Unibroue Lune de Miel Belgian Strong Ale at 8% ABV | 22 IBU (C$9.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 750 ml, bottle date 11-Nov-2016, acquired 14-Feb-2017, reviewed 15-Feb-2017)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: bready yeast, honey, citrus, herbal and floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, drying finish. (4/5)
Despite being sweeter and less bitter than I prefer, this is a stonking good brew. The light body and lively carbonation prevent the sweetness from becoming cloying, and the honey feels authentic and natural, instead of simply overwhelming the mild bitter – probably because it’s so highly attenuated that it contributes strongly to the aroma, but not quite so much on the tongue. To be honest, I don’t know why this isn’t rated more highly than it is, because as far as I can tell, it’s a really well-done Belgian Strong, with an interesting honey kiss. I mean, look at my photo: how can people be giving this a three out of five on appearance, saying it’s got a “thin pearl” head? Does that shit look thin to you? And, it retains well, and it laces. Maybe Unibroue’ve got a QC issue, is all I can figure, because I can tell you with some confidence that the one I have in my hand is a world-class bad boy, reminiscent of Duvel and the like, so I’m emphatically going against the grain on scoring. I bought two of these, figuring the high ABV and non-existent hop character would allow for good cellaring potential, so we’ll revisit this one in a year or three, and see what happens. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
