Unibroue Trois Pistoles - Friday August 7th

Since the surgery went so well, I figured a full on nose-dive back into the blog was appropriate. Up tonight is Unibroue's Trois Pistoles. Quite an excellent beer. Notes are as follows:

Pours black, like a stormy night in November. Deeply opaque with a thick and aggressive tan three finger head. Heavy lacing down the glass. A shine of light leaves it a deep brown that quickly fades to its inky blackness.

Smell is complex. Smells of ripe, dark fruit. Plum, prune. Slightly oatmeal with molasses. Very dark raisin bread with a waft of alcohol. It smells sweet as well, reminiscent of dark rum and rye bread.

Tastes hot. Very present alcohol, but not overwhelming. Sweet and malty. Slight black pepper as well. Tastes heavily of brown sugar and dates, burnt sugar, but not caramel, and slight toffee maybe. Like the top of a creme brulee.

Mouthfeel is thick but not prohibitively so. Carbonation is medium to light, which fits well with the beer.

A stellar beer. Really rich and deep, it smacks of molasses, dark sugar, and toffee. It is a bit boozy but I think it works well with the beer, instead of against it. It helps cut through the sweetness some, as the hop profile is slim to non-existent. A wonderful companion to Kelly's Heroes. Goddamn I love Donald Sutherland. His son is a fucking hack, but the old man is a hilarious fucker. Oddball and the pot smoking professor in Animal House are some ringing endorsements for this guy.