Noire De Chambly / Chambly Noire - Unibroue

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BA SCORE
83
good
-
749 Ratings

rAvg: 3.69
pDev: 12.2%
Reviews: 631
Hads: 118

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Brewed by:
Unibroue

Quebec, Canada

Style | ABV
Belgian Dark Ale | 6.20% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (596), on-tap (34), growler (1).

Notes:
Name changed from Chambly Noire to Noire de Chambly in Aug. 2009.

View: Beers (32) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by the Alström Bros:

Jason

Massachusetts

3.33/5 rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle with a freshness date on the back label.

A- Big frothed up tan head, decent head retention ... big bubbles. Hazy mahogany color.

S- Slightly spicy with a faint lemony, peachy and vanilla aroma. Hint of dark malt and nutty yeast in the back.

T&M- Smooth and very crisp, medium body. Nice mix of spicy wheat and watery dark malt. Yeast middle to end, clean powdery yeast. Not much else on the palate. Semi-dry finish.

D- A tad dull IMO, I guess I was expecting more out of this beer. Tasty, but just not as in-your-face as many of the other Unibroue beers are.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2006 02:03:22 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml brown bottle, corked and caged. Its a gorgeous bottle, with a label depicting a Carignan-Sallières soldier pointing to a distant target, backed by his brethren.

Massive pop! as the cork is released. Its followed by a highly carbonated pour. The liquid is black, rich and opaque; deep brown hues show around the edges of the glass. The foaming head peaks with a milky coffee - colored froth, then settles to a thin, wispy lace.

The aroma is soft, with hints of pepper, cracked wheat and malt powder, as well as notes of fruit juice and caramel. It grows both yeastier and more metallic as the beer warms.

As its carbonation comes into contact with the palate, the beer exhibits a medium body and smooth, creamy mouthfeel. A well-placed candy sweetness dominates, as smooth caramel plays off bold fruitiness, with suggestions of fresh orange and peach. Complex spices - pepper, anise - highlight the alcohol and cause a prickliness on the palate. Eventually, an interesting smokiness emerges to balance the rest. Near the finish, theres a light, wheaty tang and an increasing dryness, which meshes with hints of peach skin. It ends dry, with a coarser, faintly nutty yeastiness. Bitterness and hop flavors are minimal, marked only by a thin citric edge and a soft leafy feel.

Chambly Noire is another delicious offering from Unibroue, and another triumph for dark beers! Even skeptics will enjoy this complex, well-balanced, immensely flavorful and unique brew.

I recommend pairing Chambly Noire with grilled salmon, a plate of smoked cheeses and cured meats, or even some smoked pecans. Raw oysters might hold up to this one, too - preferably plump and briny Wellfleets.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2006 14:59:54 | More by Todd

More User Reviews:

johntfox

Florida

3.75/5 rDev +1.6%

05-21-2013 00:41:45 | More by johntfox

hotsudge

Ontario (Canada)

3/5 rDev -18.7%

05-18-2013 02:55:39 | More by hotsudge

gritz147

Louisiana

3.75/5 rDev +1.6%

04-28-2013 20:52:48 | More by gritz147

decimator

Ontario (Canada)

3.51/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle poured into a goblet. ABV 6.2%.

A - Poured a very dark brown highlights and a 1cm beige head. Head quickly reduced to a ring of bubbles and a few small clusters. Minimal lacing.

S - Yeast, spice, some dark fruits, a hint of banana.

T - Dark fruit, hint of toast, some fruity sourness, mild bitterness. Aftertaste is a lingering fruity sourness.

M - Medium carbonation, medium body, a bit syrupy with some stickiness, somewhat dry finish.

O - Noire? Not as roasted or toasted as I'd expect for the name. Flavour wise still is a decent Belgian. For those who haven't tried it yet just don't expect the same complexity as Unibroue's stronger offerings.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 02:39:02 | More by decimator

Whatup14

Quebec (Canada)

3.5/5 rDev -5.1%

04-17-2013 15:07:43 | More by Whatup14

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5 rDev +1.6%

04-16-2013 09:50:14 | More by Kelp

TheDoctor

Quebec (Canada)

3.5/5 rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A:
Pours a nice brown-amber color with a fluffy beige head that dissapates really quickly leaving a patchy coating with a bit of lacing.

S:
Nice crisp smell with really strong clove notes and a hint of citrus and pears.

T:
Smooth, unoffensive flavor overall. Soft hop notes and some light sweetness. No super-strong flavors one way or the other, though.

M:
Predominate carbonation presence throughout. Kind of orangey/spicy up front with a clean, semi-hoppy, nutty finish.

O:
Good beer. Not life-changing but worth the taste if you get the chance.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 23:28:14 | More by TheDoctor

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

4/5 rDev +8.4%

03-31-2013 04:45:05 | More by Zachtheporter

Stuffman

Pennsylvania

4.43/5 rDev +20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bought a bottle from a local restaurant that has a very good selection of beer. I wanted Rochefort 10, but they wanted $15 for the bottle. Picked up this instead as I just got done drinking the Unibroue Sommelier 6-pack and this wasn't included. Got home and opened the cap only to be greeted by a seemingly-endless-yet-very-slow stream of overflow head. Poured it into a tulip to begin. Out of curiosity, I checked the date code... February 21, 2006! This is either going to be really good, or really really bad.

Appearance (4) - Extremely dark brown with just the slightest hint of red. Very light head reminiscent of that of what you'd see on a root beer float; quickly subsided. No head to speak of after a few minutes. Looking into strong light reveals faint hints of active effervescence. Fairly opaque/hazy.

Smell (4.5) - Yeast, dark brown sugar/molasses, faint hints of banana. Typical Unibroue.

Taste (4.5) - Primarily delicate yeast and strong malts. Very dark molasses with barely-perceptable traces of burnt sugar on the finish. Hints of dark fruit, dark maduro tobacco, and the slightest tinge of banana. Pleasant light lingering aftertaste. Nearly no traces of hops or alcohol.

Mouthfeel (4) - Light with very little carbonation. Drinks very smoothly despite the lack of effervescence.

Overall (4.5) - Very good. I would certainly like to try a much younger version to compare it to, but I'm going to go back and buy up all the old bottles that I can. Not my favorite Unibroue, but yet another solid offering from what is perhaps by favorite brewery. On a side note, even though there was almost no indication of alcohol, this hit me a lot more than I'd expect 6.2% to... probably got a bit higher during its aging.

Hmm... maybe they have some old Maudite/Trois Pistoles/La Fin du Monde laying around...

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 03:27:32 | More by Stuffman

jmann40

Pennsylvania

4/5 rDev +8.4%

03-25-2013 15:02:05 | More by jmann40

LarsBrekken

New York

4/5 rDev +8.4%

03-25-2013 14:55:49 | More by LarsBrekken

Beelzebeer

Newfoundland (Canada)

3.91/5 rDev +6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

341ml bottle, a little over a year old, served in an oversized tulip

A - Black body, with a 2" head you had to work to get. Quickly dissipates. Could be from the age.

S - Slight phenol, maybe, again, from age, light sugars, some dark malt, but not that "dense"

T - Darker raspberry, sugars, some caramel, some roast, but not a whole lot.

M - Medium-light on the carbonation. I liked the level. I remember there being more the last time I had it. Medium density.

O - Not bad. For an easy drink, it would be good to have.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 03:09:45 | More by Beelzebeer

camelgar

Arizona

4/5 rDev +8.4%

03-23-2013 18:39:20 | More by camelgar

Haydn-Juby

Quebec (Canada)

4/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from a 750ml bottle.

A: Very dark in color. Cloudy brown tinges when pressed to the light. One to two finger beige head that died down fairly quickly. Some lacing.

S: The typical Unibroue yeast strain smell. Some cloves with a touch of sourness.

T: Not to deep and roasty and once again relies on that Unibroue yeast character for the major backbone building. Some roasted malts however but fairly faint. Bitterness is low and so is hop character. Some cloves and candied fruit as well. Nothing overpowering and pretty well balanced overall.

M: Pretty crisp and the beer is quiet effervescent. Bubble and high carbonation make for champagne like experience. After taste does linger seemingly forever though.

O: It was a pretty good beer although probably not something I would buy again. Not to flavor intensive but very easy drinking at 6.2%. If it was one sale i'd get it but other wise it was passable.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 20:06:57 | More by Haydn-Juby