Trois Pistoles (Unibroue)

Now for a more widely-available brew. I'm surprised that I don't have any Unibroue in my notes. I included their Éphémère Apple beer in my Taste of the Caulderon beer class last October, but never got a chance to update my notes for this old standard. Unibroue beers seem to be gateways to a wider selection of less-hopped, more yeasty and malty brews. Most people have had one at some point. They are widely available in the States.

I got this brew from a friend who favors IPAs and roasted stouts. She's up for just about anything, but has been on this string of not-good-to-her brews. Some are just plain awful, but this one is an old standard. I was interested in trying it again after all of these years, so I saved it from the drain.

General Thoughts
Look and Smell: This dark-brown brew had a thick, off-white head that left a big island of bubbles floating on the top for a while. It smelled like raisins and prunes with brown sugar. It was super effervescent with bubbles rushing to the top and coating the glass, even after an evening and a less than airtight seal. It was so bubbly that I could hear the fizz in my mouth if it held it there for a bit. It was like tiny Pop Rocks. I think the bottle conditioning saved this brew from being too flat.

Taste: It was thick and tasted like dark fruit, but not like a port. It was like a fig cake. This was not the first time I've had this beer. Yet, if someone were to ask me what this tasted like before this time, I never would have said a fig cake. It's amazing how different you describe things when you pick them apart a bit. Though, these notes are always subjective. Who knows what I would have even tasted a year or a day ago!

From the Unibroue site:
Slightly sweet. Enhanced by accents of roasted malt, cocoa, ripe fruit and dark spices with a smooth finish like an old port.