Unibroue 17

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

Bottle- A deep murky brown/orangey pour, with a frothy and thick mocha cap. Good lace left behind. The nose is just incredible on this beer. Huge on yeasty esters, loads of perfume and banana. Like banana cream pie, with nutty malts and deep dark pit fruits. The flavour profile is sweet but balanced. Loads of banana, berries, floral hops and tart yeast. Heaps of spices round it out. This is creamy and very drinkable for the weight. A complete surprise and a real treat. Like banana cream pie in a glass.

This poured out a dark and mysterious brown fluid, capped by a rocky off-white head of between and two fingers thickness. I’ve rarely seen a head like this, as it stayed and stayed and stayed like the thing that wouldn’t leave, and as well the longer it hung around the creamier it became. Great stuff, this. The aroma was much more gentle that expected, featuring what I guess to be dark fruits and some spices. Tasted like dark fruits and spices, too (don’t ask me which ones, as I’ve not got a bloody clue). Also "tastable" (is that a word?) was the alcohol. Solid mouthfeel and a nice finish make this a pleasure to drink. Good thing I’ve got another of these in the beer fridge, right next to a Unibroue 16. Yeah, I screwed up and drank this one out of order.

Smells like sweet nuttyness. Dark amber lovliness with a creamy light headiness. Chocolatey, brandy, and brulee flavorness. Not lingering but yumminess. Very good beerness.

***review from Aug 4, 2008***
I’ve finally manned up and opened this sucker - I figure that if I’m on 3 hours of sleep now is the time. Pop of the cork gave a nice beer smoke that I inhaled - love that beer smoke! Poured out a nicely sized slightly foamy tan head that gives out lots of ropy lacing throughout - retained wonderfully - remember, this is 10%, and the whole thing sits on top of a mid to mid dark brown brew which was a colour that I had not expected. This beer looks awesome! The aroma is quite different than the what is usually expected from Unibroue: softer spiced yeast, almost completely lacks the standard Uni smell, soft raisin, I have no idea what the malts are here - it’s almost a ’Rum Butter" ice cream aroma, the sweetness is somewhere between brown sugar and burnt sugar, dark candylike fruit... so much here on the aroma. The taste is different as well: sweet, spicy, mystery malts that I will just assume are there, plum, faint chocolate (maybe - I found this same idea in the aroma but could not give it to chocolate), something that is nutty without being nutty, condensed caramel, brown sugar, sour cherry just hit for the first time, seems smoky but isn’t - this beer is just one big freaking mystery. The mouth feel is really good now, my marks keep climbing. Solid spice through out, over medium bodied, fluffy carbonation, nothing too harsh on the aftertaste: the spice has staying power but it’s not over the top. Interesting beer that is probably not worthy of a 4.2, I’ll get another bottle or two. Unibroue has come up with something different and that is good.

Strong, rich Belgian, though not very interesting nor complex. Pours dark and attractive, with a retained white head. The Belgian yeast aroma checks in. Above average mouthfeel, it is drinkable, but can use some hook, like spice or fruit. Much better with food.

Big aroma of yeast. Flavor is huge yeast, some spice, carbonation is somewhat heavy on the palate. Some decent Belgian characteristics, but not very exciting.

750 mL bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar (Escondido, CA). Pours a dark plum color, bordering on brown. Two fingers of off-white head quickly dissipates to a thin but persistent layer. Aroma is complex and difficult to separate the components but here goes: yeast (less than many others from Unibroue), banana, plum, sweet grainy-ness, and some level of spice (clove and ginger?). Flavor is similarly complex with wood, caramel, dark fruit, and a very nice level of molasses-like sweetness. There is also a distinct ash/campfire flavor toward the end. The 10% ABV is almost completely concealed.

Bottle shared with a friend. Very good lacing on the glass with a potent head. Sweet with slight sourness on the palate, giving way to blackberries, dates, yeast and molasses. Very nice brew, and one of the best I’ve had from this brewery.