Dark brown and opaque with chestnut accents. The head foams up then falls to a frothy 1cm. Complex aroma of plum, cinnamon, cherry, apple, that thick Indonesian soy sauce. There’s almost a canned tomato richness of malt...lots of toffee...and a slightly woody alcohol note like a light rye whiskey. Just a stack of aromas layered, at once distinct but at the same time stuck together like a gooey baklava.

The flavour has a rich, deep fruitiness that melds brilliantly with toffeeish, almost oxidized malts. There’s almost a sherry vinegar taste to this, but without the acidity. Chocolate nuances come through with rum-soaked bread pudding. A firm and slightly hot alcohol note carves through the finish, not clean like usual but like a dull machete through jungle. All the while, more layers are revealed, like a little gooseberry tartness and some brown sugar. A fun beer showing a degree of style and nuance I haven’t seen from Unibroue in years, and yet still feeling like Unibroue beer. Spritziness makes for a finish that’s a somewhat weak counterpart to the crazy fun the rest of the way through this beer.

Deep ruby with an off-white head. Awesome aroma of stewed apples, cinnamon, bubble-gum, clove, figs, and buttery. Chalky mouth. Flavor is full of cloves, anise, molasses, dark fruits, and cinnamon. A great brew. Thanks TimE.

750 ml bottle at Uber Tavern in Seattle. Pour is dark brown amber with an off-white head. Aroma of the signature Unibroue yeast, and not really all that much else. Maybe some apple and pear fruitiness. Taste is somewhat sour with maltiness a very heavy maltiness. The yeast again comes through very strong in the taste. The fruit is more pronounced in the flavor, and adds considerably to the flavor profile. Initially, I commented that this reminded me of Trois Pistoles, though as it warmed and the fruit came out, I don’t think this is true.

Bottle. Dark mahogony beer with a big tan head. Banana, light fruity ester aroma. Rich dark malt, light roast, yeasty, spice, banana flavor with light bibblegum, chocolate, and berry. Richer bodied. Alcohol slightly noticeable. Caramel and darker malts linger with banan and spice. Would expect it to age wonderfully.

750 ml bottle: corked & caged. Deep, vinous, dark fruit aromas - but not overly rich. A tart, citrus, component as the glass approaches the lips. Hazy dark brown color with a decent beige head. Medium to full bodied with fizzy/creamy carbonation. The alcohol is noticeable. Yeast, spice, and then the alcohol gets in the way. Eventually touches of chocolate, dark fruit, nuts and candi can be discerned, but I had to work for it. The finish is more sweet than dry, and there’s definitely bitter. But it’s more of a oak wood bitter than hop. Chocolate note pops up again. It’s interesting, but I think the alcohol should be more suppressed.

Sent in the picture. Pours with a large, foamy, light brown head covering a murky brown body. Good lacing and retention. Sweet candi, fruity, and yeasty aromas with some stillton cheas as well. Meaty and very alcohol forward taste. Some DMS. Very fizzy. I have anotheer bottle that I am going to cellar till 2010, this beer will age well and mellow out.

Brown bottle, 750 ml, gift from the brewery, savoured on March 25 2008; eye: dark dirty brown with a reddish hue, nice creamy beige head, lots of lacing; nose: yeast, hops, coriander, caramelized malt, caramel, candied fruits, tobacco, alcohol, ash; mouth: liqueur-like, candied fruits, spices (including pepper and coriander), ash, bread, yeast, caramelized malt, a bit of molasses, alcohol is quite present especially towards the end, hops also appears toward the end (more than expected, is really the market for this beer the USA?), finale malt-hops with a good presence of pepper, mildly sweet and bitter, full body, average carbonation, mild astringency; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 750 ml, cadeau de la brasserie, savourée le 25 mars 2008; œil : brune sale foncé avec une teinte rougeâtre, voilée, belle mousse beige crémeuse, pas mal de dentelle; nez : levure, houblon, coriandre, malt caramélisé, caramel, fruits confits, tabac, alcool, cendre; bouche : liquoreuse, fruits confits, épices (dont le poivre et la coriandre), cendre, pain, levure, malt caramélisé, un peu de mélasse, alcool est très présent surtout vers la finale, houblon se révèle vers la finale (vise-t-on le marché états-unien?), finale malt-houblon avec présence de poivre, moyennement sucrée et amère, corsée, carbonatation moyenne, astringence moyenne; en résumé : bien aimé

Bottle: Poured a deep brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of spices (white pepper, coriander) with some notes of Unibroue yeast and butterscotch. Taste is also a mix between some Unibroue yeast with a great spice mix and some butterscotch malt. I thought it lacked some dry fruits characteristics and while carbonation was excellent it appears that the body is thinner then their usual offering. --- Beer merged from original tick of Grande Réserve 17 on 05 Jan 2025 at 23:07 - Score: Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8. Original review text: Bottle: Poured a dark brown color ale with a large brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of spiced and candi sugar with some caramelized Belgian malt. Taste is also a mix of caramelized Belgian malt with some candi sugar and some spices with some nice ester. Body is about average for style with good carbonation and no real discernible alcohol notes. Soldi Belgian strong ale but maybe a tad too much residual sugar notes.