Unibroue Édition 2004

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

From 750. Pours an orange brown with fluffy off white head. Nose has prunes, cloves and kiwi. Strange but intoxicating. Flavor is the same with some alcohol showing through. Mouthfeel is heavily carbonated.

Bottle consumed July 27, 2006. Copper color with orange hue. Large bubble head that vanished quickly. Aroma has several fruity notes like raspberry, apple and orange. Surprisingly smooth taste considering the vibrant aroma. Light fruity flavor that has melded together. I can’t really distinguish the various fruity flavor notes. Great taste. The fruit, spice and yeast all seem to mix perfectly. I get no sense of the 10.5% ABV at all. Can this beer get any better with more age? I might have to find out.

Aromas of sour candy, cranberry and orange; with muted notes of apple, pineapple, and brown sugar. Pours a hazy orange with an off-white head that is quickly diminishing. Initial flavor is sweet orange curacao with spicy hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Balanced by a soft to lively carbonation. Enjoyed with a maple-glazed pork tenderloin over caramelized apples. Christmas in July.

Pours opaque orange gold, thin white head that quickly disappears. Aroma is apple, mango, peach, pear, malt. Flavor is mango, apple, pear, cinnamon, citrus, malt.

RBSG 06. My fiance (acute as ever) noted it smelled strongly of ketchup, which wasn’t far off. Golden in the glass, showcasing strong floral and alcohol in the nose. Tastes like it smells. Slightly vegetal, ketchupy; can definitely taste the alcohol. Slight oxidation suggests this bottle was past its prime.

From a 750 ml. brown bottle with a bottled on date on the back label, March 3, 2004. Made a good appearance, poured a cloudy golden hued orange with a foamy white that settled into a thin lacing, smooth carbonation for a Unibroue ale. Had a nose of ginger and orange, a light peppery spice, a mild sweet wheat maltiness with faint whiffs of alcohol. A lightly crisp and smooth medium bodied mouthfeel, good drinkability. Peppery, once again a combination of ginger and orange/tropical fruits that is quite nice, the spicy alcohol provides a nice warmth in the palate, a soft earthy wheat breadiness and a dryish spicy and tropical fruity finish. From when I first tried this in the spring of 2004, this has greatly improved, I’m glad to see this is improving with age since I have two more bottles. If you find one of these in a store and it looks like it has been stored properly, I would recommend picking it up.

Cloudy orange colour with a small creamy white head. Malty, light buttery aroma with a fruity citric note and a vague spicyness. Malty, sweet flavor with fruit and caramel notes. Light yeasty finish.

Aroma: yeast (bread yeast), cardamom, Swedish skumtomtar, saffron, lingonberry(?), cloudberry, alcohol, cointreau, marzipan, malt, juniper berry, fantastic, very uniform, hartshorn.

Appearance: turbid orange, tepid color, very beautiful. Light yellow, glittering head that sets quickly.

Flavor: bittersweet, full-bodied, very special, bready, well balanced, peculiar afterbitterness, elderberryish harshness.

Palate: yeasty, slightly sticky, mealy.

Almost loathsome, really good, very strange. A minus was the elderberry and superfluous sweetness. They’ve used something sour I can’t place. Completely insane.

My 28th Belgian Strong Ale apropos awaisanen’s comment. :) Tells something about my drinking habits given that he’s rated 3 times more.