Trader Joes Vintage Ale 2005

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

750ml. pours dark brown with off white head. nose of dark fruits. flavor dark fruits, nuts, and caramel. watery body. no alcohol noticed. some aged malts. holding up well. good stuff.3.5

750ml, aged 3 years, time has done this beer well, nothing earth shattering but nice dark fruit character, carbonation is too fizzy though. 3.6.

Pour is opaque blackish brown with a thin fast fading big bubbled brown head...smell is very fruity initially with prunes, cherries, raisins, and plums...notes of cocoa...mouthfeel is thin and somewhat watery...some yeasty and nutty notes, but overall quite sweet and fruity with lots of dark fruits...somewhat sour quick finish...good none the less...

As others have mentioned, at $4.99 for a 750ml bottle, this is a great value. It pours an opaque dark brown with a cocoa powder colored head. The flavor is slightly sweet & sticky with hints of dark fruit throughout. Nicely carbonated with a creamy mouthfeel.

Bottle. A dark brown color with a brown head. A malty, cinamon, fig, caramel, and candy sugar flavor. A soft body with a peppery spiked and dry finish. Quite nice for a trader joes special.

Brown almost cola coloured, thin but lingering tan head, light lacing. The aroma is plummy, very lightly yeasty, sweet and malty. The flavour is malty, some plums, only a very light hint of alcohol, dates and brown sugar. Sweet mouthfeel, medium/light body, medium carbonation. Finishes sweet and syrupy with some alcohol warmth.

If I had tried this in a blind tasting I would never have guessed that it was from Unibroue as this didn’t have their typical yeast characteristics. Pretty nice.

750ml bottle obtained in a trade with vyvvy, thanks John.
Opened on June 29, 2008.
Vintage 2005.

Pours dark brown with a good sized fizzy brown head that goes away quickly. The aroma has dark fruits especially dark cherries, bits of sourness and earthy yeast - fairly complex. Medium body with quite a bit of carbonation. Starts off with dark cherries, vinegar like sourness and rich earthiness. The carbonation then comes in and brings more earthiness, lots of spiciness. The cherries and sourness remain giving hints of a Flemish Sour. Wonderfully enjoyable beer.

Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 1/27/2008 Pittsburgh ratebeer.com gathering upstairs, Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever, I see a spread of bottles like I did there - ever again. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we sampled! For example, how about this beer, courtesy of NIck! A trader Joe’s 2005 retired! COOL! Barely any aroma, but what it present is mildly roasty to the nose. Looks lighter than regular iced tea. Good carbonation, surprisingly good carbonation. Mild yet not too much of the character that would put it over the top. Very good but could not stand up to a Leute Bokbier. Probably more on par with Unibroue Maudite !

Bottled. Pours very dark in color. Barely see through. Dirty head. Aroma is of yeast and grains. Flavor is thick and rich, some yeast and alot of spice. I can’t really make out alot of the flavors, but I thik that I taste some orange. A bit of a perfume like thing going on as well. I can taste some alcohol. Needs a little refinement, but for $4.99 a fifth, I won’t complain.