Unibroue Édition 2005

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

Blah...Aroma was pool water, alcohol, nuts and caramel. Pour was a deep dark murky brown with a thin tan film for a head that left quickly. Taste was very oily with yeast, chocolate, dark fruits and cherry. As it warmed it started tasting like alcoholic dark chocolate covered cherries. Very nice strong carbonation and a warm alcoholic aftertaste with a touch of dusty cardboard. This has the typical Unibroue house flavor which I’m not a big fan of.

Pours hazy brown, dark fruits, dark chocolate, caramel, alcohol, nutty, bready, little spice.

750ml at The Woodshop Quad. Pours brown with a tan head. Nose is sweet and tasty and smooth. Overall this has come into its own like the 2004 did, previously.

very winelike aroma...almost like is was barrel aged in bordeaux barrels...slightly sour and cherry notes. deep brown color with red tints. very thin white head. mild chocolate flavor up front that disappears into sour cherries and finishes a bit thin with tart hoppiness.

750 mL bottle. Poured a cloudy brown color with ruby highlights showing on the sides. A huge off white head topped the pour. Aroma was sour contained dark fruit notes. Flavor was bland, with huge overripe dark fruit tastes. After drinking my 2004 and really enjoying it, I was hoping for more out of the 2005. It was obvious that this beer needed to be consumed fresh, or at least fresher than this bottle.

750ml bottle. Picked up a bottle in Cleveland for 6 dollars. Consumed December 2008, pretty much 3 years old. Still remains fairly carbonated. Deep, thick brown color. Has some dark Barleywine characteristics. Full bodied malt bomb. The aroma has faded into something different than its former glory, leaving it pungent and liquor like. Certainly a great deal of cognac flavor going on. Lots of pungent dark fruit tastes too, reminiscent of greats such as Rochefort. A classy sipping beer, probably best fresh. Rating only applies to the aged version.

Pours a murky darker brown with basically no head and no bubbles. I would guess this beer is way past its prime and I think I’m going to open up my Unibroue 15 & 16 in hopes they don’t suffer the same fate. Mostly sweet rich caramel cotton-candy aroma that is aided well by a hint of alcohol, but some plums, raisins, dark fruits and something a little sour/citric as well. Mellow first taste, cotton-candy, a bit tangy, rich caramel, Unibroue yeast fruitiness, dark fruits with a warming alcohol finish. Syrupy body with little carbonation. This beer has essentially turned into an English barley wine... and not a particularly interesting one. Better as it warms (of course), lots of nuts and figs. Strong vanilla aftertaste.

A - Pours a dark ruby red, nice carbonation, head disapates quickly, nice lacing afterwards. S - Scents of plums, grapes, malts, yeast, slight citrus. T - The taste is nice and tangy, slight sweet malts, very tasty. Not much of an alcohol taste at all. M - Medium body, well balanced with a nice carbonated feel. D - Very drinkable. Another awesome brew from Unibroue. Highly recommended.