Trois Pistoles - Unibroue

    Trois Pistoles is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale that comes from Unibroue in Quebec, Canada. In my experience, Unibroue makes some of the best Belgian-style beers that aren't made in Belgium. As far as beer labels go, Unibroue always tends to catch my eye with their labels depicting epic scenes. I can only hope the beer will be as epic!

    I don't usually talk about the labels of my beers much, but this one has a story that's just too good to ignore. Basically, Trois Pistoles (Three Coins, though I would have sworn it meant guns!) was a small town in Quebec which needed to build a church. I'm not sure if there wasn't enough man-power or what, but for some reason they weren't able to build. Eventually a priest somehow gets a magical bridle from God, which then uses to hold a devil captive after summoning it. This devil apparently took the form of a giant black horse. Anyway, the horse hauls stones for the church and everything it going great until someone accidentally drinks too much Unibroue and thinks it would be a good idea to let the horse take a rest out of its bridle. Well, sure enough, the devil takes off back to hell just as he was hauling the final stone to the church. Supposedly if you go to this town there is actually one stone missing to this day.

"Come on, you know you want to let me go!"

    Trois Pistoles pours a dark brown with ruby hues that become visible when the glass is held up to the light. A frothy, half-finger of head tops the beer and stays around for quite a long time.

    When smelled, this Belgian Strong Dark Ale gives off aromas of sweet, dark, caramel malts. A hint of dark fruits such as raisins and figs is also perceptible. There is definitely some spicy yeast scent to the beer, though it gets confused with the light scent of alcohol that is also present.

    Unibroue's beer features a medium body as well as a medium-high level of carbonation. There is an almost spicy sharpness to the beer, and only a slight alcohol warmth. The ale has a high alcohol content at 9% ABV.

    Trois Pistoles hides many flavors within its darkness. Caramel malts alongside vanilla notes provide a sweetness for spices such as cinnamon and clove to balance. The flavors of dried fruits like cherries, raisins, and plums add a pleasant lightness to the beer's flavor.

    A note if you happen to try Trois Pistoles yourself: this beer is bottled on lees for bottle refermentation. Basically, lees is just yeast which has either died or entered a hibernation-like sleep. This sediment builds up in the bottom of the bottle and, while it won't hurt you to drink, isn't the most pleasant tasting, so special care should be taken when pouring. It's usually best to make sure the bottle has been upright in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before opening, and then to pour slowly, leaving the last bit of beer which holds the majority of the lees in the bottle. Interestingly enough, Tartaric Acid is mainly made from the lees left behind by breweries. Think of that next time you randomly find your never-used container of cream of tartar in your cabinet!

    I really feel as though this beer drinks more like a wine than an ale. I would not want to drink this quickly, but rather enjoy it slowly and savor every little bit of interesting flavor. Its the same for every Unibroue beer I have had in the past. I would definitely recommend this beer to anyone interested in trying a nice representation of a Belgian Strong Dark Ale that isn't as boozy as some breweries tend to make them.

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