Unibroue
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| Unibroue | |
|---|---|
| Location | Chambly, Quebec Canada |
| Owner | Sapporo |
| Year opened | 1993 |
| Active Beers | |
| 1837 | Strong pale ale |
| Blanche De Chambly | Witbier |
| Chambly Noire | Strong dark ale |
| Don de Dieu | Triple Wheat Ale |
| Eau Benite | Strong pale ale |
| Edition 2004 | Strong pale ale |
| Edition 2005 | Strong dark ale |
| Éphémère (Apple) | Fruit beer |
| Éphémère (Cassis / Black Currant) | Fruit beer |
| Éphémère (Cranberry) | Fruit beer |
| Éphémère (Original) | Fruit beer |
| Éphémère (Peach) | Fruit beer |
| Éphémère (Raspberry) | Fruit beer |
| Irresistible Blond | Witbier |
| Irresistible Brune | Strong dark ale |
| La Bolduc | Euro pale lager |
| La Fin Du Monde | Belgian Strong Ale |
| La Fin Du Monde (French Export) | Strong pale ale |
| La Fringante | Tripel |
| La Seigneuriale | Strong pale ale |
| La Terrible | Strong dark ale |
| Maudite | Strong dark ale |
| Quelque Chose | Glühkriek |
| Raftman | Smoked beer |
| Sans Nom | Strong pale ale |
| Seigneuriale | Strong ale |
| St-Hubert | Pale ale |
| Trois Pistoles | Strong dark ale |
| U | Euro pale lager |
| U2 | Euro dark lager |
| Unibroue 10 | Strong pale ale |
| Unibroue 11 | Strong pale ale |
| Unibroue 15 | Strong pale ale |
| Unibroue 16 | Strong pale ale |
- This article is about the Québec brewery. For the Danish brewery, see Royal Unibrew.
Unibroue is a brewery located in Chambly, Quebec, Canada, that was bought by Sleeman Breweries Ltd. in 2004. Sleeman was then purchased by Sapporo in 2006. The company was incorporated in 1993, and has grown exponentially since then. They began exporting their beers to the United States (under the name "Unibrew") in 1994.
Unibroue makes a wide range of beers, although there is a focus on Belgian-style brews, such as their Maudite ("Damned"), La Fin du Monde ("The End of the World"), and Don de Dieu ("Gift of God"). Most of Unibroue's beers are bottled "on the lees", or containing yeast sediment. This practice provides additional fermentation after bottling, resulting in a beer which ages well if kept in the dark and unrefrigerated, and allowing it to be relatively cheaply shipped to international markets. The yeast gives Unibroue beers a striking cloudy appearance and provides a characteristic element to the taste.
Anglophones in Canada have argued that Unibroue, until they were bought by the Ontario-based Sleeman's, made beers for a sovereigntist and nationalist audience, and that their labels invoked myths and stories (e.g. the chasse-galerie on the Maudite label) that appealed to a largely Francophone audience. To fill the void created when Unibroue was bought, a Quebec City-based group has entered into an agreement with the Québec City brewery, La Barberie, to produce a beer called "La Militante".
The rise in popularity of Unibroue over the past ten years has coincided with the growth of microbrewing in Quebec, particularly in Montreal. Unibroue has been joined by the likes of Cheval Blanc and McAuslan.
