Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 (2016) Belgian Strong Ale at 10% ABV | 35 IBU (C$12.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, bottle date 14-Sep-2016, acquired 8-Nov-2016, reviewed 14-Nov-2016)
Appearance: cloudy deep brown with three fingers of rocky beige head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mildly boozy dark fruit, toffee and caramel, banana, clove. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (8/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, warming lightly tart finish. (4/5)
For those of you keeping track, yes, this is my third double-digit ABV beer today, a) what are you, my mother? b) don’t you have anything better to do? and c) yes, I am a little drunk. I have a bit of history with this beer: I’ve already reviewed the 2013 twice, once when it was a few months old, and then again after a year’s cellaring. I have one more 2013 in the cellar, and added a 2014 along the way (only one!) without doing a review. Somehow I managed to skip 2015, so when I saw the 2016, I figured I might as well grab a couple and do one review as soon as possible, and cellar the other one for a future long-term vertical – so here it is, at just about exactly two months in the bottle. It’s really quite interesting how much variation there is between fresh and aged: as this stands now, there are hints (but only hints) of the plethora of Belgian flavours I discerned in the cellared 2013. (And can you believe I once thought this was sour, or boozy? Wow… my tongue and throat must be pretty much leather by now…) At this stage, this thing is nearly light in aroma, flavour, and body. (There’s even a hint of hop character!) I can see where it’s headed, but it hasn’t gotten there yet. Actually, this makes me really interested to see how that old 2013 vintage will taste when I vertical it with another two… or three… or six… years’ worth of its brethren. I may or may not continue to do annual vintages as they come out – we’ll see – but at some point I think I’ll do a day-long multi-year vertical, then sleep for a day or two. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
