Cuvée de l’Ermitage belongs to that gallery of classic 20th-century Belgian ales which are now a thing from a near-forgotten past, but it was the beer that basically supported the Union brewery from the fifties onwards, when individualistic ’specialty’ beers were not yet commonplace in this country. Alken-Maes took over in 1978 and eventually put it under their own Grimbergen range in a sweeter, brighter coloured and less strong version, but even that could not prevent it from going extinct and this classic Belgian kicked the bucket in 2010. I had this Union version back in the early nineties in young condition, must have been one of the very first beers I took a brief note of, so the name kind of fills me with nostalgia... It was a clear brownish-tinged bronze coloured beer with foamy head and smooth caramelly malt character with dried fruit and spicy notes, in the end developing a noteworthy toasted bitterness supported by hops; my palate not being educated yet at the time, I even remember finding it too bitter for my liking... This demonstrates how beer education is very strongly a matter of opening your mind and acquiring tastes, as I am convinced I would probably find it rather bland if I could taste it young and in exactly the same form now, a quarter of a century later. This rating is therefore not to be taken too literally, as it is hugely anachronistic, but I thought it would be interesting to have a piece of nostalgia among all those ratings, a tribute to one of the first idiosyncratic Belgians and a contemplation on how drastically the beer palate evolves among dedicated beer afficionados...

Imported from my RateBeer account as Grimbergen Cuvée de l'Ermitage Union (by Brouwerijen Alken-Maes (Heineken)):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 2/5, Taste: 5/10, Palate: 2/5, Overall: 10/20, MyTotalScore: 2.5/5

14/XI/15 - 25cl bottle @ De Brouwerij / Oude Maalderij (Izegem) - BB: n/a (2015-1561)

Clear mentioning of "Union" on the label, which the beer from De Heeren did not have. Clear dark brown beer, small irregular off-white head, little stable, non adhesive. aroma: very oxidized, honey, spicy, dusty, some cocoa powder, orange peel. MF: soft to no carbon, medium body. Taste: spicy, dusty, cloves, ginger bread, some chocolate, little roasted. Aftertaste: caramel, toast, dusty, some chocolate, card board. Still pretty drinkable, after +20 years.

Bottle 25cl. [ Vintage 1997 ]. Clear medium amber color with a fizzy, virtually none lacing, fully diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, oxidide, vintage malt. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light to moderate bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090320]

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of over-ripe fruits as well as a light note of oxidation. The flavor is sweet matly with notes of over ripe fruits and caramel leading to a dry and slightly oxidiced finish.

33 cL bottle from DHVL. Pours hazy brown with no head and no carbonation. Wineous and malty aroma. Fruity and malty flavoured with a nice roasted note and lasting dense caramel malty impression. Sweet and malty flavoured finish. Mild bitter and smooth dense caramel to light chocolate malty flavoured with a light vanilla note. Nice stuff.

Bottled (most likely in the 70s). Clear red-brown color, no head. Aroma of some caramel malt, heavy prune and raisin, some walnut, bit dusty. Slight sour taste, malty, still a bit sweet, bit roasted, dry. Very complex, i did not expect this to be drinkable actually.

(Bottle 25 cl) Vintage 1993 - from before it had the Grimbergen-tag added. Beautiful light-brown beer with a nice, full head. Caramel flavour from the dark malts with a sudden and uncompromising bitterness. 120993