La Fin Du Monde
With a name like La Fin Du Monde (so badass), I'd almost expect something more aggressive, or darker. Yet Monde is a fairly light example of the style — almost light and citrusy enough to seem like a very yeasty white beer. The smell is a bit strange here, almost too floral for its own good, but the floral fruity yeast taste is pretty standard. Again, there's an almost orange-like flavor at the back-end, but it adds a bit to the smoothness of the mouthfeel. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this triple is how creamy it is — it's really, really drinkable, even at 9%. You definitely run the risk of drinking this one too fast. I don't drink Belgian triples too often, so I feel I'm always a bit off when trying to describe them. The more of this one I drink, the more I'd like to claim it's one of the best triples I've had, but that may just be the ABV talking.
Maudite
Maudite is listed on BA as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale — a strong "amber-red" according to the box — but it'd be awfully easy to mistake this for a double. There's that creamy, bread-like feel to it, and a caramel brown-sugar taste with hints of fruit. The hints of fruit add a sweetness, but muted — everything here is tightly controlled. Perfected, I'm tempted to say. Even the high alcohol adds a hit of warmth, rather than bite. The carbonation compliments the sweetness, and makes this extremely drinkable but not too light. If you like this kind of beer, you'll like this beer.
Trois Pistoles
Halfway through the sixpack now, I'm noticing some trends. Unibroue beers have something characteristic about them, something in the mouthfeel or the yeast. They're all solid — not crazy, or particularly complex, but still tasty and on the drinkable side of the spectrum for such Belgian styles. The lighter, weaker presence of the beer makes them go down easier, even if it sacrifices a bit of complexity. Trois Pistoles is another Belgian Strong Dark Ale, so it's obviously a bit similar to Maudite, and maybe even a little thinner. Thin and light doesn't have to mean it lacks taste, fortunately. This one is sweet, with a sharp burst of that sweetness hitting right away, alongside the malts. It lingers pleasantly and doesn't stick or leave any unpleasant tastes behind. The high alcohol content is extremely well hidden, and there's a nice warmth that hits well with the plum/raisin fruitiness. Unibroue knows what they're doing with these.
Ephemere
I'm glad this one isn't sweet. I expected it to be — I think I may have had all of one apple beer before, and it was as cidery as you'd expect. Not here. Ephemere is almost sour, with a sugary apple taste that's almost like candied fruit, something savory and tart but not obnoxious. It doesn't taste fully natural, and I'm sure there's no way they got this result just by tossing a few apples into the brewpot. Still, even if it doesn't taste natural, it tastes good. There seems to be some kind of wheat-beer base, something light but substantial enough to actually provide backbone. Fruit beers need that, they need to have the taste and mouthfeel of beer, otherwise they just taste like syrup. Ephemere manages a strong but balanced blend of taste and consistency, which can't be easy to do.
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