Trader Joe's Vintage Ale 2012

Brewed By: Unibroue (Sapporo) in Chambly, Canada  
Purchased: 1 pint 9.4oz (750ml) bomber bought at Trader Joe's in IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's hard to believe that it has been over a year since I've been circlejerking with my Ego in blogspace. Way back in December of 2011, I did a shit ass review of the 2011 Trader Joe's Vintage Ale. Awesome-sauce. Or Winter-win. Or whatever; fuck.

Anyway, I always look forward to Trader Joe's Anniversary and Vintage Ales. For those who don't know, Trader Joe's is a chain of convenience stores that sell organic and gourmet foods. It's a grassroots type store, and you can find some cool stuff there that you won't find at your local Jewel or whatever. A few years ago, Trader Joe's made the news with their two buck chuck -- super cheap wine that tastes OKAY. Trader Joe's has also made a bit of a name for themselves by selling beer under the "Trader Joe's" label that is contract brewed by titans like Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Unibroue (Sapporo), and the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. 

Tonight's beer, the "Trader Joe's 2012 Vintage Ale," is contract brewed by the sexy Canadians at Unibroue. A word on Unibroue:  

Unibroue is a brewery out of Chambly that specializes in Belgian beers. The brewery was founded in 1990 by André Dion and Serge Racine. The duo invested in the failing brewery, La Brasserie Massawippi, and became majority shareholders. In 1991, they finalized the takeover of La Brasserie Massawippi, and completely merged with their company, Unibroue, in 1992. Dion became the President and CEO, and Racine becamse the board of directors. In 1992, the brewery released their first beer, Blanche de Chambly, and decided to specialize in Belgian brews. In 1993, the brewery moved to their cutting-edge microbrewery in Chambly, Quebec, and by 1994 the brewery was exporting beer to the U.S. and Europe. In 1991, Brewmaster Paul Arnott joined the company; trained in traditional, monastic Belgian brewing, he helped release new beers including the Éphémère series of beers. 

In 2004, the Sleeman Brewery purchased Unibroue, and in 2006, Japan's oldest commercial brewer, Sapporo International, purchased Sleeman. Since then, Unibroue has been regarded as a global treasure, as they export their beer everywhere. They produce some of the best, high-quality beer in the world. These guys are one of my favorite breweries, and it's always a treat to drink their beer.

Tonight's beer is a big ass Belgian Dark Strong Ale, clocking in at 9.0% ABV. This beer is bottle-conditioned, and will develop in the bottle until "07-06-2015." That's around two or three years, which is probably fair for this beer. There's a little blurb about this beer on Trader Joe's website; they give a brief description, and state the price. At $4.99, this shit is truly a steal. 

The back of the bottle has a little more information than the website. It states: "Brewed with a delicate balance of noble hops, roasted malts and spices, this is a remarkably smooth ale with a wonderfully complex finish." This beer is brewed once a year by Unibroue, and has limited availability. Let's glass this up.

Trader Joe's Vintage Ale 2012

First off, the cork used for this bottle is well hung, and penetrates deep into this beer's soul. You really have to pry that cork out...which yields nice smoke, and a beer that doesn't gush. Hooray! This beer pours a cola-black color, with 3 finger's worth of root-beer-float-looking head. The head has a beige/tan/cola color to it. When held to a bright light, the beer catches some ruby red and cola brown colors on the sides of the glass. I can also see quite a bit of carbonation. The head on this beer is a champ. It's been more than 5 minutes since I poured this, and a centimeter of head refuses to budge. Overall, this looks great.

The aroma on this is fucking crazy. Or maybe I'm crazy? There's huge perfume, and fruity yeast phenols coming off of this. I'm getting pineapple, pina coolada, banana, and more mother fucking pineapples? Actually, if you shove your nose into this, you get clove, sugar, vanilla, banana, and a shitload of nutmeg. There's maybe a hint of pine or noble hops in the aroma. This beer leans on the trademark Unibroue yeast, based on the aroma.

The taste is quite heavy, and spicy  There's a lot of spice in this. I'm getting big nutmeg, clove, some pine/spruce, and some peppery spice playing off the booze. There's a big, boozy, Quad-typical, alcohol thing going on here. Up front I'm getting a lot of that banana, clove, and sugar; the middle rolls into spices gone wild, and the back end is lingering spice and Quad-like heaviness. I'm picking up some of the roasted malt in the taste, and there are some hints of dark fruits in this.

Aside from being assertively spicy...this is somewhat complex. I have the same gripe I had last year, which is: more dark fruits, please. You do pick up on some overripe banana, and hints of cherry or plum. Palate depth is good, complexity is moderate, and this is medium-full to full bodied. Up front is carbonation, spruce, nutmeg, and banana-vanilla-clove; the middle rolls into spices; the back is booze. Other flavors pop in and out. This is highly carbonated, and leaves some nice warming in your belly on the back. The 9.0% ABV doesn't hinder drinkability...the assertive spiciness does.

Rating: Average 

This is crazy spicy...and the huge nutmeg thing starts to weigh on your palate, and muddle the complexity. As such, I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. At $4.99, you can't complain about about. And I picked up four bottles. I plan to finish this one off now, share one over the Bears game, and cellar the other two. I'm hoping that the spice will drop out a bit over time, and maybe this beer will turn into something more enjoyable. Because beneath the spice are some really nice nuances. The bottle suggests pairing this with salmon steaks or things with curry...I'm inclined to agree. Some coconut curry soup, or curry anything, would really go well with this beer. You could also pair this with some peppered turkey, or any gamey meat that is spiced. I can easily recommend this beer at 4.99...but this isn't Chimay Blue or St. Bernardus 12.

Random Thought: Is Thursday Night Football not the most anti-climatic and dumb thing ever?