Unibroue Édition 2004

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

750 bottle from Santa. Pours a dark orange color with a fizzy white head. Nose is biscuity and light citrus. Taste is very fizzy and kinda thin. Notes of light citrus, biscuit, light sweet malt, and a nice bitter finish.

found one of these hidden in the corner of the beer store i work at. was really excited b/c i loved the 2005 edition and expected great things from this. I dont know what it was, but this broue did not do it for me. tasted very unbalanced and the alcohol overpowered everything. would like to try again to see if maybe i didnt get the best batch. this was the first unibroue i had ever had that i didnt love.

This bottled brew poured a very large sized head of finely sized mostly lasting off-white colored bubbles that left behind a fair lacing. The body contained average carbonation, was hazy from yeast and orange brown in color. Its aroma contained notes of yeast floral woody . Its mouth feel is initially smooth vinous with a lingering tingly vinous palate and a aftertaste. Its flavor contained thick vinuous malty spicy notes and was tasty. An excellent beer that I would buy again.

The 2004 starts clean as can be - light grassy bubblegum yeast and a seltzeresque carbonation but slowly trasnforms into a yeast laden strong ale packed with banana, fig, and apple esters and a malt that coats you whole throat. I saved this for winter drinking because I love strong ales when it’s cold out. This delivers with ample ABV and that wonderful yeast that reminds you why Unibroue sits atop many favorites lists.

Pours orange golden with sediments and a thin head. The aroma is weak dominated by cough sweets with some yeast and fruit. Menthol and fruit flavor with a warming alcohol bite. Rather sharp and unbalanced and not a beer for me. Disappointing.

a good strong ale. pours clear drinks crisp and goes down very smooth. Looks and fels a lot moe like a wit beer to me.

I stayed mildly cautious about my anticipation of this beer since it was my first of Unibroue’s yearly editions and didn’t want to get overly excited only to suffer the potential disappointment. I had not read very much about it, so the whole experience was a bit of a surprise to me. The ominous big black bottles that Unibroue has crafted for its smaller batches essentially give no information to speculate on, not even the hint of a color. The resulting stream of bright resinous orange was therefore unexpected to me, but pleasant to look at nonetheless. A creamy white head sat on top as my trappist glass filled up and thinned out over time. Taking a sniff, I promptly exclaimed to my friend: “Waxberries!”. Indeed, the nose has a strong resemblance to the dried waxberries I had during my trip to China this summer. I don’t expect many people to have experienced this intriguing fruit, but its smell is much like sweet fruity ginger. I also noticed soft notes of green mint, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and other spices which I couldn’t put my finger on. Fruity tones also appeared gently balanced with apples and banana. The flavor had a little more of an alcohol bite than I expected which was further emphasized by the syrup-like quality of the liquid. The foreground seemed mainly occupied by light fruits, including apricot and green apples while cinnamon and wood gently stuck to the tongue. Because of its density and heavily spiced profile, I had to slow my pace and appreciate the long aftertaste. I would have a hard time drinking this regularly, but like an encaged wild feline it will readily allow you to observe its complexity.

Pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Citrus smell. Crisp taste. Orange, grass, and citrus rind. An exceptional beer.