Raftman
Unibroue

RaftmanRaftman
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From:
Unibroue
 
Quebec, Canada
Style:
Belgian Pale Ale
Ranked #32
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
87
Ranked #17,439
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 11.4%
Reviews:
424
Ratings:
798
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 17, 2023
Added:
Mar 06, 2001
Wants:
  64
Gots:
  95
Unibroue introduced Raftman to the Quebec market in March 1995. This coral-hued beer has a unique taste that combines the smooth character of smoked malt whisky with the flavours of fine yeast.

IBU: 15.5
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SheepNutz:
Photo of SheepNutz
Reviewed by SheepNutz from Kentucky

4.17/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
12oz. bottle poured into a tulip-style glass. Upon opening the bottle, which had not been disturbed for days in the fridge, it violently poured foam like an active volcano for about 20 seconds. When poured though, the carbonation died down some. It pours a hazy medium orange color with two fingers of white head. There is almost no lacing left on the glass. The smell is very sweet with honey, orange, and a hint of bourbon. The taste is very malty, with more honey and bourbon coming through. It almost tastes like the sweet bourbon glaze that the restaurant I work at uses for pork chops. There is a touch of sweetness and hops to the finish. The mouthfeel is a little light, slightly oily. The drinkability is real nice, as this is a smooth sweet treat.
Aug 06, 2003
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.56 by QuintusHorace from California

Jul 17, 2023
Photo of scott451
Reviewed by scott451 from Canada (ON)

3.77/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured a 341 ml bottle into a chalice. A bubbly off white head on a hazy reddish amber. Good head retention. Some patchy lacing.
Yeasty esters in the nose. Some smoke.
Bananas, whisky. A very mild hop finish.
Very smooth light body and carbonation.
Overall a unique and interesting Pale Ale.
Jan 26, 2023
 
Rated: 3.95 by CRObighit2 from Canada (ON)

Aug 13, 2022
Photo of YesKing
Reviewed by YesKing from Canada (AB)

3.66/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Really liking the colour here, deep golden colour, almost amber. Quite a bit of foam as well. Smell is is sweet and fruity, fairly light. Interesting taste, the bitterness hits the mouth first, but this quickly tapers off into a fruity after-taste. Getting flavours of banana, bubblegum, nutmeg, and a vague spiciness. This is completed by the beer's very thick and frothy mouth-feel.

All in all, this is a successful beer with some interesting flavours. Very satisfying overall!
May 06, 2020
Photo of Borbly
Reviewed by Borbly from Canada ()

3.89/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Slightly hazy copper color with a white head with some length. Bready and floral on the nose, exhibiting a slight metallic character as well. Light, yet full of flavour, with crisp hoppiness and floral tones coming over. Very smooth and effervescent. Very nice beer overall.
Nov 29, 2019
Photo of altstadt
Reviewed by altstadt from Canada (BC)

4.04/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 5
Look: Hazy orange-brown. Pours a head that quickly decayed to a froth of medium sized bubbles. A small amount of lacing up the glass as the head dropped in volume. Medium bubbles covered the side of the glass until they broke free. Continual stream of small and medium bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Eventually the head settled down to a thick skiff (less than a finger) across the surface.

Smell: Carmelized fruit scents, more towards figs, and some spicy gingerbread. Very mild yeast. Swirling the glass boosted the scents but didn't add anything new.

Taste: The flavor is pretty much the same as the smell: carmelized fruit and some spicy gingerbread. This has a light touch with the flavor profile and doesn't have anything that overwhelms. Malts clearly show up about half way through to add more to the gingerbread. The aftertaste shifts to mostly gingerbread and tosses in a bit of bitters as the flavors slowly fade from the tongue.

Feel: Medium-heavy body that quickly foams past a creamy feel.

Overall: Very light flavored Belgian style beer. Nice flavors that do not overwhelm. Could drink this every day.
Jun 26, 2019
Photo of Alexc11
Reviewed by Alexc11 from Canada (QC)

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Cloudy, amber colour with light fizzle and thick head that dissipates quick enough. Good lacing. Fruity and yeast aromas (mostly peach, orange I detect). Taste is also dominated by fruit but with light kick of spice and coriander. This keeps in tradition with Quebec's affinity for belgian abbey ales. Another winner from my home province.
Apr 28, 2019
Photo of BucBasil
Reviewed by BucBasil from Rwanda

3.92/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Poured from the 750mL bottle into a tulip glass. The beer is a cloudy rust color with an off-white foamy head that stays around a long time. Lots of carbonation visible within.

S: Surprised to see the Belgian yeast still playing such a big role in the aroma here. It is still heavily fruity, with a slight woody note that may or may not be the "smoked" character in the aroma. Red apples, bread. Some spice. A little bit of pie, perhaps? Pleasant.

T: Unexpected flavor. This is kind of like a tripel but weaker. Has fruity yeast all throughout - apples, spice, hints of bubblegum and banana bread. I would say this is more like a dunkelweiss. There is a slight woody character inside. Not getting much smoked flavor, but it could just be a subtle addition. Instead, I get a good amount of caramel malt, and some of those weirs-like characteristics.

F: Carbonated but still very creamy.

Overall: This is not a rauchbier for sure - more like a solid Belgian style ale that has a couple of unique features. It is very drinkable and goes well in a lot of situations.
Dec 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.48 by Mack from Canada (QC)

Aug 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.02 by Agent-86 from Canada (ON)

Jul 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.15 by ChefNick302 from Delaware

May 30, 2018
Photo of Beerbuds
Rated by Beerbuds from Canada (ON)

4.23/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Very good beer but I didn't really pick up on much smokiness.
Mar 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by bixby1971 from Canada (ON)

Dec 29, 2017
Photo of Aidan11
Reviewed by Aidan11 from Canada (ON)

3.53/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
A good drinkable ale. it smells like caramel. Its a nice golden amber without much head. The taste is only a little bitter, but the flavor is mostly spicy. It's texture is thick, and creamy.
Nov 15, 2017
Photo of FBarber
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a dark brown tinged orange color. Completely clear (when you don't pour the yeast from the bottom of the bottle in).
Thin off-white head dissipates steadily leaving no lacing and no residual head.

Smell has notes of spice, brown sugar, caramel malts and a sweet whiskey aroma.

Taste follows the nose with that caramel malts, spices, brown sugar, and bourbon notes. This bottle is admittedly pretty old and heavily oxidized. Flavors are nice, but muted and somewhat overtaken by the oxidation. Need to find this fresh and taste it - the whiskey like flavors with the spices make for a really unique but very nice beer.

Feel is very light and goes down smoothly. Moderate carbonation.

Overall a unique beer - definitely need to revisit this with a fresher (not oxidized) bottle.
Nov 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.15 by CurtisD from Canada (NB)

Oct 20, 2017
 
Rated: 3.94 by kier from Canada (ON)

Oct 20, 2017
Photo of ewpass
Rated by ewpass from Canada (PE)

3.86/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Clear amber with strong head. Fruity Belgian yeast and toasted malt nose. Malty body with some dry smoky notes. Strong, even carbonation.
Oct 16, 2017
Photo of GingerFan
Reviewed by GingerFan from Canada (QC)

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours with a thick white head. A medium brown in color, opaque. Malty smell. Strong taste of spices that you would expect from a Unibroue beer. Overall good!
Oct 13, 2017
Raftman from Unibroue
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 798 ratings