Unibroue Édition 2004

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

750ml. Hazy orange pour after a champagne eruption. Fizzy off-white head that recedes fairly quickly but leaves some nice lacing. I’m siding with FtWorthBrew on this one. Has the Unibroue yeasty character with loads of fruity spicy flavor becoming deep and complex and then yielding to a peppery finish with a little alcohol burn. Lovely yeasty fruity amoma. A lot of carbonation makes it feel light in the mouth. Sweet apricot and plum flavors. Very pleasant to drink. Very tasty... Hell, this is delicious! All you people who dont like this, send yours to me! I could drink this until I am completely stewed, and I very well may! What a wonderful Christmas brew! . . . 12/25/2007 . . a bottle from my cellar that I bought in 2004, shared with my family for Christmas dinner. Everybody loved it. The flavors had mellowed and become deeper and smoother, more burgundy in character. Still the lovely citrus and spice aroma. Flavor bested a very excellent French white wine, served with a dinner of roast duck. Complex fruitiness, sweet, spicy and delicious. Still awesome.

Bottle. Sampled after a long hard day of drinking. This is probably highly deserving of a re-rate. Just seems like a hybridized Unibroue. Yeasty, spicey, ad nauseum. Medium bodied, well carbonated. Just nothing here that excites me.

Original rating 12/10/04: Pours well with a nice head. Orangey color. Hints of ginger and coriander taste. Definitely improved with some age. This is one of the better Unibroue ales I’ve had.
Ar: 8 App: 5 Fl: 8 Pa: 4 Ov: 17

Re-rate 3/7/08: Pours gold with a white sustained head. Smells of dry malt, warming alcohol, some pineapple, hints of spice and caramel, doughy. Tastes dry with a sugary element. Bottle has lost its ends and is slight;y past its prime at this point. Lots of perfumy elements on the finish. Still enjoyable, but drink ’em up.
Ar: 7 App: 4 Fl: 7 Pa: 4 Ov: 14

Shared a 750ml bottle with JoeT and aceofhearts. Murky light orange appearance with an off-white head, Aroma has some accents of ginseng, and cough syrup. Flavor has some candied sugar notes with a bit of cough syrup with some ginseng notes as well. Starts off strong and sweet with lots of promise, but ends up slightly weak. Diminishes in the end.

Bottle. Huh. Amber, a little hazy. Crisp, floral aroma but the flavor is very cough drop-ish and lemon detergent-ish. A rather unpleasant brew. Yeasty finish...I really don’t understand what this is supposed to be.

Hazy orange, small layer of a head. Yeast and lavender nose. Yeast and dough taste. Also fruity - apricot- taste. Peppery aftertaste. Medium lasting. Thick body.

Pours orangish/amber. Malty aroma with some spice, clove? Slight hint of banana also. Flavor is everywhere. Roasted malt,banana,orange,clove and some other spices. Decent lacing also. Very nice overall.

Bottled. Dark amber. Aroma of cinnamon, coriander and honey. Sweet and sugary, full bodied with rounded mouthfeel. Notes of almond. Salty finish. Typical Unibroue.