Trader Joe's 2012 Vintage Ale
Trader Joe's Brewing Company

Trader Joe's 2012 Vintage AleTrader Joe's 2012 Vintage Ale
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From:
Trader Joe's Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV:
9%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.8 | pDev: 12.89%
Reviews:
89
Ratings:
327
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 22, 2018
Added:
Nov 02, 2012
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  40
No description / notes.
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Ratings by BEERchitect:
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.05/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
The always dependable brewers of Unibroue takes their regal brewing disciplines to the Trader Joe's family with their Vintage Ale 2012- a strong, dark Belgian ale that celebrates all 9% alcohol and with the complexity and balance that it deserves. Its a beer that's certainly built for celebrations and holidays.

Dark brown in its initial hue, a nod to the light reveals deep golden, lighter brown, and redish amber highlights. Much clearer than expected, the initial pour reveals very low haze that's hardly describable through its dark gaze. An expansive froth grows above the beer with a light tan color and sticky broken lace. Lingering 'til the end, the beer sells its Belgian roots well.

Aromas of perfume, toast, pepper, and cola waft over the nose and take the sense of smell in a lot of different directions. Malty notes of lightly scorched caramel and candy is met with dry toast scents for a complex malty upstart. Spices of clove, cinnamon, black pepper, and alcohol follow closely behind; before the supple notes of burnt berries and grilled plantains round out the light estery make up.

Similarly, the beer opens with the malty taste of hard candy, heavily caramelized malt, and cola-like sweetness. And like some colas, spicy peppercorn, and toasted bread, burnt wood accompany the dry malt taste. Sweetness fades at middle palate and allows the spicy additions of clove, cinnamon, and pepper to provide dry taste throughout. It's this point where a short-lived soap character reveals itself, and this is gone before the finish. Charred currant, cherries, plantain, and red grapes seem to rise at the same rate as alcohol and give a slight medicinal taste to its closure.

Firmly dry from nose to finish, the beer favors a drier and spicier pace than most for its style. This demeanor means that the medium creamy-sweet upstart is short lived and quickly shed in order to favor a toastier, drier, and highly peppery texture. Quite warm and spicy throughout, the beer doesn't mind light spice tannin, winy acidic, and woodish textures that unwavering even deep in finish.

And like Trois Pistoles and Le Terrible, Trader Joe's 2012 Vintage Ale displays the dark ale signatures of Unibroue accurately and boldly. It's a wonderful beer that's highly enjoyable in its assertive dry, spicy tone now but will surly mellow gracefully for years to come.
Jan 02, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.67 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

May 22, 2018
Photo of Davepoolesque
Reviewed by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

3.72/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2012 and 2017 side by side. The 12 has a ton more raisin, dark fruit and Belgian yeast esters. The 17 has some anise, dark fruits and Belgian yeast. Honestly, think I like the 2012 more. It has more dark fruit flavor. Smoother.
Jan 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.97 by MickeyHops from California

Jul 27, 2016
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

2.59/5  rDev -31.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5
Bottle share courtesy of Toby. This one didn't seem to hold up too well in aging. Dark pour with small airy head, seemed kind of flat and dull. Aroma and taste were in the right zone for the style, but it seemed it had started to go down hill, dusty, dirty, funky elements. Too bad...
Jun 17, 2016
Photo of SaltofOH
Reviewed by SaltofOH from Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
BB 7-6-2015; oops! DFH Tulip.

Appearance: Well, I really screwed this up trying to decant it, and ended up spilling about 2/3 of the bottle, and creating a massive Belgian foam mess all over my kitchen. Needles to say, what ended up in the glass did not have much head, though I imagine based on what was in the decanting bottle, that there would have been about 3 fingers of frothy tan head had I not screwed this up. Pours an opaque dark brown with some translucency at the edges. Surprisingly, no lacing, and virtually no retention. Even what was left in the decanting bottle after the spill didn't retain much head.

Aroma: It was chilled for the decanting process, but has warmed up significantly. Initially, very earthy, malty tones, with some light fruit and spice. As it warms, the traditional Belgian phenolics come through more prominently: grape, plum, and banana. There is a restrained, spicy complexity underlying it: sandalwood, cinnamon, nutmeg. I would not say clove, though there is a sweetness that pervades the aroma. Surprisingly earthy/woodsy.

Taste: Slight malty sweetness on the arrival, but much less so than I remember the 2011 or 2010 being. As it crosses mid-palate, it transitions into a fruit explosion. Red grape, raisins, plums, really fruit salad-y. Kind of syrupy in sweetness, but not in texture. As it transitions toward the end, really turns earthy and woodsy. That fruit-to-earth transition is perhaps my favorite part of this beer. A dried fruit sweetness and tartness lingers after the swallow.


Mouthfeel: Incredibly soft and smooth across mid-palate. Just this side of syrupy. Very low carbonation (my fault, I assume). Seems lighter and more drinkable than my prior experiences with Belgian strong dark ales.

Overall: I really screwed up the appearance and mouthfeel by spilling it not once - but twice - in trying to decant it into a smaller bottle. Lessons learned. But in terms of taste, I can say that this one seems way less sweet than the 2010 or the 2011, and I like that a lot. It also has an earthy note, and I can't tell whether that comes from the fact that it is past-date, or because it is by design. Either way, it is a very satisfying BSDA, as compared to the 3-4 others I have had. I didn't get this in 2014 or 2015, but maybe the even-number year, gold bottles are the ones to get.
Apr 01, 2016
Photo of Lingenbrau
Reviewed by Lingenbrau from Oregon

4.08/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Had this aged 3 years, and side-by-side with '13, '14, and '15. That being said, it was a toss up for the best along with '14. Plenty of raisin and spice, and everything nice for welcoming the winter. Cheers!
Jan 20, 2016
Photo of smbslt
Reviewed by smbslt from Illinois

3.07/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Dark brown with cola colored highlights. Ashen head fairly tall with some lacing. Dried fruits dominate the nose and taste but very subtle. Watery feel was not enjoyable.
Jan 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by cb8282 from Michigan

Dec 24, 2015
Photo of Bonsai
Rated by Bonsai from Ohio

2.09/5  rDev -45%
look: 4 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2.75
Aged till 8/30/15 in a wine cellar. Easy drinker.
Aug 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by maxcoinage from Illinois

Jul 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.73 by Icemann383 from New York

May 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.61 by klayton_hoefler from Alabama

Apr 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.6 by puftdank from Illinois

Apr 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4.54 by Sabkarian1

Mar 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by mrn1ceguy from Illinois

Feb 12, 2015
 
Rated: 4.09 by Jaycase from Illinois

Jan 19, 2015
Photo of hreb
Reviewed by hreb from Washington

3.97/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Apparently, I didn't review this fresh, so I'm going to review my personally cellared 2012 edition 2+ years after the fact. Aside from the champagne-style cork disintegrating in my hand as I try to open the 750mL heavy brown glass bottle, it seems no worse for the age. Beer pours rich dark brown in color, supporting an ample head. Gentle aroma of raisins and dark fruit. Flavor is similarly rich and demands to be warmed up, in order to bring out classic Belgian Brown ale flavors. Raisins and prunes are complemented by licorice and spice. Very mellow and drinkable. I don't recall if it was this mellow when this winter seasonal was first released, but it sure is now.
Jan 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by st9647v3 from New Jersey

Dec 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by MA08 from Massachusetts

Dec 14, 2014
Trader Joe's 2012 Vintage Ale from Trader Joe's Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 327 ratings