Unibroue Trois Pistoles

Brewery: Unibroue
Location: Chambly, Quebec
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Unibroue is a renowned Canadian brewery that is well-known for their distinctive beers. Almost all of their beers are aged "on lees". This means the yeast and solids remaining from the brewing process remain in the bottle and lead to a second fermentation that provides natural carbonation. This generally leads to more complexity and good aging potential (and provides an excellent source of B-vitamins as well!).

The Trois Pistoles is dark cola-brown in color with a significant amount of haze. There is a thick, fizzy head that is off-white in color. The nose has fruit, wine and a faint butteriness. There is a rich scent that is almost meaty in aroma.

On the palate, the Trois Pistoles is reminiscent of a very dry wine. It is as if someone took a malty beer and removed all of the sweetness from it. There is a faint bitter bite and a hint of acidity. Notes of woodiness and mustiness are present. There is a touch of butteriness reminiscent of some Belgian White Ales. There is a rich, coating mouthfeel and a heavy body.

The Trois Pistoles is a very rich beer that would be well suited to accompany a hearty beef stew. My only issue is the flavor is personally just not my cup of tea. In particular, the butteriness seems a bit out of place. Regardless of my personal tastes, the amount of dryness really leads to the Trois Pistoles being a unique, complex beer.