Unibroue Éphémère Cassis

Like the others in the Ephemere series, this is a very enjoyable fruit beer. The combination of fruit, wheat, and yeast all come together to form a wonderful brew.

On tap at Deluxe in Scottsdale, AZ, this was a revelatory experience. I was turning 23 and maybe purposely chose the gayest beer on the menu that I hadn’t had. Immediately I was greeted with a very fine fruit beer, with a flavor that was crisp, but not too sweet; very distinct, but not sharp or bitter. The aftertatste was perfectly smooth and undistracting, no yeast to cloud the flavor, just the perfect blueberry-apple-dark plum flavor of black currant. There were 6 other people drinking with me; we emptied this keg in 40 minutes.

Currant nose. Dark yellow, cloudy. Sweet currant flavor with a noticeable sour tinge. Dry palette. Finishes much the same.

Bottle. Pours a hazy red. Aroma is black currant and sugar. Flavor is more of the same, too sweet for my liking, syrupy, too much sugar and cassis, needs to be more subdued and this beer would be better, (like the Apple version, which is very good).

2003 bottle. Pours without much head at all. Aroma is more like a flavored soda pop. Carbonation is champagne-ish. Flavor is. Candy-like, as its still too freakin sweet. Tastes a bit like cough syrup. Yum.

Bottle. Orangeish reddish pour with a short lived medium head. Aroma is of sweet fruit. Taste is sweet berry but well balanced with a slight sourness. Quite an enjoyable beer all around.

Bottle. Sweet nose, really nice. Cloudy bright orange. Flavorful, sweet with a very dry palate. Nice sweet and sour balance.

Interesting beer that increased in complexity as it warmed a bit. Pours an incredibly billowing white head. Intensely foamy and long-lasting. Color is a hazy pale yellow, almost like a summer wheat. Nose has a yeasty blend of aromas - some sweet fruity notes, almost champagne-like. Flavor is dry and sweet, again almost champagne-like. I enjoyed this.