Unibroue Édition 2005

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

Pours a Dark, Dark, Dark Red with a tan head. Aroma of Dark fruits and raisons. Tastes of bread dough, raisons, some spices, and some alcohol. Smooth full finish.

Pours a very dark brown with a thin, off-white, mostly diminishing head. The aroma is that of raisin, plum, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. There may be a hint of spruce and earth. It has a nice, full mouth feel with small, soft bubbles. The flavor is moderately sweet with lingering alcohol and prunes. This is very much like Trois Pistoles but a bit more refined, a bit sweeter, a thicker texture and more focused flavor. It has the dark sweet flavor of prunes and raisins but the flavor doesn’t explode the way Trois Pistoles does. It kept me warm on a snowy night.

bottle from Knightly - excellent and very complex - light head, aroma is very fruity and some spices, pretty dark and strong alcohol - this is definately not a chugger, strong spicy finish that lingered - very enjoyable - as expected from Unibroue!

Bottle at home. Dark brown with a beige head. Aroma heavy sweet (spicy, brown sugar, dark fruits). Flavor heavy sweet, light acidic. Full body, strong in alcohol.

Thin dense head of fine bubbles. Low carboantion. Actually expected more carbonation that this. Intense sweet and fruit aroma with lots of raisins and grapes. Very vinuous. Some spices also. Pepper and ginger. Color is a very dark brown with a hint of red. Sweet and fruit flavor with lots of grapes, raisins and plums. Little too sweet. I would have thought that this brew would have calmed down over these past 2 years. Nice alcohol presence that hits you pretty hard. Finish is sweet and a little cloying. Lingering spices and sweet malts. A damn fine belgian. I would say that this one could use a little aging but it has already aged for 2 years and it is still pretty damn sweet.

750ml bottle, corked on 2004-11-23 . Pours a very dark and rich amber-cola color with seemingly lazy carbonation and little to no head at all. The nose contains a stong hint of alcohol and raisins with underlying plums, possibly prunes, dough, and suprisingly, dates. The beginning flavor is complex, with a sugary sweet berry and raisin that turns plum taste. The mid take a quick dive to a more mildly earthy tone with only a bare hop towards the end. The most amazing part is this beer’s ability to mask the alcohol in the taste. This isn’t to say I don’t feel a great tingly warmth in the stomach. The body is remarkably smooth and easy on the mouth, feeling silky on the swallow. Only a small amount of palate astringency, but not even enough to bring the score down for me. This beer is wonderfully complex in all aspects and great for winter, as it warms you up fast. Grab it if you’re lucky to find one.

Very dark reddish brown body with a moderate head, excellent lacing, good retention. Aroma is berries, sugar, caramel, yeast, plums, light acidity. Flavor brings this, but the acidity went away as I continued drinking this. Far less interesting than the 2004 I had a few days ago. Alcohol is hidden well, medium to heavy bodied, fairly sweet.

Aroma of yeast, spices and a hint of red wine. Very fruity, caramelly and sweet. The alcohol is noticable but not overpowering. This might improve with another couple of years in the bottle.