Unibroue 16

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

From a 750 ml. caged corked bottle with a before date of December 2009, a coded number on the shoulder of bottle, I’m guessing it’s a batch/lot number, sampled at cellar temperature in a Unibroue tulip glass. Poured a cloudy orangey copper with a large frothy, foamy beige/off-white head that slowly settled into a thin sudsy lacing, a good deal of laced sticking. From the first sniff you can tell this is a Unibroue ale, the very distinctive yeastiness of all their ales, big whiffs of clove, peppery spice, earthy raw nuts, nutmeg and candied sugar, apple, pears, grapes and lemon zest, and sweet grainy malts. Good active carbonation and a crisp, dryish, airy, creamy smooth light bodied mouthfeel, a good Belgian strong ale feel. A good pleasant and balanced taste, apples and green grapes, a nice clove spiciness, grainy, caramelized malts, nutmeg and a touch of candied sugar, a little lemon zest, peppery, zingy spice, the spiciness meshes with the alcohol providing a spicy warmth in the palate, and a dry, crisp yeasty, malty finish. An easy sipper, quite delectable, I much prefer this to the 15th anniversary ale and the contract winter ale they do for Trader Joe’s.

Hazy amber out of the bottle with a big foamy beige head. Very sweet nose of melted toffee, Belgian candi sugar and a bouquet of flowers. Sweet beer with lots of burnt caramel, melted toffee, orange peel, some bready malts, and enough of the alcohol to put the "strong" in Belgian strong. Nice Belgian style from North Amereica.

This bottled brew from Chicago poured a very large sized head of foamy finely sized mostly lasting tan colored bubbles that left behind a very hazy dark orange brown colored softly carbonated body and a poor lacing. The aroma was floral with soft hoppy notes complex and full of interesting but hard to describe notes. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and came on a bit in the finish with a mild well hidden vinousness. The flavor contained notes of floral hops, mild light brown malt very smooth and drinkable with a mild hop bite in the finish.

Sample, tasting of Saison and Christmas beers by Philippe Wouters, at L’autre oeil, savoured on February 21 2007; eye: burnt orange, hazy, no effervescence, creamy almond head; nose: "Unibroue", cigarette (?), caramelized malt, bread, cardamom; mouth: velvety, syrupy, caramelized malt, alcohol, pepper, candied fruits, creamy texture, medium body, alcoholic texture, lightly astringent, average carbonation, mildly sweet, light bitterness; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Échantillon, dégustation Bières de Noël et de saison par Philippe Wouters, à L’autre œil, savourée le 21 février 2007; oeil : orange brûlé, voilée, pas d’effervescence, mousse amande crémeuse; nez : « Unibroue », cigarette (?), malt caramélisé, pain, cardamome; bouche : veloutée, sirupeuse, malt caramélisé, alcool, poivre, fruits confits, texture crémeuse, corps moyen, texture alcoolique, légère astringence, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement sucrée, légère amertume; en résumé : correct

Pours a dark burnt orange/amber with a nice white head. Aroma is of some cloves, smoke (peaty? I dunno), citronella candles, cheese and mold. Odd. Tastes pretty nice though, with some caramel, cloves, brown sugar, some dry bitternes that could be hops, and a strong spicy yeast presence because it’s a Unibroue beer. Finishes continuess the spiciness and adds a dry bitter quality. Unexpectedly cloying. Pretty good overall. The aroma offered some unexpected twists, but the flavor was straight-up Unibroue. Another good Unibroue ale, on lees no less!

Very fine and unexpected brew here. Like many raters, I’m pretty familiar with this brewery’s stuff and have come to expect a certain kind of malty Belgian boldness and bigness (e.g. Fin du Monde, Don de Dieu, etc.). Bold and big this is, but it’s actually like a higher octane Maudite tweaked to the point where it exudes some lovely qualities of a Flemish sour. It’s not dominant but it’s in there amidst the candied malts, the traces of pepper, the alcohol warmth, and the autumnal fruits/spices. Fizzy, warming, complex. I’ll have to grab another couple bottles of this.

reddish brown appearance with a strong white head and a nice malty nose. the flavor has a well balanced complexity with some alcohol warmth at the end. a nice brew

Pours a murky dark amber with a very tall head. Earthy aroma. The alcohol is not so noticeable. The flavor does have a brown sugar like presence.