underground beer pipeline connecting the brewery to its bottling plant outside the city, built to avoid sending delivery trucks through Bruges's narrow, cobbled medieval streets, a project that was partly funded by public contributions in exchange for free beer.

As a Belgian quadrupel, Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel is dark in colour and full in taste, built around a sophisticated blend of speciality malts that give it a complex character combining delicate dryness with hints of coriander, dark fruit, aniseed and roasted chestnut. Its aroma is elegant, spicy and lightly roasted, and the beer finishes with a syrupy richness typical of the strongest Belgian ale styles. Because it undergoes refermentation in the bottle, Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel is considered a living beer that continues to evolve with age, making it suitable for those interested in cellaring beer over time as well as drinking it fresh.

Serve Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel in a wide-bowled tulip or goblet glass, poured gently to preserve its aroma, and at a slightly warmer cellar temperature rather than fully chilled, to let its dark fruit and spice character develop fully. Given its strength and complexity, it pairs well with rich foods such as game, strong aged cheeses or dark chocolate desserts, and is well suited to slow, considered drinking rather than casual refreshment.

As the strongest beer in the Straffe Hendrik range, Quadrupel represents Brouwerij De Halve Maan's most ambitious take on Belgian strong ale, brewed within a genuinely historic Bruges brewery that has remained family owned for six generations. For drinkers with an interest in complex, cellar-worthy Belgian ales, it offers a well regarded example of the quadrupel style.