Unibroue Édition 2004

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

Bottle: Red/amber clear colour.Flat head. Aroma of Bread,spicy,malty,and some fruitynes/alc in the end. Flavor is almost the same, nice spicy mouth feeling, is dominated in this beer.

Bottle. Clear amber, fizzy off-white head. Fruity and spicy malt aroma, with figs, pumpkin and cherries, and a touch of alcohol. Medium bodied, a bit spritzy. The flavour is a bit sweet and not entitely balanced, but with a nice bitterness in the finish.

Hazy deep orange, small white head. Aroma is lemons, belgian yeast, more citrus, pretty fruity with a spicy belgian yeast profile. Flavor is much the same spicy belgian yeast, light candi sugar, pears, some banana. Mostly sugary with citrus highlights and spicy yeast dominating. As it warms the candi sugar really dominates, pepper and more belgian spiciness throughout. Light fruits like apples and pears stay in the background. Big carbonation goes well with the style. Great fruity sugary taste, I could see this as a dinner beer for sure.

Cloudy orange with a fine white foam that dissipates almost immediately. Yeasty, slightly fruity aroma with an almost wine-like scent profile. Taste is mildly citrusy, with hints of a rock-candy like sweetness, currants, and cloves and mild alcohol accents. Delightfully clean on the palate, leaving only the faintest hints of its deliciousness. I fairly confident at this point that Unibroue cannot go wrong.

Bottled 75 cl
Hazy orange color, not much head. Intensive menthol and peach in the aroma. These are also in the flavor. Interestingly I can trace same elements than in Finnish mead: raisins, lemon/orange peels and sweetness (honey). Some combinations in the flavor are not really matching very well.

(Bottled) Very hazy orange with almost no head. Strongly orange-fruity aroma with some alcohol. The flavor is pretty much the same with orangey fruitiness and grainy-malty alcohol dominating. Reminds me of some De Dolle brews in a way. Medium-bodied, somewhat alcoholic palate with low carbonation. Not very complex, but elegant in its own way.

Bottled on March 3, 2004...

6/07/2007: Unibroue Édition 2004 is opaque and dark amber in color with a foamy off-white head. The aroma has a lot of ginger and something that seems to be like vanilla mint. The flavor has some light caramel maltiness with some ginger and faint vanilla mint. It is on the sweeter side overall and the ginger flavor grows with each drink. A light alcohol burning sensation is noticeable through the nose. The body of this beer is average and it is smooth on the palate. I enjoyed this beer, but would like to try it again becase as with most Belgian beers, I’m sure that I missed some of the flavors and other complexities that this beer has to offer...

750 ml corked and caged bottle (10.5% alc/vol.) shared by Rob at our weekly/bi-weekly beer tasting. Thanks for sharing this bottle with me. I appreciate it! Rating: 7/3/8/3/15=3.6


3/28/2009: Wow, I think that this dirty gold-colored beer has gotten better with age! The combination of candied ginger (maybe even a touch of pickled ginger too!), cherries, sweet toffee malt, spicy honey, white wine, and a hint of oxidation really makes for a good synergy in both the aroma and the flavor. This beer is thicker and more full-bodied than I previously remember, but that helps to keep the high alcohol hidden and provides a great mouthfeel. This beer has aged very nicely over the past 5 years. However, it might be just about ready to peak, so don’t hold into it too much longer. Enjoy it now while it’s still great! I bet that this beer would pair really well with just about any artisan cheese... If only I had some on hand to enjoy!

1 pt. 9.4 fl. oz. corked and caged bottle (10.5% alc/vol.; March 3, 2004) purchased from Dilly Deli Wines & Gourmet in Mariemont, Ohio. $7.99+tax at the time... Rating: 8/4/8/4/16=4.0

The aroma is huge with mushed up and baked fruit notes. I get pear, apple, overripe bannana and assorted other fruits. Smells a bit like baby food, mushed fruit. There is a sweet malt component and hint of candy and caramel. The body is a brown/orange mix and holds a lasting, two finger thick white head. There is a vigorous and steady release of carbonation, witnessed by the continuous march of bubbles up the side of the glass. Caramel, apple, dough, baked wheat bread, alcohol, spice and then breaded baked apples ont he finish. The aftertaste leaves some hot, bitter alcohol notes. I also get some candy sugar and more of the overripe banana. Still drinking ok, I think.