Anyone heard of - (Unibroue)

Unibroue out of Canada. They make quite a few triple fermented beers that have always appealed to my tastebuds. Anyone tried this process. Amazing beers!

Oui, I have tried some. Great brews, but haven't tried to brew any.

Would the triple fermentation make it difficult to make a proper brew? I know I am eons away from such a task but I like a challenge.

immobileman said:

Would the triple fermentation make it difficult to make a proper brew? I know I am eons away from such a task but I like a challenge.

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Don't be scared of things like that. Triple fermentation is not that complicated. I'm guessing one of those steps is bottle conditioning, and the second fermentation would be an addition of some sort of sugar when the first is almost complete.

Unibroue is awesome - who can resist a beer called La Fin Du Monde?

^ You betcha. The shame of it is Alabama does not allow more than 5.5% for beer so I have to smuggle from FL. worth the risk! What is bottle conditioning?

Is that the stuff they have been selling in Costco Lately?

immobileman said:

^ You betcha. The shame of it is Alabama does not allow more than 5.5% for beer so I have to smuggle from FL. worth the risk! What is bottle conditioning?

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Bottle conditioning is what home brewers do. You add some sugar into the bottles and allow them to carbonate on their own.

Live super near to the brewery, but never really dug any of there beers. Respect them but dont like them!

Unibroue makes some fine brews. Bottle conditioning is adding yeast during the bottling which most Belgian brews do. Be careful though, many add a different yeast than the original.

barroomhero1234 said:

Live super near to the brewery, but never really dug any of there beers. Respect them but dont like them!

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I have similar thoughts on a brewery super near me. (There's only one!)

As for Unibroue, it's been too long since I've had any from them. But I don't recall not liking it.

shertz said:

Unibroue makes some fine brews. Bottle conditioning is adding yeast during the bottling which most Belgian brews do. Be careful though, many add a different yeast than the original.

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Agreed on Unibroue- great beers, and I'm not even a big Belgian fan. Those beers really sing.

Why, though, would a brewery use a different yeast for conditioning? Is the second strain just really cheap, so it makes sense to use it?

elkdog said:

Agreed on Unibroue- great beers, and I'm not even a big Belgian fan. Those beers really sing.

Why, though, would a brewery use a different yeast for conditioning? Is the second strain just really cheap, so it makes sense to use it?

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I guess your asking the yeast to do something different than original fermentation, but I could be wrong. Need to reread Brew Like A Monk.

elkdog said:

Why, though, would a brewery use a different yeast for conditioning? Is the second strain just really cheap, so it makes sense to use it?

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Theoretically you could use a yeast that ate sugars that the first ignored, thus not having to add any sugar at bottling. I don't know that anyone does this, however.

They may want to use a neutral yeast just to ensure that the flavour doesn't change unexpectedly while bottle conditioning.

They may want to discourage people who are trying to culture yeast from the bottle.

flowerysong said:

\They may want to discourage people who are trying to culture yeast from the bottle.

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Damn them!! I hate when they do that...lol.

flowerysong said:

Theoretically you could use a yeast that ate sugars that the first ignored, thus not having to add any sugar at bottling. I don't know that anyone does this, however.

They may want to use a neutral yeast just to ensure that the flavour doesn't change unexpectedly while bottle conditioning.

They may want to discourage people who are trying to culture yeast from the bottle.

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There are two other reasons. One, the yeast could be tired in a higher gravity beer, so they add new yeast to get that going (also works for beers with exceptionally long secondaries.)

The other is for a beer that has been filtered, but then will be bottle conditioned.

They also might choose a lager yeast for bottle conditioning so the yeast will stay active without having to be tied up in a warm room for weeks.... See Brew Like a Monk.

Sager Brewing Co. said:

Is that the stuff they have been selling in Costco Lately?

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Yep, I was at Costco tonight and they are selling 4 pack variety packs. Didn't catch the price though.

944play said:

They also might choose a lager yeast for bottle conditioning so the yeast will stay active without having to be tied up in a warm room for weeks.... See Brew Like a Monk.

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IIRC, that was only in reference to Victory's practice w/ golden monkey rather than a standard practice.

shertz said:

Damn them!! I hate when they do that...lol.

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If you want to culture yeast from a Belgian, try Chimay.

flowerysong said:

Theoretically you could use a yeast that ate sugars that the first ignored, thus not having to add any sugar at bottling. I don't know that anyone does this, however.

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Orval adds Brettanomyces at bottling, which ferments longer chain sugars/dextrins than normal Saccharomyces, and takes the F.G. down to around 1.006-1.002.

yeah the reasons i've heard for a different yeast are flavor stability, clarity, ability to condition at lagering temps, and in some cases the desire to keep a proprietary yeast out of the hands of competitors.

this is also a common practice with hefe weizens.

Unibroue's Maudite and Trois Pistoles are two of my favorite beers, but at $10 for a 4 pack i only drink it a few times a year. However, I just picked up the Trois Pistoles kit from AHS and hope i wont have to buy it for a long time.

Anyone else try cloning any of their beers before?

pww1 said:

Unibroue's Maudite and Trois Pistoles are two of my favorite beers, but at $10 for a 4 pack i only drink it a few times a year.

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Along with La Fin du Monde, some of my favorite beers. But yes, a bit pricey. So I make my own. Not necessarily Unibroue clones, but Belgian style strong ales just the same.

My ex wife had a unibrow

immobileman said:

^ You betcha. The shame of it is Alabama does not allow more than 5.5% for beer so I have to smuggle from FL. worth the risk! What is bottle conditioning?

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I'm feeling your pain. Anytime I get over to New Orleans I usually load up with good beer to bring back with me.
At least now that I'm homebrewing I'll have my beer as strong and flavorful as I like.

Back on topic...Unibroue is a great name for a beer!

_______________________
Free the hops!

I've had Tres Pistoles, which I did like. I also had a Trader Joe's vintage ale that turned out to be brewed by Unibroue.

my girl and i shared a couple of monster bottles of the Unibroue La Fin Du Mond for our one year anniversary.

i'm going to have to clone it.

If you like Don de Dieu, here is a clone recipe.


For 10 gallons.

14# Belgian Pale Malt 67%
4# Vienna 19%
1# Flaked Wheat 4.7%
1# Flaked Oats 4.7%
1# Texas Wild Flower Honey 4.7%

Mash 1.25 qts. per pound at 153 degrees for 1 hour.

Sparge with 173 water.

.5 oz Domestic Kent Goldings 6.2% 90 minutes
.5 oz Tettnanger 4.2% 15 Min
.5 oz Tettnanger 4.2% at flameout

Spices & Honey at flame out.

1 oz. crushed coriander
1 tsp. grain of paradise
1/2 oz. Curaco orange peel
1/2 oz. Valencia orange peel

yeast is White Labs Belgian Saison WLP565

Ferment at 76 degrees.

I brewed this for my old neighborhood brewfest as a Saison. The WLP565 fermented it down to 1.021, so it had a little sweetness to it.

Two Canadians at the fest each took a sip and the first words were "Don de Dieu". I thought they were speaking french or something. I finally said WTF don do do? and they explained it to me.

Cloned Don de Dieu by accident.

Don't those guys make a beer called "terrible" ?? I know I've got a big bottle of terrible on my fridge, and I believe its from Unibroue. If you ask me, it was absolutely terrible

Sucram said:

I've had Tres Pistoles, which I did like. I also had a Trader Joe's vintage ale that turned out to be brewed by Unibroue.

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This is my only experience with Unibrou . . I only managed to choke down 2 sips before pouring the rest down the drain. I love my Chimay's, but that stuff tasted like bad Tecate that had been left out in the sun or something.