Unibroue Éphémère Blackcurrant

February 13th, 2012 by Scott in Other Beer Reviews

We’ve reviewed the most common version of Unibroue Éphémère a couple of times. It’s an ale brewed with apple juice that’s quite tasty. However, we also learned that in Canada Unibroue brews multiple variations of Éphémère with different fruit juices that don’t usually make their way down to the United States. Late last year I found locally a bottle of Éphémère brewed with blackcurrant juice instead of apple juice. However, I’m just now getting around to drinking it.

Blackcurrant juice is an ingredient in a couple of beer blends common in the United Kingdom. Cider and black is a mixture of cider and blackcurrant juice, while a dash of blackcurrant in a pint of Guinness is a Black and Black. The fruit is much lesser known in the United States because growing currants was banned in the early 1900s because they were a threat to the logging industry and bans have only recently been lifted in many states.

So how is it? Pretty bomb actually. The blackcurrant adds a sweet but tart flavor to the ale. It’s very smooth, easy to drink, and lightly carbonated. Pouring the beer looked more like a carbonated light red wine instead of a beer, no doubt because of the blackcurrant juice.

Overall, it’s another good one from Unibroue, even if it’s the same ale brewed with a different fruit. I’d like to see some of the other flavors migrate south of the (Canadian) border!