Unibroue Édition 2004

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

Bottled 750 ml. Orangish color. Citrus and clove aroma. Peppery up front with a sweet/sour tang at end. Some triple characteristics. One of the better Unibroue but not as good as La Terrible

My god! I’ve seen this setting on the shelf for weeks at my local central market and never tried it. What a waste. I’m going back to clean them out. It follows the Unibrou formula nice belgian ale, with a unique character lots of flavour and a twinge of alcohol going down. This one is amber in the glass and very yeasty and fruity. I found the flavor to be very complex (although some have rated it as simple.) A nice beer.

Pours is a almost bright orange with a huge head. Aroma is yeasty and musty. I also get some ginger and citrus in the nose. Flavor is strong and malty with some yeast and spices thrown in there. Alcohol make its presents as you take a sip. Very dry as it goes down. Overall very flavorful and zesty. Good for a sipping beer by the fire on a cold winter night. Not as good as La Terrible but close.

Sharp, tart, yeasty aroma with some green apples and citus and hops. Super huge white frothy head on a pale opaque orange. Not as spritzy on the tongue as it looks. Flavors of yeast, light caramel, some spicy hops and fruit. Alcohol is apparent but not overwhelming. Finishes with appropriate bitterness. Good, but perhaps lacking in complexity. Gets more interesting as it warms with some plum and other fruitiness coming out.

75cL bottle. Golden color with mild haze. Nice head initially but dissipated fairly quickly. Spicy aroma: orange, cardumum and nutmeg possibly. The alcohol is apparent and the flavors really meld together nicely. Age has probably done this beer good. Other flavors include a mint flavor after the orange comes through. It appears to have some wheat in the grist. The carbonation is very nice even though the head retention is a bit low. There is some bitterness from hops, also. Overall, very nice beer at this age.

Cloudy light amber color; big creamy head. The aroma has a strong herbal touch (heather, mint…), with some malt and hop; magnesia. Good malty body, but not too sweet, again with an evident herbal note, and light liquorice at the end; too high carbonation and a bit too alcoholic. Good, but I don’t appreciate too much this herbal character.

Syrupy menthol / fruit nose, malty body with a strong alcohol presence, over ripened apples with an entire host of holiday spices, minty flavor, milky body, glitter and magic in the finish.

Clouded amber appearance, moderate fizzy head formation that quickly subsides. Fantastic aroma, herbal, ginger, blackcurrant juice. Initial sweet malt turns quickly spicy, prickley on the tongue, touches of orange and ginger. It has that same blackcurrant from the aroma but the herbs and spice keep any sweetness in check. Maybe a little too harsh in the finish but packs a great punch overall. Ideal winter brew.