Trader Joe's Vintage Ale 2011
Unique and limited edition, this Belgian style ale is crafted once a year as a special treat for those of you who appreciate flavorful, bottle-conditioned ale with character.
This year’s vintage: a rich, dark and full-bodied ale with a fine and generous coffee-colored, beige foam. It’s ready to enjoy right away and you may also wish to cellar a few bottles. It will evolve interestingly well, developing more complex flavors as the years go by. Keep the bottle upright in storage.
Brewed with a delicate balance of noble hops, roasted malts and spices, this is a remarkably smooth ale with a wonderfully complex finish. It is best served slightly shilled, around 53 degrees Fahrenheit and pairs exceptionally well with grilled salmon steaks, curried lamb, beef or tuna au poivre. Crafted and bottled exclusively for Trader Joe’s
This year’s vintage: a rich, dark and full-bodied ale with a fine and generous coffee-colored, beige foam. It’s ready to enjoy right away and you may also wish to cellar a few bottles. It will evolve interestingly well, developing more complex flavors as the years go by. Keep the bottle upright in storage.
Brewed with a delicate balance of noble hops, roasted malts and spices, this is a remarkably smooth ale with a wonderfully complex finish. It is best served slightly shilled, around 53 degrees Fahrenheit and pairs exceptionally well with grilled salmon steaks, curried lamb, beef or tuna au poivre. Crafted and bottled exclusively for Trader Joe’s
3.6
153 reviews
Monrovia, United States
Community reviews
Tasted on 5/12/13 from a corked and caged 750mL bottle. Pours opaque dark brown with an average, fizzy tan head that recedes fairly quickly to a thin collar of lace. The nose is cola, vanilla, molasses, cardamom and other baking spices, caramel, and some spicy Belgian yeast (Unibroue signature). The flavor is a bit stronger with the cardamom and baking spices, with the cola, vanilla, and caramel coming through nicely on the back of the palate with just a hint of a roasted note. The body is a little fuller than medium with lively, almost fizzy carbonation, and a long bitter baking spices and cola finish. This is holding up nicely for the age.
Bottle. Pours a deep brown color with off white head. Belgian, slight roasty, malty aromas. Belgian, yeasty, malty flavors. I’m not a big fan.
Bottle as shown. Pours a dark brown with paperthin beige head. The aroma is bready malt and licorice. Medium mouth with sugary malt and light grain finish. A good Belgian strong ale.
thank god, judy is sleeping .. . pours a mild brown bruise .. . medium head, lacing is like a pillow exploded .. . yeast, prune, spruce, and barnyard .. . light mouth .. . like the ’12, needs time .. . . yeah! he ruined nap time and quiet time!
Bottle shared at RBWG! Pours a deep hazy brown with thin tan head and light lacing. Aroma of belgian yeasty esters that lead to a deep dark fruit nose. Taste follows, a nice deep flavor that is well balanced. This is perhaps of the best of the Trader Joe’s vintage ales.
Bottle shared by SpringsLicker at the RBWG grand tasting
Appearance: Clear dark brown with a small beige head
Aroma: Raisins and plums
Taste: Roasted malts and dark pit fruit
Decent, some hot alcohols
Bottle shared at RBWG, poured a hazy murky brown coloe with aromas of brown sugar and syrup. Flavors are the same, malt and candi sugar. Ok beer overall thanks dor the share whoever brought it.
A - Dark black with a finger of frothy tan-khaki head. Fades very slowly.
S - Dark caramel malts, raisin, plums, and other dark fruits, Belgian yeast, clove, pepper, other spices, a touch of sourness, and a touch of booze.
T - Dark caramel malts with raisin, plum, dates, and other dark fruits, Belgian yeast, clove, pepper, and other spices, a bit of residual sugars, a touch of sourness, and a bit of booze.
M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a sweet and warming finish.
D - Nice BSDA. Good Belgian character and spices.
This bottled brew from a rating party poured a head of foamy finely sized bubbles that were mostly lasting and left behind a uncarbonated semi-hazy brown colored body and a good lacing. The mild aroma was brown malt. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The nice flavor contained notes of brown malt and hops. A decent one that I would consider drinking again.
Brown pour with tan head and lace. Aroma is dark brown sugar cough syrup and sweet malt. Sweet brown sugar, sour malt and earthy bitter. Medium bodied but fizzy.
750mL bottle, pours a deep dark brown / black with a medium beige head. Aroma is very spicy, with cardamom, coriander (almost curried spices), and Belgian yeast. Flavour is extremely spicy, with loads of coriander and cardamom, Belgian yeast, and some mild dark fruits. This one is dominated by the spices though, too much so. Probably my least favourite of the Trader Joe’s Vintage ales.
750ml cork & cage bottle (courtesy of Headbanger) poured into a Trappist glass at 40°. Color is near black with mellow carbonation and a small tight head. Aroma is light on malt with some spices showing. It has a medium body with a crisp mouth feel. Flavor comes in with a bit of malt and caramel then it hits you with Christmas like spices. After taste lets the spice come up a little more. Overall I am a little disappointed, this has always been a good brew but this year they added a bunch of spice that killed it.
750 ml bottle shared by shigadeyo. Pours dark brown with reddish highlights. A large fluffy rapidly diminishing beige head. The aroma is sweet malty, herbal and fresh spices with the characteristic Unibroue yeastiness. The flavor is sweet caramel malts, allspice, herbal with yeast. These are usually clean and tasty, yet nothing really stands out. Good for what it is and the price point.
750 ml bottle purchased a year ago at Trader Joe’s in Escondido ($4.99). Pours into my Unibroue tulip glass a dark brown with some vague reddish highlights and three full fingers of beige foam. Aroma of freshly grated spice, sticky dark fruit, orange peel, and Unibroue yeast. Flavor of spice (ginger, allspice and perhaps some nutmeg and clove), caramelized bananas, candied dark fruit (as in fruit cake), dark bready malts, medicinal-type herbs, and Belgian yeast. Good prickly carbonation and well-concealed ABV. This is really very similar to the 2009 and 2010 editions (perhaps spicier for 2011). But it’s still a festive ale that always goes well with the holidays and end of year. (124, 756)
Pours a dark cola like color with and active mocha colored head that leaves very little lacing. Aroma is that typical Unibroue yeast, dark fruit, and a hint of spice. Mouthfeel is surprisingly clean considering all the sweetness. Decent hint of carbonation makes it possible.
Bottle. Pours a deep deep brown with a nice frothy layer of beige head that diminishes to almost nothing. Almost no lacing. Smells sweet: bread, yeast, dark fruit. Tastes good...nice spice to compliment the sweet fruit and bready flavors. And of course, yeast is very present in the flavor. All-in-all, a very good Belgian beer.
Aroma brings soft, sweeter bready notes. Pours unclear dark chestnut colored with a big amount of sediment on the bottom and humongous foamy beige head on top. Flavor brings bready notes from yeast. some caramel malts, spices but not "overclovey" and a delicious creamy body.
Bottle: Deep brown, large frothy eggshell colored head, halfway decent lacing. Spicy nose, slight dark pitted fruit, and what appears to be Kaffir lime leaf? Some interesting spices at least. Spritzy up front, signature Unibroue yeastiness, soft dark pitted fruit. The 9% ABV is well hidden. Doesn’t last long, seems to fall off somewhat quickly. At least its clean. Body and mouthfeel are moderate. Not very assertive overall, spicy in a sense that is a little hard to discern, but past experiences say Lime leaf. Tiz okay, but this one needed more dark pitted fruit in my opinion. Not as good as some of the other prior years.
Saved a 2010 and drank in October of 2012. Strong yeast is still present. Malty and a touch of bitterness from the Belgian yeast. Light pear and apple notes with a touch of Carmel. Some corriander flavor as well. Didn't taste much different than the 2011 I taste the other night so the agin doesn't do much with this one, at least in less than 3 years time. Still a great deal to get a Unibrau beer label for Trader Joes for $5.99 and 9%.
Enjoyed in a snifter with some friends at cellar temp. Pours a dark brown. Nice gusher here. 3 finger head but fades very fast. Scent is lots of sweet dark fruits. Apricot, pineapple, figs and raisins. Taste is sugary sweet. Maybe too much. Sort of a dark oaky taste paired with dominant figs. Medium body and carbonation. Not bad.
Fall 2011 - Leave it to Trader Joe’s to market not only good beer, but really great beer. I know there’s no secret Trader Joe’s brewery out in the middle of the pacific, but I didn’t know who was making their beer for them. Somehow the Vintage Ale 2011 bottle and style hinted at Unibroue, but I knew at first taste what it was. I can’t quite put my finger, or more appropriately the tip of my tongue, on whatever that flavor is, but it’s found across Unibroue’s beer, like a genetic marker in the family. Maybe it’s the yeast? Who knows. What I do know is that this is a great bottle of beer, and at $5 it’s hard to do much better. This found it’s way into my grocery basket on every trip. Both the aroma and flavor are replete with sweet raisin, gingerbread, cinnamon, all-spice and even a little of that glue stick smell that I embarrassingly enjoyed as a child. It tastes like a Christmas beer, with all kinds of flavors from Belgian Strong Ales that make them my favorite style. It’s not the most complex BSA I’ve had, but it has all the essentials, and the soul, of a BSA. And again, at that budget, I can enjoy it week to week, rather than waiting for a special occasion. Chalk up one more reason to adore both Trader Joe’s and Unibroue.
August 30, 2012 bottle at BVery’s tasting. Dark brown pour with a nice amount of head. Spicy and yeast in the aroma and taste.
Bottle: brown pour. Ginger and spice on the nose. Warm ginger and spice taste. Great beer but bed a friend to help finish the bomber.
Bottle; dark brown opaque with moderatenbrown head; aroma-clove, corriander, nuts, caramel, vinegar,, yeast; taste-light sweetness, medium bitterness, lightly sour, full body, lively, bitter, long finish. Decent
Ar: Caramel malt sweetness, kinda toasty - alcohol - sour
Ap: Dark, almost black with soda-esque carbonation - thin khaki head disappears quickly to a thin lacing
T: Follows the nose - sweet, alcohol, sour - in a way, a root beer-esque
P: Sharp carbonation, thin body
O: Very nice beer, interesting fun sipper
Dark brown, ruby red color with tan head. Nice peppery phenol, spicy yeast, medium roast malt, rootbeer spice aromas. Light bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Dry, spicy black pepper flavors with a toffee, rootbeer spicy sweetness. Drying warming finish--maybe the best TJ vintage to date--very good.
Appearance: dark cherry and mahogany wood under a brown head which fades into a thin collar bordering a small thin puddle. Swirls nice.
Nose: cherry, grape, blueberry, and plums. Spices mingle with the fruit and spicy breads in the back. Candied fruitcake. Mulled red wines, spiced fruit wines.
Palate: mulled spiced red wine, grapes, blueberries, and cherries. Spiced candied maraschino cherries. Apricots. Warms the belly and chest. Silky mouthfeel and texture – glides across the tongue. Perfect proportion of carbonation. Tannins along the sides – leather and grape musk.
Final Thoughts: delicious! Trader Joes is a food and drink lovers paradise which I wish was in Florida. I only had one bottle which I drank of course but if you have the luxury of buying a couple bottles, be sure to cellar one.
Bottled. It’s a Belgian strong...need I say more? Excellent blend of dark chocolate, caramel malts, plum and bread. And as if that wasn’t good enough for you batards, it has a warm spicey clove finish.
750mL bottle, Best Before 07-06-2016 from--Trader Joe’s! Clear cola brown with some reddish highlights and a one finger tan head, fair retention. Wintergreen and coriander are apparent up front, followed by some yeasty spicy phenolics. i also get a touch of anise as well as some toasty malt. Also has the typical fruity Unibroue yeast characteristics. Flavor follows suit, toasty notes are stronger, though plenty of the spicy phenols are present. The coriander is stronger than the wintergreen at this point. The finish is dry, bitterness was pretty low. Alcohol was masked well for 9%. I’m also picking up on some minerals.Never got too sweet, just estery and phenolic. Moderate to high prickly carbonation with a medium body. Not too bad at all, and well worth the crazy low price, as always from TJ’s.
Bottle. Bought at Christmas. Drank on July fourth. Complex malty and dark fruit flavors. Dark cherries come through the most. Paired with with peanut butter sandwich.