Unibroue 15

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

The beer spills from the cork and caged 750ml bottle a beclouded amber orange color with a large creamy white head, with the residual lace a thick concealing sheet. Nose is fruity, oranges and limes, malt sweet with the hops aromatic, crisp like sparkling wine. Front has a sweet and sour effect on the palate, nicely malted, top is medium in feel. Finish has tenacious acidity, hops give a nice finishing spicy bite, and desert dry aftertaste seals itself to the palate, one of their better beers of late.

750ml bottle. Sweet, fruity aroma, tropical and sugary with notes of pear, melon, white grape, honey, doughy yeast and a light amount of spicy, peppery alcohol and lemony citrus, perhaps a hint of green apple as well. Light-medium golden color with tones of amber shining through, lightly hazy with a hugely frothy and lasting head subsiding to reveal thick sheets of rocky lace. Flavor profile is tart and fruity with a spicy yeast bite throughout and plenty of alcoholic tinges here and there, along with suggestions of pepper and a warming, estery finish that blends easily with the lingering, gently tart fruitiness. Effervescent on the palate and lightly syrupy with a decidedly full body. Very much in the style of a Strong Golden Ale, and very Unibroue.

Bottle(1/6). BevMo La Mesa. Pours a hazy golden orange color. Aroma is like candy and yeast. Somewhat foral and sweet with a bit of spiciness. Maybe a little alcohol. Slightly creamy grain and yeast up front. A bit of spice and alcohol as well. A little fruitness. Pretty decent offering.

Hazy, golden orange with a fluffy, quickly-diminishing white head. The fruity, sweet and estery nose is evident from the first pop of the cork. The nose is full of apricots, bananas, sweet apples, honey, bubble gum, mango, dry wheat, cloves, minty alcohol, sweet sugar and some light coriander. The body is fairly full, with that characteristic Unibroue effervescence, pricklying the tongue throughout. The flavor shows more sweet fruit and malt, estery yeast and a nice, drying alcohol finish. It’s not the best strong golden ale from Unibroue, but it’s pretty tasty and it’s reminiscent of some of their finest work. Maybe this is to remind one of the 15 golden ales they’ve made that are similar and not the 15th anniversary of the brewery. Either way, enjoy it as you do all of their products--knowing it was well crafted and is well loved.

Pours hazy orange / copper with a frothy head that leaves fairly quick. The aroma has quite a bit going on - there are spices, herbs, cloves and pepper. There is also a rich malt in the backgroud backing up the spices. The beer is full bodied with medium carbonation that is somewhat frothy. The taste has light fruitiness and spicy / pepper aspects. There is a rich and smooth maltiness that is somewhat like butterscotch. The finish is spicy hops with more of the pepper. In a lot of ways this beer reminds me of a drier version of a tripel. Nice beer from Unibroue as usual.

This beer is a lightly hazed golden color with a thick and frothy white head with decent retention. Fair amount of lacing as well. The aroma is yeasty with some pepper and citrus. Medium-bodied with a spicy character of cloves and pepper. Some citrus, wheat and yeast flavors as well. The finish is spicy with a nice orange peel finish. Pretty good overall.

Hazy, brown-orange beer with dense white head. Phenolic aroma with notes of fish, almonds, malt, fruits and alcohol. Alcoholic flavour with notes of phenols and fruits. A bit sweet. Dry finish that dies too soon.

Bottle. Golden beer with a nice white head. Refreshing yeasty/spicey aroma. Lots of wit style spices in the aroma and flavor. Highly carbonated. Spicey, malty, yeasty, lightly fruity flavor. Lots of subtleties. Well made, but doesn’t have the depth of many of their other years. Pear, green apple, slight lemon. Nice and very drinkable. Hides alcohol well (just the slightest warming).