Unibroue Quelque Chose

Brewed by Unibroue (Sapporo)
Style: Fruit Beer
Chambly, Canada

Enjoyed at Wawood’s winter brew tasting. All present seemed to agree that this beer was better the warmer it was served. Sweet, spicy, and tastes like mulled white wine (a little off) when cold, but loosens when warm to reveal quiet cloves and some port. My tasting notes also contain a word that looks like "valks" or "raks." So, "raks." I would share a bottle of this, warm, with friends on a cold day. I would not ever drink it cold on a warm day.

2002 Vintage: Saved for the big snowstorm. Tried it warmed first. Aroma of cherries. Flavor of cherries. Like drinking a fresh warm cherry pie. A little sour in the finish. Cold: Clear amber color. Cherry aroma and flavor is weaker and seems to be more sour.

2002 bottling, snow on the ground, figured it was a good time to sample this one! Sampled across all temperature ranges. Clear medium reddish color, no head, although trace carbonation was forced out by the heating process. Aroma of dark cherries, hint of chocolate at all temperatures. When warm, a note of sour cherry and alcohol arose from the steam. Flavors were a dead on match to the aromas. Enjoyable, but not as complex in my opinion as others found it to be.

Sampled at From The Vine beer tasting Jan 14th, 2005: Served a little cooler than room temperature, and I would definitely like to try it hot. Pours cherry red with a medium thick off-white head with big, pregnant bubbles. Nothing but cherries in the nose. Strong cherry flavor with a flatter texture than one would find in a Lambic or similar beer. The finish is tart cherry and lingers for quite some time both on the palate and in the glass. Interesting beer.

Small sample from bomber at From the Vine beer tasting in Lewis Center, Ohio. Translucent red; no head. Aroma cherries and more cherries! Flavor heavy cherries with some nice spiciness, namely cinnamon. Almost cider-like and super-sweet. Could be thicker, but otherwise very awesome.

2002 vintage: The first beer I’ve consumed at the boiling point. This unusual beer is best served heated to about 150 F. Pours reddish with a small but creamy head. Very strong taste of cherry is present but not overly tart. As the name suggests, this one is definitely "something else."

Chilled 2002 version. Pours red and nearly still. Aromas of balsamic vinegar, cherries and sugar waft from the glass. Taste is of tarte cherries and a minimal but present underlying sourness. This is one hell of a versatile beer!

08-08-2002 vintage sampled cold on 01-15-2008. The beer pours to a shiny strawberry amber body with no head. The aroma is cherry juice, subtle oak chips, lots of minor hard to describe aromas but the overall blend is nice. Perhaps some cinnamon sticks and cloves. The flavor is very much like the aroma. Oh so nicely blended. The palate is sweet, tart, and on the verge of being sticky. Medium bodied.

Brought to MrFacto’s ’Tosa tasting by CaptainCougar; this beer was labeled "Best by 10/05/2002," so it was probably from 1999 or 2000. Hazy orange body with nary a head. Very appealing sour cherry aroma with notes of cinnamon, caramel, and toast as well as alcohol. Cherry pie flavor with tart cherries, toast, alcohol, and a peculiar woodiness, finishing with a lingering bitterness. Soft carbonation. Wow...besides New Glarus Belgian Red this is the best cherry beer I’ve tried.