Beer of the Week! 11/11/2024

Unibroue
La Fin du Monde

Normally $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96
Abbey Tripel

In the late 80s, Qubecquois businessman André Dion had an idea. He wanted to unite Quebec’s microbreweries under one business umbrella to better distribute their beer to the other provinces. Maybe that was a good idea at the time — we don’t know — but it sounds like trying to get cats to herd cats. In 1990, Dion’s plan fell through, leaving him only with the company he had founded for it — Unibroue.

After the distribution scheme failed, Dion and a partner bought the majority of shares of Brasserie Massawippi. In 1991, Massawippi and Unibroue merged, and they hired a young, Belgian brewmaster as another plan formed — develop a brewery that brewed Belgian style beers — unheard of on this side of the continent. The next year, what was now Brasserie Unibroue brewed the first commercially available Belgian Witbier style Ale in North America. The rest, of course, is the history of the first North American brewery to use Trappist brewing methods. They remain one of the few North American breweries still wholly dedicated to Belgian style brewing. They also remain a brewery close both to our palates and our hearts.

When Unibroue first released the La Fin du Monde (World’s End) in 1994, it was the first abbey Tripel commercially brewed on this continent. Bottled conditioned, like its Belgian forbearers, there are notes of coriander that set it squarely in the sub-group of spiced Tripels. It is rich and flavorful without overwhelming you with either body or taste. Still, take note; this ale is not a quiet and small beer!

One of the world’s great Tripels, fortunately we don’t have to travel to the world’s end to enjoy some.