UNIBROUE's EAU BENITE BELGIAN STRONG PALE ALE

I recently stopped writing a music blog called AGONY SHORTHAND; a few months before its end I decided to join the kool kids & put together a MySpace promotional page for the site in an effort to connect with the 16-25 demographic. Right before I packed it in, a fella from a Vancouver garage punk band called LADIES' NIGHT sent me a missive "on my MySpace", promising to bring me a fancy Canadian beer if I attended his band's show in San Francisco. I accepted the challenge - problem was, he held up his end of the bargain, and I got sick and wussed out (honestly, I was sick and in bed, you guys). But being a good guy, the gentleman from Ladies' Night sought out a friend of mine in the crowd, and delivered this big-ass bomber of EAU BENITE, from the heralded Quebec craft brewer UNIBROUE. This is the story of that beer.

EAU BENITE is the classic example of a beer that "improves as it warms" , and after some initial trepidation upon first sips, I was seriously diggin' it halfway in. Delicious yeasty mouthfeel, and a really robust orange/lemon taste is all over this thing. It's a Belgian Strong Pale Ale that's frothy and intense but still quite smooth at the end of the day. And I have to say - it's the first beer I've had from the Unibroue family (they're not cheap!), but it was a fine way to start. 8/10 - and a big thanks to Ladies' Night. If you're into exploding, ear-aggro garage punk, download their excellent track "Call Me Your Legs" right here.