Beer Spotlight!

Unibroue 30th Anniversary Maple Stout

$11.99 for the 750ml bottle
Belgian Style Stout with Maple Syrup

In the late 80s, Qubecquois businessman André Dion had an idea. He wanted to unite Quebec’s microbreweries under one business umbrella to better distribute their beer to the other provinces. Maybe that was a good idea at the time. We don’t know; we weren’t there, but it sounds like trying to get cats to herd cats. In 1990, Dion’s plan fell through, leaving him only with the company he had founded for it — Unibroue. (Finally!! We’ve wondered for years where their name came from!)

After the distribution scheme failed, Dion and a partner bought the majority of shares of Brasserie Massawippi. In 1991, Massawippi and Unibroue merged, and they hired a young, Belgian brewmaster as another plan formed — develop a brewery that brewed Belgian style beers, unheard of on this side of the continent. In 1992, what was now Brasserie Unibroue brewed the first commercially available Belgian Witbier style Ale in North America. The rest, of course, is three decades of history and more awards than any other brewery in Canada. That means that this year, it’s 30th anniversary time!

For their 30th, Unibroue has brewed one of our favorite rare-ish styles, the Belgian stout. However, ‘cause you gotta’ flex with your anniversary beer, Unibroue has thrown a little home province flair into the mix. The Belgian Stout takes the kind of dark and roasted malts that one uses for stouts and ferments them with Belgian yeasts. (Yum!)

Here, Unibroue uses a “complex blend of toasted, roasted, and caramel malts” and then throws in some maple syrup for a touch of Quebec. We’ve had some massively maple beers recently, and this brew is not of that ilk. Unibroue’s 30th is all about subtlety and balance. The maple syrup flavor is just one note in this quiet symphony. Like with many Belgian stouts, this brew is lighter-bodied than you would expect. The yeast imparts a tartness that mixes with the delicate play of hop spice and bitter dark chocolate malt center. In fact, there were times in mid-sip that we felt like we were drinking more of a dark sour than a stout.

Get this stout cool or just on the edge of cold and use it to toast a 30th anniversary of your own … or of someone else’s … or a 30th coming up … or a 30th past … or your 30th time playing Mario Kart last weekend … or …