Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: JUN 28, 2007 Bottle... This beer super-mega- kung-fu; jiggy-one-time-for-me rocks! ... A great, super complex Belgian Ale, so stand back... The aroma: Heavily malty, moderately yeasty and just a hint of light perfume from the hops. Hints of fruits not yet discovered, cereal grain, and bread dough. Although the very high ABV is expertly hidden, it does work it’s way through to the nose. Appearance: A sparkling amber hue. The medium sized frothy head is khaki with very good lacing. Mostly lasting. Flavor: Very malty. Slightly sweet & sour (chinese, anyone?). Curious spiciness. Once again, although the high ABV is well disquised, a warm, smooth alcohol flavor comes through. Palate: Medium bodied. Lively carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel. Long, dry finish with a lingering hint of clover. Great, complex Belgian ale! Westy 8 might be the only Belgian ale that I’ve enjoyed more at this point. Can’t wait to try other beers from this brewery.

Tasty flavors of dark fruits and mysterious spices. Very strong.

This is one great beer to smell. Raisin, chocolate, some sweet fruit and spice notes. Taste is not quite as good as the aroma. This Grand Cru is slightly sour with just a bit of phenolics coming through to taste, nothing that unpleasant though and gets better as it warms. The high ABV is pretty well hidden, with just a nice warming presence on the way down. Pretty decent overall.

Looks like a cocktail of dark beer and chocolate syrup. The flavors of this beer are endless, nutty, raisins, fruit, chocolate, and undetermined flavors. This beer has as many personalities as a schizophrenic. Every sip gives at least 5 flavors that alternate and change with the temperature. One of the BEST beers I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. The only place I have ever been able to get this is at the Saloon in D.C. Disappointing since I live in Fl. You must try this is you love Belgian Dark Ales!

The head was a little tan and very foamy. One of the spicier belgians I’ve had. The bottle was shaped like a champagne bottle, but its definitely a goblet beer.

Dark red color, small beige head. Spicy sweet smell with some alcohol. Spicier than most belgians, odd finsih..l.bitter grapes? Pretty good.

Big beautiful head, mahogany, absolutely elegant bottle with a cap and a cork. Very complex smell: strong hops, fruitiness, smoothness, candy. Slight alcohol as you’re taking that last smell before finally drinking. Incredibly rich and smooth, complex taste that complements the smell quite well. Excellent! My first Grand Cru of any kind ever, but not my last.

Crazy light foamy head, nice fruity aroma, fruity and tasty.

UPDATED: FEB 15, 2006 Clean sample, 330ml bottle. Head is initially huge, frothy, rocky, light brown, fully lasting. Body is hazy medium to dark amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), lightly to moderately yeasty (cobwebs), lightly hoppy (flowers), with notes of orange peel, toffee, coriander, clove, raisin, alcohol, etc. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium to full body, watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic, slightly metallic. The metallic finish and somewhat harsh bitterness (sort of in a spiced way) is just a bit too harsh for total enjoyment, but the aroma “Rocs”, in the words of hopscotch. Quite a lot better than those insanely globby proteinized bottles, so look before you buy.

Heavily proteinized sample, 750ml bottle. Head is initially huge, frothy, rocky, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is muddy (and badly proteinized) dark amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), moderately yeasty (mold, cobwebs), with a note of dirt (for lack of a better term), light notes of orange peel, toffee, clove, raisin, etc. Flavor is heavily sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, heavily bitter, unclean. Medium to full body, watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic, metallic. The new "Brasserie des Rocs" 9.5% version. This was LOADED with protein chunks, and I mean loaded...at rest, they filled the bottle right up to the neck. Huge jelly-like masses. I’m not kidding when I say this is one of the weirdest and most disappointing Rocs I’ve ever had, and I have several every year. The aroma is quite dull and dirty, and has only a ghost of the usual Rocs character that I’ve been enjoying for years. Sharp, abrasive, and tongue-coating in the mouth...blah. By far the worst sample I’ve ever had of this beer, or any Rocs brew for that matter. I hate to re-rate in this condition, but I know this is a fairly new (2004) bottling and is certainly representative of how bottles appear on shelves. This is ridiculous. [5/3/5/2/10=2.5]

UPDATED: AUG 4, 2005 2002 bottleExtremely meaty, like going to a rain forest and having some papayas, guavas, oranges, passion fruit, malted barley (ok so thats not much of a rain forest item) and some roasted monkey meat with a really rich barbecue sauce. This beer had a dark, almost purple-orange appearance. Wonderful body on this beer as well.
On draught, 6/8/2005 at Redbones. Pretty fantastic to see this stuff on draught here. Man, my old reviews are bad. Roasted monkey meat??? What? Anyways, this was sweet, velvety and richly malted, with prunes, raisins, light chocolate and a hint of vinousness. Yeast is strong and chewy. Dry spicing on the end, seems to give some respite from the maltiness. Low carbonation. Aroma of nutmeg, caramelized sugar, earthy yeast, thick doughy malt and soft, cherries soaked in cointreau. Dry Belgian chocolate as well. Great stuff, perfect mouthfeel. My sample seemed a tad bit loose on the end.

On draught at Redbones, July 2005 Hazy brownish-raisin with some light tan notes and darker mahogany hues swirling about. The head is small, but well-retained and a light, tan-oatmeal color. Very fine bubbles rise in the glass, on the edges. Aroma has delectable brown sugar, raisins, caramel and a beautiful yeast, characteristic of this brewery (I think that’s the key to these guys’ success, their incredible trappist-like yeast). The flavor brings forth succulent notes of dates, figs, raisins, toffee and brown sugar, with lightly tart fruitiness on the finish and a dry, almost wood-like note. Alcohol is not present here and the body is big but fluffy. It’s decadent but it’s not, somehow. Like falling back in to a plush, silk and down bed. Yeast caresses the palate and sticks to the sides of the mouth, with light chocolate and more dry roastiness or woodiness. Hints of vanilla and creme brulee on the end. Tiny bubbles pack in the mouth and tickle the tongue. The carbonation is low but scintillating. Ah, what a wonderful beer. Score is for this rating (I didnt have a clue what I was talking about in my previous review).