Unibroue 16

Formerly brewed at Unibroue (Sapporo)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Chambly, Canada

A beautiful beer, lighter in body than the 17, but some real spiciness to it. I could drink this beer all day but the 10% alcohol does creep up on you.

750-milliliter bottle from Bottle Trek. Pours a cloudy orange marmalade/light brown color with a healthy head at first that reduces quickly to a film. Aroma is biscuity, and of apricot, other light fruit and cream. Slightly floral aroma. Flavor is intially metallic, then better with yeast, bread, generic fruitiness, spice, and floral flavors. This is noticeably better than the 17 I had recently. Viscosity/mouthfeel was a little thin for this style, but not terribly so. Enjoyable. Perhaps I’ll have again sometime. Overall, very good plus.

Poured out a nice bright, slightly hazy orange going light brown brew with a huge (the Uni standard) light tan crown that dissapointingly quickly died to just above a skim. I did leave all the sediment at the bottom of the bottle for the last couple of sips. The spice in the aroma was much softer than I had expected. This was followed by a dry dull banana taste, wheat and very muted but dull chocolate(???). The taste was nothing out of the ordinary: spicy yeast, musty, earthy, slight sourness. Finally after 20 minuits I noticed a very very faint alcohol taste. Comes across medium bodied, very creamy with the middle to end seeming more creamy and a stiff bitter and spicy finish. The bottom of the bottle with all its sludgy goodness was awsome. This brew was quite dissapointing. I enjoyed it more near room temperature. 3 more in the cellar for the years to come.

750ml corked bottle. BB December 2009, apparently? Served with a light chill. Nice loud uncorking. Presented with a picture perfect thick, creamy, lasting beige head, sitting proudly atop a lively, murky tawny body. Some obvious oxidised malt aromas come through straightup, musty wood and spice, dried apricot and peel, raisins, which are luckily bolstered by underlying toffee richness, dark fruits and sherry undertones. Highly active yet soft carbonation lending a velvet-like creaminess to the body. Good chewy, mouthfilling texture, great length with a drying finish. Plenty of typical Unibroue yeast character on the body; pepper, cinnamon and clove spice, banana and apple fruitiness, but there’s the added bonus of a nice rich caramel malt body and dark/dried fruit undertones that drive the palate of this beer away from most of the other beers from this brewery, might be due to its age. Hint of vinous vanilla, oaky spice and sherry linger on a dry, somewhat warming finish. Bitterness relatively low. Well up there as far as Unibroue beers go i’d say. At first whiff, I was skeptical about how aging would benefit this beer, but it certainly has the body to pull it off, and has added complexity because of it.

Found this at a local liquor store. Pours an amber red color with a thin off-white, head that sticks around the whole drink. Flavor is a very thick sweetness, alcohol is definitely present, cherry sweetness is around as well, light molasses flavors, some caramel and pils malt flavors, light esters and finishes with a light spicy note as well. Density of the beer is pretty heavy and chewy with a very high carbonation. Overall the beer is a perfect example of a Belgian strong and one I think I have to pick up to age for another few years.

"This was pretty much like every other Unibroue Belgian strong ale what they must make about 10,000 of but not as good, not say this tasted bad it was pretty tasty but compared to any other one they have made this was bellow their usual standard. Body was a dark copper with a tall rocky cap that reduced to a thick skiff and left some slippery lacing behind. Aroma was sour banana, mild spice and the typical Unibroue yeast wheat malt combo. Mouth feel felt way to thin to me can’t explain why it just seemed off. Taste was very intense and tasted like almost every other brew these guys make except add a burnt quality that made me not overly enjoy this. This was a letdown, especially compared to all there other brews, but was still tasty and drinkable. "

750ml bottle. Caramel color, small caramel head. Aroma feels a tiny bit infected. Sweet brown sugar, fruity peach or pears. Taste is quite alcoholic. Small bitterness on the finish. Not sure this beer was top shape. Lots of carbonation. Became really warm and it was warming up.

750mL bottle. Poured crystal-clear autumny orange with a tall cap of eggshell head. The aroma picked up crisp light and medium-skinned fruits paired with prickly vinous character and lots of dusty yeast.. just a hint of banana and looming warmth beneath. The flavor had tangy lighter fruits throughout with brown sugar and dark fruits at the core.. very spicy and very warm on the edges with peppery yeast, mixed fruits, and alcohol warmth riding through the long finish. Heavier-bodied and well-carbonated on the palate as expected.. quite syrupy at times.. I enjoyed how it warmed up the belly. Another solid offering.