Unibroue 17

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

Bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar. I kept wondering to myself when they would release the next numbered ale on lees, but good for me I found one when I did. A big bold nose of yeasty spices packed with a fruity and undeniable malt aroma. The flavor is so confusing and all over the map I don’t even know where to begin. First, there is the large profile of yeast that ranges from wild farmhouse styled yeast towards a lab created spicy yeast that shows signs of pepper, clove and some kind of green leaf that has been dried and added in addition. There is also a strong dosage of smokey flavor and perhaps a barrel aged wood aftertaste of some sort that causes some scrambled messages to my head. The delivery of alcohol is so strong yet smooth just hits the spot and does the trick making it well worth the price for the bottle. Lastly, the appearance was a dark brown with small signs of sediment showing up towards the end of the bottle, and has a sticky layer of foam that leaves behind a trail of lacing all along the Trappist glass.

Date: 05/24/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: clear dark amber, wispy beige head, bits of drippy lace,
Flavor: sweet dark caramel malt flavor with lots of fruity esters and well balanced with a spicy character,
Overall: dark caramel malt flavor, lots of fruity esters, just a touch of esters kept dry by the earthy spicyness, lasting spicy finish, light yeasty bready character,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Bottle from Canals. Hazy brown pour iwth a strong carbonation presence. I smelled banana, wheat, spice and bread. Mouthful was pleasant with spice and yeast with a mild citus alcohol finish. Not bad at all.

Pours a hazy copper amber with a frothy, clingy-lacing light tan head. Aroma of rich, sweet caramely Belgian malts, some peppery spices and the trademark Unibroue yeastiness. Starts fairly full and biscuity malty sweet with some light fruity esters and a touch of warming alcohol. Finishes drier and bittersweet with some light fruity complexity and peppery yeast. A pretty decent Belgian strong and typical of their other beers.

Deep ruby with an off-white head. Awesome aroma of stewed apples, cinnamon, bubble-gum, clove, figs, and buttery. Chalky mouth. Flavor is full of cloves, anise, molasses, dark fruits, and cinnamon. A great brew. Thanks TimE.

Pours a hazy amber brown color with a tan head. Aroma is malty, honey, apple, spicy, yeasty, and peppery hops. Flavor is malty, honey, apple, toast, and a bitter peppery finish.

Dark brown pour with a rocky light tan head. Interesting aroma - sweet and yeasty like most Unibroue, but there’s nice touches of an anise or clove-like tone present that reminds me of those root beer barrel hard candies. The taste has more classic Unibroue spiciness, but there is a defined malt base here, and the anise tones are still present. It would’ve been nice to have some of the yeastiness toned down a bit, because I sense some nice subtle notes below, but it’s still a nice brew, and not too close to the Unibroue-by-numbers these releases can seem to be.

2008-Apr-25 from a 750 ml bottle (most malt of all Unibroue beers brewed to date...fermented with oak chips...bottled in Dec 2007). Wood sugar aroma. Dirty brown color. Big wood flavor, which may meld into the beer more over time, with some heat going down. Big body.