This one is from a few nights ago. I tried Unibroue’s La Fin Du Monde (which translates from French to “The End of the World”). This is a Belgian-style Strong Pale Ale (though this is better than some actual Belgians I’ve had). Unibroue is from Quebec, Canada and is known for making excellent Belgian-style beers. This one was no different.
The beer pours a hazy orange-yellow color with a nice 2 finger head and ample carbonation. Scents of fruit, spices, and general sweetness fill the nose. The taste is again of those spices, I detected some cloves, the fruitiness (hard to detect anything specific, though I think there was some orange, lemon and some sweeter citrus flavors), and some sugary sweetness as well. The malt and yeast make it a little bready and dry, but don’t take that as a bad thing. The only thing I noticed in the taste that did anything negative was a little bit of the alcohol, though at 9%, it’s not easy to hide.
All in all, this is a very good beer, something I would definitely drink over and over again (though perhaps not in the same sitting). As I said, I enjoyed this better than some of the other Belgian beers of this style (Duvel probably being the most common example, of which I was not big fan). This is a must try. I think I’m going to have to try more of their beers (I’ve had Trois Pistoles and really liked it).
Unibroue makes some great beers, La Fin Du Monde being one.
Last year they made a special vintage ale for Trader Joe’s. Even though it was branded Trader Joe’s it had a Unibroue cork in it! (TJ’s carries several micro-brews that are vanity branded, for much less than what the “name brand” version sells for. For instance, the Stockyard Oatmeal Stout is really Goose Island’s Oatmeal Stout (there are other Goose Island one’s as well), but for $4.99 a six pack instead of $7.99).
I digress. I still have a few bottles of last year’s TJ’s vintage ale (bottle conditioned, so it ages nicely) - I hope Unibroue makes it for them again this year.
Unfortunately, I’d have to drive at least 30-45 minutes to get to a TJ’s as there aren’t any in RI (closest one is Needham, MA I think). I’m also not sure they sell beer at the MA TJ’s because I know MA has a law against grocery stores selling beer.
I prefer to buy the stuff from Nikki’s and support the local package store, but thanks for the tip. I’m not even sure Goose Island is available in RI, but Unibroue most definitely is.