Tag: Unibroue

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Featured Review – Lune de Miel from Unibroue


I will be reviewing the the under appreciated but always solid Unibroue from Quebec.

We start with the most recent seasonal, Lune de Miel, a summer specialty release that was sent to me to review by parent company Sapporo. The beer is a Belgian-style strong amber ale brewed with local Québec honey.

This new offering was “inspired by a tradition dating back almost 4,000 years. In Ancient Babylon, the father of the bride would provide his new son-in-law with an unlimited supply of mead during the first month of marriage, a period that came to be called the “honey month”. As Babylonians were using a lunar calendar, the honey month eventually became the “honey moon”.”

After popping the foiled cap off the elegant black and gold labeled bottle a really fragrant hefe meets potpourri nose comes rushing out. Strong beer here. Honey is here in force. Belgian esters as well. Not quite clove or banana but close. This beer is prickly in a good way. Almost like an Imperial hefe. I shouldn’t be surprised. Whenever I get their Trader Joe’s branded beers, they are top notch. This will probably show up in my year-end Best of 2017. Straightforward and superb.

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In the Tap Lines for August 2017

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The second half of the L.A. summer season is here, time to load up the ‘fridge with warm weather beers and start to be amazed at how early the fall seasonals are on shelves.

~ e-visits to three breweries from with the Beer Bloggers Conference landing in Milwaukee, we visit three Wisconsin breweries.
~ special featured reviews of Unibroue beers
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Dodge City by Tom Clavin
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your August started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) August 1st – All Your Oats Can release at Eagle Rock Brewery
2) August 3rd – Russian River Tap Take-Over at Lucky Baldwin’s Trappiste Pub location.

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Up From the Cellar – Vintage Ale from Trader Joe’s 2011

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Earlier this month, I reviewed the gold embossed 2010 version of Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale brewed by the Canadian Unibroue and now we move on to the silver embossed 2011 and see how much (if any) differences there are.

To recap, here is what I said about this beer years ago, Aroma is not malty or roasted. Rich smelling. Pours dark brown close to black. Alot of plum type flavor in here. A faint touch of spice. The cheeks warm up but only after a few sips.

Every once in a while, you end up with a cork battle. This time the cork won. Various instruments of torture were used and I finally was able to get 1/2 of the cork out while the remainder floated merrily in the bottle.

After cleaning up the mess I made in the kitchen, I brought the glass to my nose and smelled cola?  Yup, distinct cola notes in the nose and taste as well as the carbonation. Drastically different from the 2010. I also pick up rhubarb in there as well. Rhubarb pie to be precise. This us such a brighter and bubblier drink.  There are some candi sugar flavors in there which adds to the sweet overall profile.

As it warms, the clove and typical Belgian yeast components come out of hiding.

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The Verdict?  Strange and soda pop but I kinda liked it. Maybe the thrill of a fizzy aged beer has clouded my judgement but this year was fun.

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Sean Suggests for June 2014

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Last month was a little light on the ABV, for June, we are cranking it up a notch.  Starting with a dry hopped beer that is not to be missed followed by a pair of collaborations on the darker side.  Enjoy!

~LIGHT

Brasserie Dupont/ Cuvee Dry Hopping 2014 6.50% ABV

“Every year Dupont’s Master Brewer, Olivier Dedeycker, makes a special dry-hopped  version of  the brewery’s world famous Saison Dupont. For 2014, he chose the famous English hop, CHALLENGER, renowned for its balance of bittering and aromatic qualities. Importantly, they were cultivated in Belgium by the farm that supplies Olivier’s Golding hops. Using only hop flowers (no pellets, please), he added them to the late boil and dry hopped in cold maturation. ”

~MEDIUM

AleSmith with Cigar City/ Ramblin’ Rye Brown Ale 8.50% ABV

“Alesmith and Cigar City have once again partnered up for our second coast-2-coast collaborative brew, a delicious rye brown ale.

Worn out and tongue-tied from rhyming countless beer-centric names with “rye,” we knew it was finally time to quit rambling on and figured “Rye bother”…let’s brew. The result is a rich, malty Roggenbier that is riddled with notes of chocolate and biscuit that perfectly compliment the soft spiciness of the rye. Grab a pint and toast to the coasts.

This balanced and complex brew pairs best with smooth cigars and life-long friends.”

~DARK

Unibroue for Trader Joe’s/ Vintage Ale 9.00% ABV

“Unique and limited edition, this Belgian style ale is crafted once a year as a special treat for those of you who appreciate flavorful, bottle-conditioned ale with character. This year’s vintage: a rich, dark and full-bodied ale with a fine and generous coffee-colored, beige foam. It’s ready to enjoy right away and you may also wish to cellar a few bottles. It will evolve interestingly well, developing more complex flavors as the years go by.”

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Up from the Cellar – Vintage Ale from Trader Joe’s 2010

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The private label beers at Trader Joe’s fall into two camps. The “Really cheap and it Shows” and the “I Can’t Believe They aren’t Charging More.”

The Unibroue beers fall into the latter and I have squirreled away 2010-2012 vintages that were labeled as Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale. I will only review the two oldest though. Maybe save 2012 and get 2014 to compare against each other.

Here is what I said about this beer years ago, Aroma is not malty or roasted. Rich smelling. Pours dark brown close to black. Alot of plum type flavor in here. A faint touch of spice. The cheeks warm up but only after a few sips.

Now it is time to see how 4 years has treated this Canadian Dark ale with spices…..

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First off, the cork came out beautifully. Two seconds later it was a grade school science fair exhibit that delayed my drinking whilst I cleaned up sticky beer from the counter.

Once I had it in the glass, the smell of cherries and plums greeted the nose. Almost juice like in aroma. A pretty taupe pattern of lacing on the glass. Taste wise, the Belgian yeast influence seemed to have faded a bit. There was a bit of thinness too that I don’t remember from before and the booziness isn’t as apparent. After the fruit notes the biggest flavor is a wine tannin hit. The spice which was faint has completely left the building.

Coming in at 9%, this beer shows signs of losing strength. Still plenty of flavor here but the complimentary notes which rounded out the taste are gone, leaving a more acidic ale with a fruit focus in its place.

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The Verdict – I think I let this one sit for a year too long.  The fruit forward nature is a bit too much.

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Providence


Looks like Trader Joe’s is having Unibroue add to the private label beers that they supply with the coming soon Providential Belgian Golden Ale.

Not only can you get Unibroue branded beers at a discount at the chain there private label offerings are an absolute steal for the high quality you get. Just avoid the Boatswain beers. Not good.

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Unibroue Tasting

If you weren’t at Bottle Rock in Culver City on Monday then you missed a treat. Unibroue was pouring 7 beers plus a special for only $15.00. Here are my thoughts…

Blanche de Chambly – bubbly and carbonated. Light straw in color. Had a wine aroma. Easy to drink. Not as spicy as I would like in a white beer.

Ephemere – bubbly as well. Apple taste was not as pronounced as in previous bottles. Nice farmhouse aroma. One of favorites.

Don de Dieu – caramel smell. Triple Wheat ale. Lovely orange-golden color. A little spice on the back end. Probably my second favorite.

Maudite – very alcoholy even though less ABV’s than the Don de Dieu. Complex but not in a good way. Flavors seemed to fight each other.

La Fin du Monde – very similar to the Don de Dieu but with much more of an alcoholic bite to it. Beautiful golden color.

Trois Pistoles – lovely dark color. Not much aroma. Better balance of flavors than the Maudite.

La Terrible – biggest ABV of the bunch but also very lovely. Nice lace on the glass. Dry.

As a special treat, there was a Unibroue beer served up that you cannot get here in Southern California. La Seigneuriale. What they call a Belgian Strong Pale. In English it means, Lord of the Manor. Very nice amber with lots of competing flavors that don’t get in the way of each other. It is my bronze winner of the night.

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