Unibroue 16

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

Sample, tasting of Saison and Christmas beers by Philippe Wouters, at L’autre oeil, savoured on February 21 2007; eye: burnt orange, hazy, no effervescence, creamy almond head; nose: "Unibroue", cigarette (?), caramelized malt, bread, cardamom; mouth: velvety, syrupy, caramelized malt, alcohol, pepper, candied fruits, creamy texture, medium body, alcoholic texture, lightly astringent, average carbonation, mildly sweet, light bitterness; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Échantillon, dégustation Bières de Noël et de saison par Philippe Wouters, à L’autre œil, savourée le 21 février 2007; oeil : orange brûlé, voilée, pas d’effervescence, mousse amande crémeuse; nez : « Unibroue », cigarette (?), malt caramélisé, pain, cardamome; bouche : veloutée, sirupeuse, malt caramélisé, alcool, poivre, fruits confits, texture crémeuse, corps moyen, texture alcoolique, légère astringence, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement sucrée, légère amertume; en résumé : correct

Pours a dark burnt orange/amber with a nice white head. Aroma is of some cloves, smoke (peaty? I dunno), citronella candles, cheese and mold. Odd. Tastes pretty nice though, with some caramel, cloves, brown sugar, some dry bitternes that could be hops, and a strong spicy yeast presence because it’s a Unibroue beer. Finishes continuess the spiciness and adds a dry bitter quality. Unexpectedly cloying. Pretty good overall. The aroma offered some unexpected twists, but the flavor was straight-up Unibroue. Another good Unibroue ale, on lees no less!

Very fine and unexpected brew here. Like many raters, I’m pretty familiar with this brewery’s stuff and have come to expect a certain kind of malty Belgian boldness and bigness (e.g. Fin du Monde, Don de Dieu, etc.). Bold and big this is, but it’s actually like a higher octane Maudite tweaked to the point where it exudes some lovely qualities of a Flemish sour. It’s not dominant but it’s in there amidst the candied malts, the traces of pepper, the alcohol warmth, and the autumnal fruits/spices. Fizzy, warming, complex. I’ll have to grab another couple bottles of this.

reddish brown appearance with a strong white head and a nice malty nose. the flavor has a well balanced complexity with some alcohol warmth at the end. a nice brew

Pours a murky dark amber with a very tall head. Earthy aroma. The alcohol is not so noticeable. The flavor does have a brown sugar like presence.

Pours a slightly opaque dark brown/amber with a nice head and some lace. Wonderful sweet & fruity aroma, slightly floral hops. Tastes fantastic! Amber and some brown malt, floral and slightly ferric hops, dark apple and cherry flavours as well. Great creamy body, slightly over-carbonated. Great beer, wonderful balanced flavour, nice body, If this weren’t $10/bottle I’d keep it on-hand at all times!

Mahogany with a frothy head and stringy lacing. Nose is full of yeast and malts. Some candy aromas and almost a touch of soda. Flavor is just a bit metallic. Not much, but just a hint of penny in the beginning there. Sweet caramel and brown sugar roll in next. This is definately a dessert beer. A bit of heat at the end as well.

Bottle from Country Club Liquors, Bakersfield, CA; Nose of cloves, caramel, yeast, and light fruitiness; copper, lightly hazed witha huge 6 inch yellowish head that slowly receded and heavily laced the glass; flavor of caramel apples and spicesl excellent Belgian!