cl330b

Recipes 

The 2011 TJ's vintage ale is good this year. If you like Duvel, pick one up, they're great!

rasherb

Recipes 

Very tasty. Moderate spice notes (not over the top). Some tartness, maybe sour mashing?
Rich toasted grains. Belgian yeast character of course.

Mermaid

Recipes 

I think it's got a very nice malt profile this year. A bit more dark caramel / chocolate malt. It's also a bit sweeter than last year, but I'm going to pick up a few extra bottles to cellar (as I did last year). As always, it's got that nice Unibroue yeast - tart with it's own special fruity profile.

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The sands of time were eroded by the river of constant change.

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Primary #1: Empty
Secondary: 3 ga. cyser
Bottled: Nut brown ale, Bink blond clone (she's a bitter Belgian!) Belgian Wit, several other tasty beers that have since been consumed!
On deck: TBD

humann_brewing

Recipes 

very nice, how much are they?

mistercameron

Recipes 

I thought it was alright. It was pretty carbonated and the overall experience was more like soda than a beer. It wasn't quite as complex as I was expecting. I'm wondering if cellaring it would improve the overall experience. I may get another bottle to try again plus one more for cellaring.

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Fridgenstein - temp controlled side-by-side kegerator + ferm chamber

Airborneguy

Recipes 

I'm not a fan. I picked up two bottles because of the price, knocked off one while watching a movie with my wife, and brought the other to my mother's last night for Christmas Eve. Maybe with some age, but I don't see myself buying another one to try.

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Fermentor(s): Retribution Brown Ale
Lagering: Oktoberfest
Kegged: Test SMaSH
Bottled: Mr. Beer Pale Ale, Brown Sugar Mead
Tapped: Dystopian Saison
Up Next: 100% Wheat Beer, Dopplebock

humann_brewing

Recipes 

I think this is a beer intended to age, this brewery is not made to age the beer before they sell it. I can guarantee that this beer is less than 8 weeks old. Properly age it to next winter and report back.

Airborneguy

Recipes 

I have to agree that aging would likely improve it. To me it was VERY sweet, to the point of being cloying. But there's that strange natural flavoring added statement on the bottle that makes me wonder what they added to it.

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Fermentor(s): Retribution Brown Ale
Lagering: Oktoberfest
Kegged: Test SMaSH
Bottled: Mr. Beer Pale Ale, Brown Sugar Mead
Tapped: Dystopian Saison
Up Next: 100% Wheat Beer, Dopplebock

Mermaid

Recipes 

I agree that these TJ's Vintage Ales improve with aging. I saved a bottle from 2010 and drank it in November. It definitely dried out, although because it seemed to have a very subtle hops profile, it wasn't anything special. However... these bombers sell for $5.99 (here in MA) and for a product from Unibroue (one of my favorite breweries - probably because I really like the yeast profile and high carbonation) it's a real bargain.

I would suspect that the "natural flavoring" is some sort of spice "extract", maybe intended to bump up the spice profile without using actual spices.

If you like Unibroue, and are looking for something that's nice enjoy with comfort food plopped in front of the tv on a cold evening, you can't really go wrong for the price. If you've got the space to tuck a few bottles away until next Fall, then I say go for it.

If you don't like Unibroue's other beers, then you'll probably not like this one.

__________________
The sands of time were eroded by the river of constant change.

-------------------------
Primary #1: Empty
Secondary: 3 ga. cyser
Bottled: Nut brown ale, Bink blond clone (she's a bitter Belgian!) Belgian Wit, several other tasty beers that have since been consumed!
On deck: TBD

cl330b

Recipes 

$4.99 in northern CA.