It is appropriate that I review this beer tonight for a few reasons. First being that I just consumed a bottle of Chimay Red ale, and now I'm in the mood for more Belgian-style beer. La Maudite is brewed in Quebec, Canada, but it could easily be mistaken for an imported Belgian beer.

The second reason that this is a fitting time to review La Maudite is that this is October, Halloween time. La Maudite means "the damned" in French. The label features a winged devil at the bottom, and an image of a canoo flying through the air above him. This is based on an old French-Canadian legend regarding a group of fur trappers who became lost in the Quebec wilderness. Quel horreur, nous sommes perdus!!! They struck a bargain with Satan, trading their souls for safe passage home. He gave their boat the ability to fly them there in return. Several Belgian strong beers feature devilish names: Satan, Lucifer, Duvel (devil), so Maudite fits into that vein nicely too.

I pull the cork from the top of the 750ml bottle of Maudite and my ears are greeted by a resounding POP! Have I mentioned this is one of my favorite sounds in all the world? An eerie vapor wafts from the mouth of the bottle, like the souls of the damned finally released to their eternal repose. I pour the beer into my bulb-shaped Maudite glass, and a small amount of ruby red beer forms at the bottom, perhaps a finger's worth. The rest of the glass is filled with foam. The Maudite devil, painted on the glass, grins at me as if demanding my soul for a sip of beer. I wait for the head to settle a bit and pour more beer into the glass. The nose is spicy, yeasty. I take a sip. How could such a devilish beer taste so heavenly? There's a musty yeast character that gives the brew a strong Belgian feel. A firm malt body, notes of licorice (Unibroue spices their beers, I'm sure anise is in this one), chocolate, a rich candyish mouthfeel, and a warming 8% alcohol by volume finish are all present.

Don't match this beer with food. Enjoy it after a fine meal, or before as an aperitif. Unibroue's beers are widely available, and at $4 to $5 for a 750ml bottle are a real steal. Do yourself a favor, and steal a bottle today.

Update June 2, 2005: As you may know, I’ve been trotting around the globe for a while now without leaving my den. That’s because I’ve been taking a bottled tour Around the World in Eighty Brews. Along the way, I’ve had some fun selecting beers to represent various nations, and it is my fervent hope that you’ve had some fun reading.

The latest stop along the way is Canada, and the beer I choose to represent it is Unibroue’s Maudite. Brewed in Quebec, Maudite is a Belgian-styled strong red ale. Some might think the choice an odd one. Why not Molson? Or Labatt? But really, the French had a presence in Canada long before the English, and Maudite is as quirky a brew as the French Canadians are a proud and idiosyncratic people.

And their beers reflect it, especially those made by Unibroue. I’ve been drinking their fine brew for years, and they certainly make some of the most interesting beers in all of North America. Here’s a little info from the brewery:

In November 1992 Maudite (the damned one), was the first strong beer to be distributed in Quebec grocery stores. It contains 8 % alcohol and is also the first beer brewed in America that improves with age. When served young, it is very smooth, but when served after several years of storage, its flavour is reminiscent of port.

Let's try some, shall we? Maudite is best enjoyed at room temperature from a wide mouthed goblet.

La Maudite pours to a cloudy reddish color with a medium rocky head formation and a yeasty, spicy nose. The beer is medium bodied, lighter than you might expect for such a potent beer. There’s a nice touch of fruit here along with a pronounced yeastiness, a hint of licorice, a little coriander. Some sweet nutty malt is apparent, too.

Maudite is a little tart and very refreshing. There’s a mild grassy hoppiness that emerges early and becomes slightly bitter in the finish. This bitterness will soften a bit with age, and you can age this one for five years or so. My bottle, aged almost a year now, has a best before date of March, 2007. Of course, the shelf life of the beer will be shorter or longer depending on how you store it.

And of course, there’s a gentle alcohol warmth in the finish too. At 8% by volume, Maudite is about one and a half times as strong as most beers. It has the strength to cut through complex fare, and makes a fine accompaniment to hearty French or Italian dishes. I enjoyed a corked 750 ML bottle this evening with chicken cacciatore.

Even the label is a treat. French speakers will know that Maudite means “the damned”, and the label features a bit of French Canadian folklore: a flying canoe filled with lost fur trappers who sold their souls to the devil in exchange for a safe trip home.

Such local character is just another reason why Maudite really is a bit of Canada in a bottle

Update 12/2/2018: Enjoyed a bottle of La Maudite while putting up Christmas lights. Smooth, malty and delicious with a hint of spice and beautiful dark nutty malts and yeasty goodness. $8.99 seems more than fair for the 25.6 ounce bottle, too.



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