Trader Joes Vintage Ale 2005

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

750 mL bottle provided by JohnC, Hennepin glass. Deep brown hue with red highlights. Tall, creamy light tan head. Plethora of dried fruits in the aroma along the lines of black cherries and prunes. Caramalization and roast come in a distant second. Dried herbs and flowers tie in with a leather yeast scent. Not quite as sweet in the flavor as I was expecting, fairly dry throughout. Sort of reminds me of a merlot. (Not nearly /that/ dry though.) Decent fruitiness throughout but nothing mind blowing here. Medium to full body with a slick texture and lively carbonation.

I enjoyed this Unibroue by way of Trader Joes, though not as much as other Unibroues. Has a nice mix of spice and sweet. A beer to savor. Created a huge head that lasted for a while. Very dark and delicious.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy & tupalev - courtesy of blankboy. Dark ruby-brown with a tight beige head. Aroma is peppery and spicey, with the expected Unibroue yeast and some nice maltiness. Flavour of dark fruit, caramel malt, spice/pepper, and some yeast in the finish. Good stuff - it’s nice to see Unibroue can still create a great new beer after their last few fiascos.

Any first impressions?
-A sparkling foam disappears with time into the mauve darkness.
-Floral spices, coriander seeds, chocolate flakes, fruity cloves, and plastic effusions conjure up an attractive perfume.
-Roasted husks, herbal spices, cloves, berries, and added molasses obviously imitate Trois-Pistoles, and quite well!
-Fat but sparse bubbles break upon contact, leaving way for the complex maltiness.

What if you dig deeper?
-Finishes fruity, spicy, a continuation of the aroma and flavor profile.
-Barely any alcohol apparency for its size.
-Obviously a twist on Trois-Pistoles, a little bigger in sweet maltiness, but maybe as fruity and spicy.

Bottle; 2005 vintage.

Thanks Jason for the trade for this. Dark chestnut color with a monolithic bubbly diminishing light tan head. Lighter aroma than the body would suggest. Light fruit and a mild herbal quality comes out. Sweet sage, thyme and wintergreen along with red currents, figs and grapes. Just a pleasant sniff. Dark berries float in the picture with the first sip. Quite effervescent and delicate on the palate. Not much past the berries i the flavor. No real depth of malt or other characteristics. Very easy to drink. Has a light red wine quality. A touch of malt does seem to come out in the finish and the linger is quite dry. What ever movie, I decide to watch tonight will be made better with the rest of this bottle. This does seem to pick up the flavors and aromas as it warms. Some nuttiness and light pepper come into play on the tongue.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & tupalev -- my bottle. Pours a very dark brown with a good size beige head. Nice aroma of dark malt, dark fruit, pepper, other spices and the famous "Unibroue yeast". Flavour follows the aroma: lots of dark malt, pepper, dark fruit and yeast -- tastes great! Medium bodied. Alcohol very well hidden. I was looking forward to trying this and it did not dissapoint, another great Unibroue beer.

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry, Blankboy, GregClow, courtesy of Blankboy. Lovely aroma - standard Belgian Unibroue yeast, spicy, but also lots of interesting dark malt. Very dark brown, small white head. Wow, unique taste: spicy, lots of dark malt, very peppery, and sweet. Medium to full bodied. Sounds like I am describing just another Unibroue beer, but this one is unique and stands up to their best. Very nice.

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow and tupalev, blankboy’s bottle. Aroma is strongly of black pepper and resiny spices, lots of that Unibroue yeast, dark sweet molasses malt - very clovey. Taste is sweet roast malt, black pepper, yeast and lots of carbonation - very warming. Mouthfeel is very sticky, creamy and lively - enough pepper and spice to knock the sweetness down - excellent beer!