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☆ 

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If you have ever had or seen any of Unibroue’s beers, you will notice that they use pretty thick bottles.  The reason is because they are firmly Belgian in their brewing tradition, using Belgian candy sugar and putting their beer on lees (fresh yeast in the bottle).  Everything they make is, at the minimum, worth a try. Seigneruriale is 7.5% ABV and is considered a strong amber ale.  Unibroue suggests pairing their beer with carved ham, apricot glazed duck or squab, thai shrimp curry or holiday fruit cake.  Maybe give it a try with one of these things.  Personally, I think that this would go well with thick chops with a a cinnamon spiced rub cooked in some of the beer (make a reduction with the liquid when the chops are out).  That sounds really good.  On to this beer.

The Pour: I would describe the pour as a reddish-orange maple that had a slight haze to it.  Typical of Belgian style beers, it was very effervescent and finely carbonated.  In addition, also characteristic of Belgians, there was a nice fluffy head on the brew.

The Nose: If you don’t smell touches of candy on a beer brewed in Belgian style, walk away from the thing. Gladly, this beer made the cut.  Hints of a powdery yeast strain were also fairly prominent on the nose.  Also like most Unibroue offerings, there were some vinous (wine like) qualities, along with hints of apple fruitiness.

The Taste: Very slight apple fruits, which paired well with the residual sweetness (the candy sugar tastes), came through during the tasting.  That powdery yeast became a noticeable spicy bite. The alcohol level was fairly well hidden but detectable.  I want to note, contrary to the normal Unibroue beer experience, that this offering had a bit of a hop bite, especially on the finish.  I detected a cooked vegetable touch on the end, which is never good in my book, but it wasn’t overpowering.

Overall, this beer is good but not the pinnacle of Unibroue’s selection.  I am still convinced that Trois Pistoles is the best beer they make.  At any rate, the vegetable quality on the end lost some points, and I also think that beer could have been a little more robust.  Still, their owner, Sleemans, does not hold a candle to even this beer.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Unibroue products: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other Belgian Styles: ★★★☆☆ 

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Regardless, I am rarely let down by Unibroue product.  In fact, I may go so far as to say that the Belgian reformation here in the US craft beer scene was pushed along by Unibroue.

I picked up a bottle of Unibroue’s Terrible, without knowing much about it.  I have tasted everything by the brewery that could be found locally up to this point, and Terrible was a new addition to the shelves.  (Does any one else pester the staff incessantly for new arrivals?)  The dark black bottle with silver writing was ominous enough to entice the dark side in me to purchase.

The Pour:

Terrible (man I love saying that) pours dark and black into the glass.  It looks like a thin stout, except for the fantastic carbonation.  The head wasted no time in disappearing, leaving a sticky resin and great design work on the inside of the glass.

The Aroma:

Like Pavlov’s famous drooling canine, I half expected roasted coffee aromas, like a Stout, to emerge from the glass, as this beer reminded me of a stout in appearance.  Instead a burst of fresh white grape, like smelling a pinot grigio, hit the nostrils.  Odd indeed.  But, in the words of the late Micheal Jackson, “It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white.”  Following this berry burst were classic  Belgian spices:  Coriander, Clove, even Nutmeg, I thought.  A hint of alcohol hits the nose, but is less than expected for a 10.5% ABV.

The Taste:

How sweet it is!  Yes, I know this is a dark beer, but it tasted so white grape-ish!  I mean, give this to a wine snob, and they will fall for it!  There is not much balancing the sweetness, as hops are nearly imperceptible.  The dark color of the beer shows itself in a great nutty flavor that pairs so well with the up front sweet burst.  Certainly candy sugar was used in this thin brew, and when mixed with the mild alcohol bite, yields a slight rum flavor.

Overall Thoughts:

I will buy this again, though I do think it was just a tad off balance and could use a bit more hop bitterness.   I always applaud a beer with a big ABV bite that hides the flavor of alcohol like this one did, as it allows the tongue to pick up on other nuances.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other Dar Strong Belgian Ales: ★★★★☆ 

Among other Unibroe Specialty Brews: ★★★½☆ 

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Surprisingly, Canadian beer is slightly overlooked in the United States.  In fact, Labbatts or Molson aside, I would be willing to bet that the average beer drinker would find it easier to recall a brewery in Thailand or Chile easier than one from our Northern neighbor.  I’ll be honest, I had seen St. Ambroise Wheat Ale several times before but lacked motivation to pick it up.   Seeing their vintage anniversary ale so nicely packaged, and sporting an ABV of 9.8%, my motivation was found.

Motivation was found as well to do some research on the beer.  Besides possessing a fixation with all things human-past, it is disconcerting for me to drink a beer without knowing anything about the brewery that produced the beer.   A trip to the company website is always in order.

The St. Ambroise line, made by the McAuslan brewing company, takes its name from the locale of its brewery, St. Ambroise St. in Quebec.  Quebec is the only Canadian province that is predominantly French speaking, with French as it’s primary Language.  Catholic missionaries were a strong presence after discovery, thus the naming of the street “St. Ambroise (Ambrose).”

The founder, Steve McAuslan, left his position as senior administrator at Dawson College, under the firm conviction that Quebec needed and could handle a quality beer, and that after 25 years of experience as a home brewer he was the guy to bring it to them.  After more than a year of financing, building, recipe developing, and promotion, the brewery was opened in 1989.  Success and growth soon followed.  The company of five employees, now employs 40 and is active in the community.

On to the beer:

The Pour:

This beer pours a deep bronze color.  Sporting amazing clarity, when held up to the light, red and orange colors burst through.  Mine beer poured a thick head about 2 inches thick that clung to the glass after melting back into the liquid.

The Aroma:

Unique malt aromas greet the nose immediately that are heavily reminiscent of Trappist style beers.  The malt is biscuity and brimming with cheery and raisin notes, toasted biscuit, caramel, a little bit of chocolate, and I pick up a slight apricot aroma.  I didn’t pick up on an distinct hop characteristics, but the smell of alcohol is present.

The Taste:

The beer is relatively mild when it hits the tongue.  Unlike other beers with such strong aromas and higher Alcohol contents, there is not a confrontational burst of sugary sweetness.  But as this beer fills your mouth, a complex arrangement of sweet flavors unleash.  The burnt biscuit flavor and the caramel malts produce a toffee flavor.  Sweet cherries and candied plums make for one delicious mouthful.  The beer is exceptionally smooth.  Mine was amply carbonated, which helped to distract from the higher ABV.  While sweet, the beer has a temperate finish.  The tongue’s bitter sensors are near the back, which is why the finish of  beer is less sweet than when it enters the mouth.  This beer does not finish sweetly nor bitterly…just right.

Overall Thoughts:

This beer has led me to try several other St. Ambroise products, which I would not have done had the experience been bad.  I wish the beer had been a tad thicker in constancy, but overall, you don’t want to miss out on this one.

Nate’s Review:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Barleywines: ★★★★½ 

Among other Canadian Beers: ★★★★¼ 

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This brewery from Quebec makes some very unique beers, including an ale made with peppercorns and a wee heavy with maple syrup. I still think they’re my second favorite Canadian brewery behind Unibroue. They are worth a try if you can find their stuff. This particular ale incorporates hibiscus flowers in the brewing process.

The Pour: A red maple body with little head retention was the body of this seemingly simple looking beer. The body shimmered with semi-active carbonation.

The Nose: A tea-like quality and flowers were on the nose. Some sweetness remained along with (call me crazy) an aroma similar to strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups. A somewhat “powdery” yeast aroma also made its way to my nostrils.

The Taste: I personally enjoyed the initial hint of sour tartness to Rosee. There was a flowery quality to the beer, but I don’t know that I would have picked out exactly how or why it tasted that way if not for the label. If you can pick out hibiscus flower without previous knowledge, then do a guest post for us from time to time. As the nose indicated, there were nice tea leaf qualities and an herbal spice/powdery yeast touch to this strange brew. The yeasty finish combined with a touch of graininess, forming a dry and sticky impression in the mouth. I personally found this stickiness to be a detraction from the beer. But we all know how sticky hibiscus flowers are (I made up this part).

Overall, I would certainly drink this beer again. There is a certain degree of novelty contributed by adding this or that flower to some ales. Some brewers might use Kenyan mountain roots, Sardinian goat hair, or arrogant Texan sweat…but if it doesn’t make a beer better or fit in well, what’s the point? I’ve seen exotic beer that had terrible additions. This is not simply a beer of novelty, this is a beer of quality, which is the important factor for making this imminently drinkable.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¾☆ 

Among other Ales: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other flower beers: ★★★★★ 

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Personally, this writer and his has been affected by the former–unemployment–and has had to make many sacrifices.  After months of combing the want ads and countless application, I am happy to report I start a new and better paying job this coming Monday.   However, as the past several months have necessitated meager living, beer has been left out of the budget–it missed the cut as a necessity.  Keeping food on the table and the house from foreclosure was certainly a much higher priority than quaffing a pricey palatable beer.  So when beer did happen to find its way into my arid oral cavity, it was usually not my first pick.

So when my brother-in-law, on furlow from teaching in South Korea, stopped by for a few days with a case full of Breckenridge Vanilla Porter I did, quite literally, thank heaven.  The beer was delectable.  Not overwhelmingly bitter, but bitter enough to satisfy.  The smooth velvety vanilla taste complimented the initial bitter flavor like Laurel did Hardy.  As I finished that first beer, I made a cognitive decision to not forget the joy of the beer when the paychecks are steady, and times are less difficult.

So, as you pop the top off your brew of choice in days to come–particularly as we enter the Thanksgiving season, please, please, please do not take it for granted, for as much as we love beer on this site, we recognize it not as a staple, but as a pleasantry, for which we must remain thankful.

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Next I smelled the beer.  Delicious.  There was a definite grapish/wine smell to the beer.  No doubt (the expression, not the group), the beer got this quality from the lees.  It also had a sweet, malty smell with little noticeable hops qualities.  There were tons of wine characteristics in this beer, not only in smell but also in taste.  The smell reminded me of ripe fruit (as the bottle suggests).  Pinpointing the fruit was not easy, but I caught cherry or strawberry.  (Unibroue actually makes a cherry driven ale called Chose.)  I suspect that the yeast helped promote the fruity and spicy qualities to the beer as this is a bottle conditioned ale (i.e., extra yeast is added at bottling).

Now the taste.  There was a good acidic or sourish bite to the beer.  This was not overwhelming.  In fact, it seems like it would stimulate the appetite.  The alcohol tastes and warmth of the brew were noticeable, but for a 9% ABV beer, they were subtle.  I feel that the alcohol tastes were negated by the popping flavors of the beer.  In terms of the finish, it was long and lingering.  Very little, if any, hop bitterness or flavors were present in the beer.  Some of the ripe fruitiness of the yeast and nose came through, which I found delightful.  The yeast also lent a bready, almost sweet sherry, hint to the beer.

After I had a bit of the beer on its own terms, I drank it while eating some Pistachio nuts.  I thought the two complemented each other very well.  Of course, it doesn’t help that I am biased (I love beer and I love Pistachios).  Whether you drink the beer on its own or with a salty snack (or well-prepared dinner), I hope you enjoyed this beer as much as I.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★½ 

Among other Unibroue products: ★★★★★ 

Among other Belgian Styles: ★★★★☆ 

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Here is the “drink with us Friday” beer…Trois Pistoles (three towers).  Look for it in a four pack or a 750 ml bottle.  The 750 ml bottle might run around $7.99, so share it with a friend.  The four pack may run you about $9-11.  The 9% ABV is plenty for you both.  This beer from Canada (Quebec) has a reputation for brewing its ales on lees, which are grapes used in making wine.  For a good apologetic on why their beer costs what it does (or any good beer costs what it does) check out Unibroue’s website.  Their main page wil also allow you to read about their beers and methods.  I’ve had the pleasure of having multiple beers of theirs on tap (including this one).  Leave it to a French Canadian brewery to use grapes and come up with a delicious result.  I can’t wait to drink this.  We may feature another one of their beers before too long.

P.S. I want to encourage those who try this beer to try it with one or multiple friends.  I’m actually excited because I’m planning on drinking this locally with some people from work.  YUM!

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