Edition 2004 - Unibroue

Zraly

Virginia

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml, corked selection. Pours a hazy bronze-orange. Tight bubbles in the head that dwindles down to a delicate lacing. Intoxicating and fragrant smells of bananas, pears, dark rum, ginger and clove dominate the senses.

Sweet, full-bodied malty goodness that feels creamy and pleasant in the mouth. Strong carbonation helps leave a twang on the tongue. Citrusy and bubbley, yet sugary and a bit on the syrupy side. The flavor, overall, is truly tasty. The spice and aromatics that are involved in this complex ale are a real treat. Smooth and dangerously drinkable for the high ABV.

This ale might pair up well with a tender Jamaican Jerk pork dinner. Or perhaps even a nice rum dessert, for example, Italian Rum Cake (Zuppa Inglese). I'm just sipping it solo because it is wonderful alcohol goodness for a cold January eve.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2005 22:52:09 | More by Zraly

beer64nut

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

03-15-2013 08:23:31 | More by beer64nut

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -26.5%

03-04-2013 16:29:16 | More by t0rin0

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

12-17-2012 15:14:03 | More by stereosforgeeks

beerpadawan

California

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

08-27-2012 06:13:20 | More by beerpadawan

MatthewWilde

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Sample: 1 bottle 2004

A: Burnt orange in color, cloudy throughout, pours with no head, no lacing, no internal carbonation, certainly a few years peaked

S: Moderately fragrant with a rather fruity aroma, apple juice comes to mind, some pepper and herbal elements exist as well, quite yeasty

T: Flavor is incredibly subdued, fruity and yeasty, but missing something, very slight alcohol but almost not even present, definitely a shell of what this ale used to be

M: Like drinking juice, amazingly drinkable, like water on the palate, extremely mild fruity aftertaste, not lingering or drying

O: Unfortunately this beer has seen better days and peaked a couple years ago, but an interesting experience needless to say, unbeatable mouthfeel given it abv

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 02:27:32 | More by MatthewWilde

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to jjfoodie for sharing this bottle. The beer pours a yellow color with a white head. The aroma is heavy on the Belgian yeast, with some wheat and assorted spices thrown in. The flavor is similar, with a strong yeast component. I also get some nice pepper and spice notes, as well as some floral and rose notes. All of this is mixed in with some biscuit and wheat notes, as well as a good dose of alcohol, Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 05:45:20 | More by Mora2000

randylangford

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2%

03-05-2012 01:57:08 | More by randylangford

jfcaa193

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%

02-19-2012 00:56:21 | More by jfcaa193

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%

02-11-2012 18:34:44 | More by ygtbsm94

djrn2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%

01-15-2012 02:25:13 | More by djrn2

Morey

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Cork & Cage bottle with no freshness date. There's a code, but I can't crack it.

Poured a hazy copper-orange color with a very small head (maybe 1/4 of an inch). Head quickly settled to absolutely nothing. No ring around the glass, no lacing....NOTHING. Initially following the pour, I could see some carbonation bubbles, but I'm 10 minutes in now, and none remain.

Aroma is fruity. I'm getting green sour apple. Maybe a hint of vinegar. I know what you're thinking....maybe this beer has gone bad...but I don't think that it has. Is it a bit flat?..Yes...but it taste pretty good actually.

Taste: Sweet and fruity up front. Apple cider. I'm also getting some earthy malt flavors near the middle. This beer is definitely lacking carbonation.

Medium bodied with a very low/soft carbonation. Too soft. Normally this brewery and Belgians in general are high in carbonation and sometimes too high for my taste. This however....is too low.

The flavor is there, but sadly the carbonation is not. It's still drinkable though.

Morey's Bottom Line: Well, this bottle was given to me for free by the owner of a local bottle shop. He said that he had a couple of cases, and one of them had gone bad and the other was ok. They got mixed together, and so he gave me a bottle. This is still good, but it's gone pretty flat. I could tell from the quiet pop when I pulled the cork.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 01:34:18 | More by Morey

rab53

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +22.5%

12-09-2011 05:27:00 | More by rab53

PlinytheFarter

Illinois

5/5  rDev +22.5%

12-05-2011 01:33:27 | More by PlinytheFarter

brandoman63

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%

11-30-2011 19:04:26 | More by brandoman63

amstelcat

Ohio

5/5  rDev +22.5%

11-21-2011 01:43:10 | More by amstelcat

JAHMUR

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -2%

11-18-2011 22:00:23 | More by JAHMUR

Tawnos

Washington

3.98/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

This is a cellar aged Unibroue 2004 from Malt & Vine.

A: Bronze with floating yeast particles. No lacing or head, but significant bubbling from carbonation and nucleation points along the yeast particles. Burnt orange/bronze colors. Thick coating as I swirl the glass.

S: Pineapple dominates, with notes of anise and other tropical fruits, e.g. mango.

T: Present alcohol mixes nicely with pineapple and a bit of honey. Follows up with white pepper and slight clove numbing (though that may be the alcohol).

M: Prickly at first, almost too carbonated, with a drying alcohol presence. The thick sugars are the rescue, slicking over the initial prickliness and

O: I never tried this back when first released, but it has aged nicely. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which offsets the overbearing prickliness on first swallow. A solid B/B+ overall.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2011 03:06:28 | More by Tawnos

zrab11

Indiana

3.63/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours a nice grainy carmel color with a small head

S- Has a piney amd yeasty smell to it. Has some sweet carmel notes as well

T- Has a nice malty begging followed by some mintyness and then finish's with a peppery wood flavor

M-Medium to light bodied. ok carboantion

D-Overall this was ok. think it would of been better opened a year before 2011. was alittle subdued in taste and felt like some of the tastes had run togheter. OVerl a drinkable beer but not my favorite from this company.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 16:59:20 | More by zrab11

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle.

Pours a lightly cloudy amber/orange, light reddish highlights, thin white head forms and settles down to a thin ring around the glass, a few lace spots stick, looks alright.

Smell is real nice, some caramel sweetness, apple juice, lightly spicy, malty sweetness, vanilla, some wood, pretty nice.

Taste is similar, a lot of malt sweetness, honey caramel and biscuit, some apple juice, a bit of alcohol but real smooth.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low to medium carbonation. pretty damn drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2011 02:36:33 | More by Viggo

ommegangpbr

New York

3.6/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A not-so-pale pale ale. I remember having this one in 2004 and I happened upon another bottle in 2011. I'm pretty interested in seeing how this one matured.
Clearly the same stuff, though settled down and rounded out. Very appley in flavor and appearance. A bit of creamy spice character, almost like a curry. This style of pale ale has grown on me some over time but I like my pale ales to be brighter and lighter. This guy's a bit muddy and earthy. For those that like the stuff, this is much like a higher alcohol version of Maudite.
Sit, sip and contemplate.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 04:47:04 | More by ommegangpbr

foXXtail

Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed 3/24/11 @ just about 7 years old. Has been cellared @ 55*F since purchase in 2004.

I had been waiting for a special occasion to enjoy this beer because 7 years ago I did not have the forethought to buy more than one. My lack of planning aside, I have recently had an occasion, albeit a sad one, of significant gravity to warrant opening the sole bottle of this beer I will ever enjoy.

I am glad I waited so long. The aging, I assume, has mellowed the beer. Seeing as how the flavors here are assertive, I can only assume that this is a good thing.

Strongly mead-like in flavor and appearance, this is a bright-golden beer with a apple-honey like nose and flavor. The high alcohol presence remains assertive, and if there were once any hop flavors, these have long-since given away to spicy yeast and slight wheaty malt.

There are some peppery and spruce-like flavors as well, and the whole package taken together is complex and quite fun to drink.

*raising my glass* Here's to you, Nikki. May you find a giant bowl of popcorn up there in birdy heaven.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2011 03:23:58 | More by foXXtail

drabmuh

Maryland

2.65/5  rDev -35%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks Dan.

This was like drinking wintergreen toothpaste flavored beer. Not a fan. Sorry.

Beer is orange with almost no head or carbonation, no lacing. Eh.

Aroma is like spruce but like spruce extract, almost mint and sweet at the same time. Oh no...

Yep, beer is medium to light in body, no carbonation on the palate and the midpalate and finish are minty fresh! I'm fighting cavities while I test the limits of the liver. Not a fan. This is like sucking on a piece of stale candy. Not a repeat.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2011 05:25:23 | More by drabmuh

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.35/5  rDev -42.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Bottle shared by Dan at a recent tasting. Served in a snifter.

Pours light copper without any head or lacing. Given the age, I won't take off too much. The nose is really odd--slight minty character followed up with quite a bit of pizza dough and bread yeast. Really odd. The taste doesn't improve on this; in fact, it's a bit worse. The feel is fairly light with moderate carbonation, all things considered. Really not a good beer at this point. Time has not served this one well.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 13:55:56 | More by Thorpe429

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

2.6/5  rDev -36.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bottle shared by mdfb79. Thanks Dan!

A: This brew appears sightly hazy and light orange in color. The head is rather small and leaves virtually no trace of its existence. I'll take age into consideration.

S: The aroma is a huge blast of spruce and pine, but not in a hop or IPA kind of way. This beer smelled of pine cones and evergreen trees. Interesting...

T: The palate is bombarded with spruce, mint, herbs, and an odd, earthy flavor.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

D: I had trouble getting this one down. Too aggressive, unbalanced, an odd. It was fun to try, though.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 02:01:09 | More by Huhzubendah