“Unibroue” is a Quebecois brewery in the Belgian tradition, using the typical Belgian brewing method of beer “on lees.” What this means is that the beer is re-fermented in the bottle for a stronger brew and a more complex flavor.

Unibroue beers include “Terrible” (pronounced something like “tereeb”- remember, it's in French!) which is as black as stout but tastes completely different, “Maudite” (meaning “damned,” which makes this the ultimate Goth beer!), “Fin du Monde” (or “end of the world”) and “Don de Dieu.”

Unibroue definitely has a flair for the dramatic, as you can probably tell by the names alone. The labels of some of their beers are equally theatrical. Maudite's label features a beautiful illustration of a local Quebecois legend in which a canoe full of Voyageurs (frontier traders) sells their souls to the Devil in order to be able to fly their canoe across the sky.

But what about the beer? Well, it depends on your tastes. If you enjoy your beer German-style (foamy, golden and easy on the palate) these will probably be a bit overwhelming. All of the Unibroue beers have that powerful Belgian complexity to them. As for me, that's right up my alley. I've been developing something like an obsession for Russian Imperial Stout lately, but I had a bottle of Terrible on Thursday night and was very glad I did. The Belgian style of brewing is always going to be high on my list.