La Terrible - Unibroue

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BA SCORE
93
outstanding
-
1,422 Ratings

rAvg: 4.18
pDev: 11.96%
Reviews: 858
Hads: 564

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Brewed by:
Unibroue

Quebec, Canada

Style | ABV
Belgian Strong Dark Ale | 10.50% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (814), on-tap (42), nitro-tap (1), growler (1).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (33) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by thehyperduck:

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

4.35/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

750 mL caged-and-corked bottle from the LCBO; bottled Aug. 28 2012. With a name like Terrible, it's got to be pretty good, right? I hadn't had this before when I picked it up, but considering who it's from, I considered it a safe candidate for picking up two bottles on a whim. One was opened and shared a few weeks ago; I saved this one for review purposes. Poured into a snifter.

Pours an opaque black colour with some brownish highlights, topped with a few cm of smooth, creamy, light tan-coloured head. It fizzles away a little too readily, sad to say, with very little lacing, but it at least has the courtesy to leave behind a foamy collar around the rim. The aroma is highly appealing, with a wide variety of notes on the nose - including banana, raisins, plum brandy, candi sugar, cloves and that signature spicy yeast. Very reminiscent of Maudite so far - not that this is a bad thing.

A quick sip reaffirms this theory though - it really does come off as Maudite's big brother. Orchard and dark fruit make up much of the flavour profile - ripe banana, raisins, plums, and figs come to mind, accompanied by both brown and Belgian-style sugar notes. Huge, yeasty spices come through nearer the finish, with lots of clove, anise and pepper; the earthy, herbal spiciness helps counter the initial sweetness. Finishes hot and yeasty, with a bit of an oaked spirit/brandy vibe showing up alongside the lingering spice and candi sugar. On the heftier side of medium-bodied, with fizzy carbonation that mercilessly prickles the tongue (though it does eventually calm somewhat as I sip my way through the entire pint-and-a-half). Drinkability might be low, but sippability is through the roof, with a good amount of warmth from the alcohol.

Final Grade: 4.35, an excellent A grade. Unibroue's La Terrible is a behemoth of a beer, to be sure, but 'terrible' is still one of the absolute last adjectives I'd consider using to describe it. It is big and bold in every sense of those words, with all the intense yeasty, spicy, orchard-fruity goodness one might expect from an 'authentic' BSDA out of Belgium. As much as I like this, I think Maudite is still my favourite of the two brews - the combination of spice and abv in this one limits how much I could reasonably slug back before it became tiresome. That being said, it's undeniably amazing stuff, and anyone who has enjoyed one of Unibroue's other Belgian-style dark ales previously should consider seeking this one out - it's a must try.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 22:01:30 | More by thehyperduck

More User Reviews:

jbarletto

Massachusetts

4.25/5 rDev +1.7%

06-20-2013 00:12:22 | More by jbarletto

BurgeoningBrewhead

Pennsylvania

4.5/5 rDev +7.7%

06-18-2013 00:54:48 | More by BurgeoningBrewhead

GMUPatriot_inKansas

Kansas

3.5/5 rDev -16.3%

06-17-2013 00:48:28 | More by GMUPatriot_inKansas

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5 rDev +7.7%

06-16-2013 17:16:43 | More by TheBeeraholic

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750 dated

Pours very black with little of an off tan head. Dark fruits and very pungent cherries. This beer has a massive sweet cherry note. Almost like koolaid. A syrupy beer. Thick in flavor and texture. A lot of the Belgian yeast comes though ads a good bit of spiciness. A bit of caramel and bit of breddyness. A sweeter beer. High carbonation. Smooth in feel and not a lot of sting. Overall, pretty darn good stuff, a strong beer with dark cherry notes and other dark fruits.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2013 00:41:53 | More by TwelveOunces

jnolan

New Jersey

4.5/5 rDev +7.7%

06-15-2013 01:49:37 | More by jnolan

gleemonger

California

4.13/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark reddish brown, almost black, with a massive, frothy off white head that sticks around for a while, shrinking down to a nice creamy head with some spotty lacing.

Plenty dark fruit and yeasty aromas, with just a hint of roastiness. Smells like it'll be pretty sweet. Not super complex, pretty basic for the style, but nice.

Woah, even more sweet than I thought it was going to be, phew. Sweet dark fruits, banana, a touch of chocolate, just a hint of roast. Okay, after the initial smack of sweetness, it mellowed out a tad and is fairly well balanced. Slight bitterness and a little booze on the backend too.

Pretty heavy body with a lightish carbonation, but a nice bite.

Not my favorite of the style, but pretty damn good for sure. I'd definitely get it again, especially considering the always great price point of Unibroue brews which are always satisfying and well done.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2013 20:41:46 | More by gleemonger