From the label:
La MAUDITE (Damned), refermented on yeast base in the bottle, goes down uncommonly smooth. One taste of this excellent malt beverage will instill in you the highest respect.
From my notes:
Smells of yeast, stone fruit, and bananas… Reddish brown color with a quickly dissipating, light tan head of fine bubbles. Flavor hits you at first with the stone fruit, almost sour mellows into a bready, spiced flavor. Flavor delivers on the promise of the smell. Complexities here that my palate is refined enough to recognize but not so much so as to describe. No lacing.
I didn’t know what a Belgian Strong Dark Ale (BSDA) was until I did some research on Maudite… Turns out this isn’t Unibroue’s only BSDA they have an even darker, stronger one, Trois Pistoles which you are sure to see here in the future. So, what is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale? It’s like your regular dark (brown) ale but with a lot more alcohol (anywhere from 7 to 15% ABV!) Generally, they’re going to be complexities in the flavor profile, they’re going to be fruity and they’re might be some dark malt flavors, spices are also used. The alcoholic content is sometimes hidden by the sugars used in the brewing process. Don’t expect much bitterness or hop flavor in these beers.
Turns out that I like BSDAs and I imagine most of my readers will as well, I found Maudite’s flavor and finish a perfect match that made for an excellent beer, since the beer is so dark and bold I might pair it with lighter food fare…
Rating (out of five):
I think I have seen this at the beer cave of our local liqour store but have ignored it because the label made me think it was an Arrogant Bastard product. As I am sure of myself and have nothing to prove, I tend to completely ignore Arrogant Bastard brews but this looks fantastic.
Arrogant Bastard has a wonderful PR campaign and that is about the only nice think I can say for them. Maudite isn’t one of their beers and it is fantastic. Let me know what you think after you’ve had one!