Unibroue Édition 2004

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: JAN 23, 2004 Finally I get my hands on that one. White head, Gold maudite like appearance, and a rather acidic and spicy flavour incliding some yeast too. Agrumes taste with lots of spice. The finish is dry . I didn't really notice the alcohol taste so good job for hiding it ! I liked it a lot!

750ml bottle. A hazy orange ale that pours with a whitish, lasting head that leaves good lacing. Nice aroma of orange peel, dried apricots, juniper, some cookie-like maltiness, and the usual Unibroue yeastiness. Medium mouthfeel with a lively carbonation that softens. The aroma provides a good introduction to the flavour as the same elements feature in both, although to the flavour I would add some pear-like sweetness/fruitiness, a dose of additional spices (coriander, maybe), and something that reminded me of tea with honey and lemon. Moderately spicy finish with a light, somewhat herbal, hop bitterness. Some alcohol presence in the aroma and flavour, but I would say that you feel its effect much more than you taste it. Quite heavily spiced, I suppose, but it is so well-integrated that it ends up as simply a big beer with a big flavour, and a very enjoyable one at that.

The aroma hit me hard. a great bouquet of fruit and wood. smooth as silk and tastes of butterscotch and pine. high carbination hits you hard and with a lingering bitter after taste.

Honey colored, orange red in the sunlight, cracked neon yellow in the dark. Awesome head from a long stemmed chalice pour, retentive and sticky. Aromas of sweet yeast and honey wake you up like a bar of Zest. Fruit complexities dance around, completely inoffensive sweetness, peaches and pineapples, aged and spiced with ginger and brown sugar. Starts with potent sweet yeast, very foamy and firm, leading into highly-alcoholic Belgian fruit, much zippier than that of the nose, freshly-picked instead of aged and candied, ending with a yeastfire zip at the end. Age has treated this well.

UPDATED: DEC 25, 2010 750ml. Hazy orange pour after a champagne eruption. Fizzy off-white head that recedes fairly quickly but leaves some nice lacing. I’m siding with FtWorthBrew on this one. Has the Unibroue yeasty character with loads of fruity spicy flavor becoming deep and complex and then yielding to a peppery finish with a little alcohol burn. Lovely yeasty fruity amoma. A lot of carbonation makes it feel light in the mouth. Sweet apricot and plum flavors. Very pleasant to drink. Very tasty... Hell, this is delicious! All you people who dont like this, send yours to me! I could drink this until I am completely stewed, and I very well may! What a wonderful Christmas brew! . . . 12/25/2007 . . a bottle from my cellar that I bought in 2004, shared with my family for Christmas dinner. Everybody loved it. The flavors had mellowed and become deeper and smoother, more burgundy in character. Still the lovely citrus and spice aroma. Flavor bested a very excellent French white wine, served with a dinner of roast duck. Complex fruitiness, sweet, spicy and delicious. Still awesome. .... 12-25-2010 ... Merry Christmas! Opened the last bottle from my cellar this year with great anticipation because I love the Unibroue beers. Six years of age has certainly changed the flavor profile, more subtle and nuanced and complex now, but its still a fabulous beer. Much of what I originally loved remains. The aroma is notes of orange and tangerine, Belgian yeast, spices. Very smooth and drinkable with no indication of the 10.5 % strength except the label on the bottle, but it sneaks up on you fast. A slight winey note adds to the allure. Served after a dinner of steak and lobster. A wonderful Christmas brew... no disappointment here!

(05.13.06) Sampled at DiCarlo’s Spring beer tasting event. Bottle. Poured clear golden yellow with small white head. Soft carbonation. Fruity spicy aroma. Medium-bodied alet that starts with light malt sweetness and fruity (dried orange peel?) spicy (coriander?) flavors. Honey notes also detected. Finished dry with spicy mead-like flavor and minty note. Smooth, rich and well-balanced and having a complex flavor character. An exquisite ale and probably my favorite Unibroue beer.

UPDATED: DEC 18, 2006 Wow, this is amazing. Pours a medium gold with a thin white head with great lacing. Aroma is yeasty, spicey, a bit funky and absolutely phenomenal. Flavor is similar with a very nice balance of sweet malts and yeast. This is the most balanced and drinkable tripel I’ve ever had. Alcohol is present at 10.5%, but works well with the spices. A great brew.

Pours a ultra-cloudy, particulate-filled orange-coppper with a slowly disipating off-white head that fades to a solid cap. Decent lacing. The aroma is very complex. It consists of ginger, apricot-mango glaze, cardamom, cookie, minimal hops (mild citrus), candied sugar and intense yeast. It almost smells like a general soa’s sauce or a sweet soy sauce. The flavour is heavy in dates, cardamom, lemon rine, candied sugar, drie fruits, all-spice, ginger, and steak tartar in the finish (no bulshit). The body has velvety smooth carbonation and is medium bodied. The finish is long and spicy. This beer gets no love and I don’t understand why.

Had this as part of a Unibroue tasting dinner. Poured amber with a small head. Honey and malty tones dominate. Spicy complex flavors that taste very different depending on what you are eating with it. Really went well with a bleu cheese salad. IMO this was tied for best in show in the tasting I did. If you can find this...grab as much as you can.

UPDATED: MAY 22, 2006 Pours a nice fizzy amber/orange color with a soapy white head. Fruity spice aroma with figs and coriander. Taste starts sweet and spicy and ends with a smooth hop bitterness. Update: 5/22/06 Found a few more bottles of this. This beer has aged so well over two years, much dryer with a big pepper note that plays well with the warming alcohol in the finish. Lots of big herbal qualities, orange peel, and not bitter like my previous rating. I’ll have to grab a few more of these and try them in another year or so, still improving.