Unibroue Ephemere

Unibroue is a brewery in Chambly, Quebec, that produces some great Belgian-style beers. In fact, these were some of the first beers I really learned to appreciate. I'm looking forward to July when we'll be in the neighborhood and hopefully have a chance to pay a visit to the source. They're not particularly hard to find. Many grocery stores carry their flagship tripel-style, La Fin du Monde, and lately we've seen 750 ml and variety packs at Costco for a good price, but I almost always see them at better liquor stores.

Ephemere is a fruit beer made with apples, but unlike most fruit beers, it's not sweet or more like apple juice than beer. It pours a very pale color without much of a head. It has that fruity and yeasty aroma typical of Belgian brews. It's a very nice taste, mostly of a pale ale, but with a refreshing apple note.

According to Unibroue's website there are other fruit varieties of Ephemere, but I've never seen them. Maybe they're easier to find in other parts of the country or in Canada. It also lists Noire de Chambly, which is a dark ale, on their classics list, but I haven't been able to find it in many years. Of all their beers which I can get hold of, I think La Fin du Monde and Maudite are my favorites, but you can't really go wrong with any of them. They're a little pricier than many American craft beers, but cheaper than most of the ones from Belgium.