Éphémère (Cranberry) - Unibroue

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had no idea they retired this beer. Found it at the House of 1,000 beers for 5 bucks (750ml) Best by date noted at 9/28/07 so it's pretty old.

A - Man the cork is in there tight! Color is a hazy bright yellow almost like a hefeweizen with some bubbly head even after all these years that settles to a mild lace ring.

S - Smells of bright apple, cranberry and fruity yeasts. I get no cardboard or musky smells that I expected after aging this long.

T - Taste is very light but I can taste the bitterness of the cranberry in the finish. Beverage is overall dry and mildly bubbly. It is balanced sweet fruity yeasts first then the dry bitter cranberry finish.

M - Light to medium. Easy to sip

Overall I actually wonder when they pulled this beer from the lineup since I never even had a chance before to try this. I actually still know of a store that has a case of this and it's really not a bad fruit beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 02:30:37 | More by DrDemento456

Boto

Connecticut

3.78/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle: Hiding in the back of the fridge. This one pours a slightly hazy, golden yellow color. There was a very small white head on mine which didn’t linger or leave any lacing. The aroma is good. Some tart cranberries. Background notes of wheat and spices. The taste is also good. Tart cranberry, but not overpowering. Some wheat and bready notes. Slight spices. A nice brew!

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 22:23:26 | More by Boto

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle-Golden liquid pours out, capped with a thin white head that falls back to a thin ring. Straw and cranberry in the nose, a touch of yeast and grain. The flavour profile is sweet yeasty cranberry with the cranberry becoming more pronounced towards the end. Slightly hoppy and lemony as well. Spritzy carbonation in the finish. Standard.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2010 18:41:15 | More by mrmanning

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.15/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed on 8/10/09. Bottle. Pours a light yellow with a small white head and lively carbonation. Aroma of sweet cranberry, grape. Flavor is of chewable cranberry/grape candies. Sugary like those sugar-coated gummybears. Slight tartness/prickliness. Rather sweet and artificial tasting to me. Just ok, I'm not really digging the flavor here.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2009 22:49:41 | More by LilBeerDoctor

jwc215

New Jersey

2.9/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Cage-corked bottle:

Pours hazed golden with a fizzy white head. The label says that "artificial colors" were added.

The smell is of sourdough, a bit musty, with very faint cranberry.

The taste is of sourish - a bit of lemon mixed with the cranberry. Cranberry more noticeable in the "repeating" than in the flavour, which is pretty weak - some wheat breadiness and a touch of sour with some cranberry.

It is light - more fizzy than effervescent. Quite the carbonated one, here.

Not much of a brew, in the end. A fruit beer that is relatively light on the fruit, which is okay, but a blandness going on that just doesn't hold my interest. At least it is not syrupy sweet as many other fruit beers, I suppose.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2009 04:31:36 | More by jwc215

Fatduck

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Wheat ale brewed with Cranberry Juice, natural flavors, and Artificial Colors. - No ones likes Artificial color... My first thought was that it might pour a red cranberry color, but luckily its simply a pale wheat color.

Big bubbly head that drops almost instantly. Smells and tastes like a very well crafted wheat beer. My fruit wheat beers never taste this clean. The cranberry comes out very well but still leaves room for the smooth wheat flavor. Its a little over carbonated for me, but it's Unibroue, belgian style, so I wont mark it down too much. That said, my 750ml bottle is almost gone in the time it took me to write this.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2008 22:35:28 | More by Fatduck

jujubeast6000

Texas

2.55/5  rDev -28.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 3

Reviewed 2/20/2006 (750mL bottle):

Pours all head, white, and lasting. Has the body color of very pale white/yellow. A nice sweet aroma of fruits, some wine, and apples. Very slightly fizzy, apples, watery, flat, peach. Not getting much, if any, cranberry out of this.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2008 05:50:50 | More by jujubeast6000

stumac

Texas

4.1/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First off, this brew was aged for 6 years...

pours a murky pale gold color with a decent white head. the nose has a delicious aroma! cranberries (of coarse), tartness, some other fruits like subtle apple. the taste is smoothe crapple (cranberry apple) and is kinda tart, medium to full body, medium smoothe carbo. Good brew...

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2008 16:13:39 | More by stumac

MTNboy

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance- The body is hazy orange. The head is off white

Smell- This beer has a great fresh fruit scent. Without some fake fruit scents that other beers have

Taste- There is not as much a cranberry taste as I expected but still delicious all the same. This beer is wonderfully between sweet and tart. It is also well hoped for an ale of this style with grain an yeast flavor welled mixed into it.

Mouthfeel - It medium bodied with balanced carbonation.

Drinkability- A great evening sipper or dinner beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2008 13:07:17 | More by MTNboy

becktone

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Eye: Cloudy straw gold in color with a small head that quickly fades to a thin film, not all that healthy looking, but given that fact that this is brew is likely to be higher in acidity I find it acceptable. The label states that "artificial colors" are added. Why? Really, if there are artificial coloring agents ion here that is pathetic because a brewer could easily get the same appearance using barley and wheat...lame.

Nose: Lots of wheat aroam and some cranberry in there as well. After seeing/smelling/tasting the differences between fruit beers that are brewed with real fruit(in my case mostly raspberry fruit beers) and those with extract I have to say that this one is much more similar to those of the extracts. And really, its not all that much a specific cranberry aroma, much more like a "red fruit" aroma. Smells to me like they did actually use some kind of extract-"Ale brewed with cranberry juice, natural flavors..." Could well be that the "juice" is just an extract. Not much more to the aroma than that, in my opinion this doesn't seem to meld as well as the apple, but hey thats me.

Tongue: Wheat and yeast flavors come through, much like a wit. SOme earthy flavors-a bit of woodiness(associated with some dryness). Spices as well, ginger mainly. Cranberry is there but not all that pronounced. Was expecting a bit more cranberry, however I still do enjoy the play of flavors here. I can really understand and taste the base of the beer-much is similar to the apple.

As it warms some diacetyl

Mouthfeel and Drinkability: Lighter in body with a spritzy feel on the palate-carbonation is just right. It dances on the tongue and lingers a bit to give the beer a nice cleansing and prickly feel. NIce and refreshing and at a reasonable cost this is one that I can see buying again. Its nice to know that in any season this beer will be available with only subtle slight changes to it.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2008 04:43:32 | More by becktone

LumpyGuitar

New York

4.03/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Girlfriend got this on a whim, was alot better than I expected. Got it in the large bottle, not the smaller.

Poured a cloudy golden color, not alot of lacing or head.

Smelled fruity, sweet, malty, made me want to drink it.

Taste was sweet, a hint of the cranberry, a little bit bitter, made me pucker.

Mouthfeel was nice, it has a medium body and a smooth finish, alot of carbonation.

Drinkability is good, but I wouldn't drink this often, probably for holidays.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2008 19:33:42 | More by LumpyGuitar

sbe1

New York

4.1/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very good fruit beer from a great brewery.

Appearance: Hazy/frosty dull golden color with a nice clean white fizzy head that has a short lifespan and leave some lace on the edges of the glass.

Smell: Wheaty, malty, with a sweet acidic fruit scent (presumably the cranberries).

Taste: Tart and sweet a bit of dryness some hop bitterness, clean crisp finish.

Mothfeel: Light bodied and refreshing with pleasant carbonation and a nice dry tartness.

Overall a very pleasant and refreshing beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2008 04:59:46 | More by sbe1

Micahman

New Hampshire

2.55/5  rDev -28.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bought the 750 ml cork bottle...on a Unibroue kick lately.

A- Pale golden with a little haze; sort of like an unfiltered Miller High Life. Abundant foamy head with replenishing carbonation.

S- Nothing special. A little fruity yeast smell; a hint of apple cider.

T-T hin, fruity, too reminiscent of champagne. Some cranberry flavor and some earthy yeast notes. The wheat and yeast were the only redeemable qualities here.

M- fizzy, champagne-like feel. Not much body to speak of. Cran-apple flavors give it a slightly acidic bite.

D- I was dissapointed in this brew. It was difficult to call it a 'beer' after tasting it. I felt like I was drinking a fizzy white wine or champagne. I put it down after a glass.

I suppose it would be more of a hit with women. Not one of their better brews, in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2008 03:21:00 | More by Micahman

vickersspitfire

Texas

3.53/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It’s a hazy orange/golden color with a nice thick white head that quickly turned into nothing with no lacing and some medium carbonation. It smells mildly fruity and spicy and is sweet over all. It has a smooth refreshing taste, it has a strong citrusy taste to it; you can taste the cranberry flavor at the end which is a bit tangy. Not bad over all but not one of Unibroue’s best.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2008 03:19:13 | More by vickersspitfire

marcpal

New Jersey

2.03/5  rDev -43.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

750ml corked bottle, aged slightly beyond recommendation.

A: Cloudy with a burnt hue. Head which was very active and continuous bubbles to match the high carbonation.

S: Not much going on here, smelled more of a wine and very shallow aromas.

T: Hate to say it, but felt like I was tasting a poorly made wine. Not nearly what I expected or what I was hoping for. Quite the let down.

M: Carbonated and thin. Very, very champagne like carbonation- little too much for my personal taste.

D: If youre a champagne drinker, its drinkable. I personally had a hard time finishing.

This is my first experience with Ephemere and am sad to say I am extremely discouraged as this will be my last venture. I just did not see the cranberry here at all, maybe I was expecting something different but not good at all.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2007 01:30:24 | More by marcpal

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Decanted cool from a corked and caged 750ml into a white wine glass.

A - A hazy golden w/ a quickly collapsing white head that becomes a sliver leaving no lace.

S - A faintly fruity cranberry odor w/ a hint of spice and wheat smell.

M - An effervescence like champagne w/ slight citrus in the feel and a spicy finish.

T - Cranberry is briskly carried along in a full presence of effervescence. Tangy wheat w/ a tinge of spice that is very light on the palate. Juicy cranberry becomes fuller as it warms w/ a slight sweet tart taste, candy like with wheat malt sweetness. The combination of a dy yeasty spice adds a subtle creamy flavor w/ the lees.

D - Very light fruit augments a wonderful ale w/ spicy character. The blend is a graceful, semi-dry experience w/ levity. A good choice for those who like subtle fruit flavored ales. A quality offering from Unibroue.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2007 18:07:38 | More by Slatetank

bushbeer75

Michigan

3.03/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750 ml caged and corked bottle

Ephemere Cranberry poured a cloudy golden color with an enormous head that holds well. Taste and smell are [very light] fruity with hard to detect cranberry. Mouth feel is light and crisp but a little too thin. Carbonation is heavy [too much in my opinion] almost champagne like.

Ephemere is very light almost like sparkling water. Not bad, however, not one of my favorites from Unibroue.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2007 19:19:07 | More by bushbeer75

guinnessfan

Pennsylvania

2.73/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750 ml, caged and corked, poured into oversized wine glass.

A: Poures slightly cloudy, golden with a slight orangish hue. Large, pillowy, ivory head, which faded into nothing. Many bubbles which lasted a long time.

S: Not much of anything at all. Very bland aroma. Slight yeast. So far, this beer is a let down.

T: >:( see above Slightly dry, can't taste any damn cranberry. Reminds me of Blanche De Chambly, without any real flavor.

M: Carbonated, spritzy. Crisp and thin.

D: Drinkable like sparkling water, somewhat better, though. Too expensive for what it is. Blanche is much better.

I was really looking forward to enjoying this beer. I love anything cranberry flavored. What a let down. It's not that it's that bad, it's just not what Unibroue usually puts out. Sam Adams Cranberry is better, IMO.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2006 15:26:26 | More by guinnessfan

CharlesDarwin

Rhode Island

3.2/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Originally reviewed on February 28, 2005. 750ml bottle. Pours a clouded yellow, with a crisp white finger of head. Aroma of rubbery esters and tart dry cranberry skins. Tarts the nose. Watery flavor, with a hint of the tart fresh dry cranberry juices flowing over the tounge. Wheat is estery with the belgian yeasts. A touch of mingled spice. Finish is evaporating and lifts the dryness to the roof of the mouth. Lacks a real strong flavor in my opinion. JP has it right, it could be either a quenching summer brew or served warm in late November, both sound fantastic. But it couldn’t hold up to food. It’s greatest quality to me, is that it isn’t offensive.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2006 17:26:31 | More by CharlesDarwin

alexgash

Connecticut

3.2/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Corked and caged 750 ml bottle. Pop releases a slightly hazy, nectarine brass body with a guaze of soft white head. Traces of powdered sugar and wheaty malt get lost in Unibroue clove yeast and tangy cranberry/cherry aromas. A faint sour tang quickly gives way to mellow wheat and fruit malts. Yeasty throughout. Cranberry flavor is borderline sweet but ends up being rather dry and chalky in the finish. Not that exciting, in fact, a bit dull. I liked the apple ephemere much more. Medium-bodied, proteiny feel. Kinda boring.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2006 04:12:59 | More by alexgash

dblinkhorn

California

3.73/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a corked and caged 750ml bottle into a La Fin Du Monde glass.

Appearance - Pours a slightly hazy honey-straw color with high carbonation activity within. The head pours tall, about four fingers, and it is eggshell white. It's very creamy and dissipates at a moderate rate, eventually settling at a finger-thick cap of very creamy head. Very little lacing is left as you drink.

Smell - You can definitely smell the cranberry, but it lies behind the usual Unibroue scent of hearty clove spiciness and some moderately dark fruits such as raisin, fig, etc. There are also strong notes of peach, pear, and especially apricot. Very little alcohol is detectable.

Taste - Sourness up front, with herbal and floral hop characteristics. Very musty character like that of the cork I just popped off. As you approach the finish it mellows and becomes dominated by a very smooth cranberry background flavor paired with a rich and raw malt character and a moderate grainy/wheat flavor. The aftertaste is a balanced medley of all of the previously mentioned flavors. It really mellows out and becomes very relaxed toward the finish and aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Very refreshing carbonation that is spot-on. Light-bodied with average smoothness. It has a slick mouthfeel but dries up a bit in the aftertaste.

Drinkability - Refreshing and easy to drink with no trying flavors. Perfect ale for a hot summer day. I myself am drinking this on my porch right now and it's 87F out and very sunny. A perfect beer for this situation, in my opinion. I'll have no problem polishing off this whole bottle.

Another good offering from Unibroue. It doesn't quite live up to La Fin Du Monde, Maudite, or Trois Pistoles, but it's still good. It has a refreshing character and heavenly carbonation character. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2006 22:41:26 | More by dblinkhorn

maundythirsty

Wisconsin

2.2/5  rDev -38.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Clear and nearly colorless, slightly tinged yellow and rose. I was really shocked by the lack of color. One finger of dry-looking white head, but the big bubbles are gone in a blink. Some rising bubbles in the beer. The smell is all wheaty sweet banana.

Taste includes just a hint of cranberry somewhere down there. Not much to report otherwise, but some wheat beer flavor and the mineral taste of Perrier. Mouthfeel indistiguishable from sparkling water. Very dry.

Not terrible as a lightly flavored mineral water. Not good as beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2006 05:54:03 | More by maundythirsty

Morris729

Texas

4/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy golden peach color with a tall and frothy bright white head that settles into a thin lace. Nose is tart fruity cranberry along with some fainter notes of Belgian yeast and a hint of lime zest. The taste begins with the same tart and acidic cranberry that was in the aroma along with a touch of candied sugar sweetness nicely balanced by a citrusy sourness. Carbonation is effervescent. The cranberry notes did not come across as strongly as I had expected in this beer, but I still found it thoroughly enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2006 03:05:48 | More by Morris729

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.43/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer pours a cloudy yellow/orange color, with a large carbonated head. It smells grainy (wheat), with a hint of cranberry. It tastes the same way, except there's some peppery spicyness, but not too much. The taste is sweet, but not too sweet. The mouthfeel is light, but it's very carbonated, too carbonated for my taste. If they cut down on the carbonation a bit, I think it would be better. Overall I think it's an average/good beer, nothing great.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2006 22:51:58 | More by bluejacket74

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.88/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a tall flute)

A- This beer poured a hazy straw yellow body with a thick white head that turned rocky but lasted for a bit. There was a strong carbonation of tiny strings of bubbles. There was no sign of any coloration from the cranberries.

S- The slight tart yeasty note had a faint lemon hint and a light earthy funk which was very faint. There was a light sugary cereal note like Fruit Loops in the background.

T- The pale malt taste had a slight sweetness with a faint lemon soapy hint. There was a very faint sweet cranberry candy note that I probably would have missed if it weren’t printed on the bottle.

M- The mouthfeel had a medium texture that was due to fizz more than anything.

D- There wasn't much depth to this but it did have some faint notes of interesting characters. It did have some artificial flavor qualities, which put me off a bit. I kept think it was almost a wheat beer with fruit loops in it.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2006 22:58:03 | More by rhoadsrage