Ale on lees.  Yum!  When I see “ale on lees,” I know it’s a Unibroue beer, and I’m typically a fan… no matter who owns them.  Even if it had Trader Joe’s on the label, I thought it’d be worth a spin.  And for $4.99 on a 750ml bottle that was 9%ABV, I was willing to take a risk.

The Pour:  The pour on this was a murky, blackish brown.  There was a nice foamy latte cream head on the brew, which was propped by a very active body.

The Nose:  Plenty of those powdery Belgian yeast qualities were present along with an herbal quality. Cloves were present on the nose as well as a perceivable sweetness and iron hints.  Like much of Unibroue’s beer, Vintage had a vinous (wine-like) note as well.

The Taste: I thought this had a ton of cloves on the taste and wouldn’t be surprised if a fair amount of wheat was incorporated into the brew.  The cloves were matched to a much lesser extent by banana tones. Unlike some of Unibroue’s other beer, this had a bit of alcohol warmth.  Some sweetness was left, which is nice because it was a fairly dry beer.  Touches of vegetable and caramel made me think a Trappist yeast strain combined with some Special B malt could have easily been used in this beer.

Overall, This is a good beer for the money.  I might still pay the $7.99 or $8.99 that is more typical of Unibroue offerings.  I’d still drink Trois Pistoles, La Fin Da Monde, Maudite, Terrible, Seigneriale, and Chambly Noir over this one any day of the week.  However, it’s good for the price.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Unibroue Ales: ★★★¼☆