TLDR Beer Club

[RunDownHouse]

We've had a couple Stone 11 reviews lately. So, when confronted with the choice, I decided to pick up Unibroue's 16th Anniversary offering instead.

The beer came in a 750mL and poured a medium-light sort of amber. It is cage-corked, and there were no hijinx necessary to get a good head. Plenty foamy right out of the bottle. Taking a whiff, I thought it was pretty fruity. My first thought was "white grapes," but there seemed to be a ton of other fruit smells in there as well, including apples. My gf thought more white grapes than apples, but I may have biased her.

On first sip, my first thought was that the taste was way more yeasty than the smell. The fruit flavors are definitely still there, but a lot of yeastiness/breadiness comes through, along with a bit of malt. The alcohol - the bottle lists at 10% - warms the taste, but isn't nearly as noticeable as you'd think from a beer this big. As the beer warmed, I think the alcohol started to become a bit more present, although it gets a bit hard to tell with a beer this big in a bottle this big. In any case, its really drinkable. It finishes pretty crisp. I have no idea how they hopped it, but it works, whatever it is.

Overall, I liked this beer. Even though I'm not super familiar with Belgians, this seemed like a really solid offering. For $7.99 for the 750, and for a unique, one-time issue, I think its a really nice special occasion beer. Complex from the open to the finish, its definitely enough to keep you alert.