The 2013 Unibroue Sommelier (Winter) taster pack is now finally out and comes with 4 bottles (each) of La Fin du Monde, Trois Pistoles, Maudite and a rarity, Fringante, a Belgian tripel that hasn't been brewed in several years. I love these packs for the rarities they bring back for people to try, and this case may just get a few of you buzzed as each beer is 8-10% ABV. It also costs a bit much at $26.75 at the Liquormart, but hey.. it's worth it, live a little.
Now time to review La Fringante.
Appearance: Pours a really hazy orange-yellow, reminiscent to their classics Blonde and Blanche de Chambly, very witbier appearing. Thick creamy beige foam, looks like something citrusy, yeasty and possibly refreshing.
Aroma: The beer looks like what it reminds me of, sweet citrusy fruits. Some pear, pineapple lemon, coriander, and the oh so well known Unibroue yeast.. if you're not a fan of the typical Unibroue yeasty smell.. you won't be in for a treat, there's lots of it.
Taste: The citrus takes on first and foremost, it's a sweet melody of tropical fruits like pineapple and citrus of lemon and the typical coriandre notes. Sweeter than a standard witbier like their Blanche de Chambly. There's a hint of alcohol in the flavour, which isn't all surprising seeing it's 10%. Some flavours reminiscent to a La Fin du Monde from the sweetness, yeast and whatnot.
Overall Thoughts: Reminds me in a few ways to being a stronger, sweeter, less carbonated & bubbly version of their La Gaillarde. I was a bit disappointed when I opened this beer, as it has too many notes similar to La Fin du Monde when you open it, but as you drink it further, it's more of a tropical and sweet sipping beer, with a bitterness from the Unibroue style yeast. If you know what to expect and that's what you like, get it, if you want something darker tasting then get something darker, you can get lots of amazing beers for $4/12-pack cheaper than this.
Frangante is a Tripel-style golden ale. With 10% abv, it has a flavor of great finesse with a nice balance of spicy malt and hops. Serving temperature: 12-14C
5 comments:
Can't wait to try one! I'll look around for a winter pack here... but it will be hit or miss if we have any. And the idea of another Unibroue Tripel just excites the daylights out of me!
I find MLCC stores frustrating to deal with, especially when looking for speacilized beers like this. Over the past few days I stopped at 3 different MLCC stores in Winnipeg, and none of them had this Winter Taster's Pack in stock. I asked them where I could get it, and they keep on saying Grant Park, which is not close to where I live nor work. At one of the stores, an employee offered to look it up for me, but could not find this particular product in the database, despite the fact that it's on the MLCC website. The Henderson Hwy store is another "full listing" store, like Grant Park, but on numnerous occasions I have found that they were not carrying the product I wanted, despite their "full listing" status. I just get an "I'm sorry about that, try Grant Park" suggestion from staff. MLCC is making me a cranky beer drinker!!
@Schmikey: I forwarded this to the MLCC and they're going to let stores know
I actually found the taster's pack at the Garden City (McPhillips & Leila) store this past weekend. Fringante was great, but I was also intrigued by Trois Pistoles. I had tried it several years ago but had forgotten how good it was.
Regarding MLCC, I also stumbled across their new beta site (www.liquormarts.ca) where you can look up any product and see it's availability at all stores. Very useful new feature!
Going back further in your posts, I see that you extolled the virtues of the new MLCC site on January 5th.
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