Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru

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

Bottle from Friar Tucks in Champaign, IL. Pours copper with lots of floaties and beautiful dense off white head. Aroma of belgian yeast, alcohol, brown sugar, and plums. Medium bodied and the texture is as earthy as you can get with all the shit floating in the glass. The flavor is nicely balanced between carmelized sugar, belgian yeast, raisen, and cherry. The sweetness is there, but not overdone or sticky. Finish has a mineral and yeasty flavor, with some faint alcohol that warms. Not bad, but next time I am pouring this through a strainer.

750 ml bottle poured a hazy copper with a minimal lingering ring of amber head. Aromas of dark fruit, carmel and brown sugar. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of carmel, plum, raisin, some herbal nltes and a hint of molasses with a smooth lingering sweet finish.

Deep dark hazy brown with creamy white head. Soft medium carbonaton. Dark dried fruits, sugar, malts, yeast & spices plus alcohol warmth. Long finish! Very good!

11.2 oz. bottle; another flake filled gusher from AdR, pours what would be a beautiful copper amber with a sizable persistent copper hued tan head. Aroma is dominated by malts and yeast, with dough, peach, plum, cherry, and dried dark fruits. Flavor is smooth and lighter than expected, with good presence of the variety of fruits and some yeast. Good balance of spiciness and not overly sweet. Palate is creamy and full, broken occassionally by the floaties. Sure wish AdR could do away with the gushers and floaties, both distract from an otherwise very nice beer. This is my favorite AdR of their BSA’s, but only slightly more so than the Brune.

Finally entering all my "Better Know a Style: Belgian Strong Ale" tasting 07 results. Malty, yeasty aroma with dark fruits. Very nice in appearance, with brown color and tan head. Flavor is sweet malt, ginger, and spicey. Med body and surprisingly little alc.

dark brown appearance, flavor is strong with hints of fig, plum, and cinnamon. hides the alcohol content well. a good beer, very good

11.2oz Bottle $3.99 Binny’s Orland Best before 2007 As with other Des Rocs ales the Grand Cru pours loaded with big heavy protein chunks. They break up somewhat but are still thick. The body of this beer would look amazing if not for the floaties. Glowing ruby body with a 1+ finger loose ivory head one the pour. Head fades to a thick half finger cap. Leaves spotty lacing. Smell is absolutely packed with different aromas. Sweet doughy malts combine with spicy alcohol up front. Brown sugar and dark fruits show up halfway through. Cherries, plums, and figs. The backend brings powdered sugar, nutmeg, and a faint spicy hoppiness. The longer your nose stays in the beer the more the aroma changes. Flavor is a little of a let down after the wonderful aromas. Much like the smell doughy malts kick things off. Mid palate a some of the darker fruits that were mentioned in the smell hit the tastebuds. There is also, a very mild metallic twang every now and then. Not bad but not an improvement either. The swallow brings brown sugar, slight alcohol warmth, and a mild floral hoppiness. This beer gets much better as it warms. Medium body with a coating mouthfeel. Slightly sticky. The mouthfeel is good but I just don’t like getting one of those bigger protein chunks. Good flavor and a wonderful aroma help this beer go down pretty easy. To me it seems like it would be more appropriate for cooler weather instead of a hot night like tonight. Another tasty treat from Des Rocs. My only complaint of their beers are the huge amount of chunky settlement. Des Rocs beers are excellent but if the sediment was taken a little better care of they would be world class. 7/20/07

2 Pint Bottle at the Font Bar, Manchester 08/07/2007 Malt aroma. Amber coloured strong in alcohol and malty. Smooth on the palate. Crisp and slightly dry malt finish.