AleSmith Grand Cru

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: NOV 20, 2008 Bottled and on tap multiple locations. Usually pours clear, golden amber color. Pretty malty aroma with a white, mousse head. Flavors of sweet maple syrup, vanilla and fruits that end with slight hops bitterness and Belgian yeast strains. The yeast byproducts produce an earthy undertone of more vanilla and a hint of bubblegum. Fairly thick body with a sweet, lingering finish. Ages just fine, I’ve had 2-year vintages that thin out a bit, yet the flavors become much more blended and a bit sweeter.

750 mL bottle, red foil top. Dark red-brown color with a moderate billowy tan head. Great spicy, floral aroma, pepper, oak, malt. Well-carbonated and medium-bodied, the carbonation really assists the spicy character on it’s way to the palate. Pit fruit, spicy malts, with a general sweet character in the taste. Dry, almost tannic finish. Belgain yeast tastes swim around in the background, but prop up the other tastes rather than overwhleming them. Warm in the finish. Let this one sit a little while. A great beer.

Bottled. Brownish and amber coloured with almost no head. Very nice balanced with strong notes of raisins, prunes, plumbs and also a bit malty. Hinst of caramel, spices and hops.

Sample at AleSmith brewery. Brown pour with nice head. Malty, yeast aroma. Flavor is similar with lots of dark fruit, almost like an abbey. Wish I had more.

750 ml bottle thanks to drewbeerme sampled at "Better Know a Style: Belgian Strong Ale" Blind Tasting 07. Pours a clear amber/brown color with a white head that fades down. Moderately malty aroma, bread, grain, carmel, chocolate, moderate yeast, spice, grape, raisin, and vanilla. Sweet cherries, bourbon, molasses, and malty flavors balnced well with light bitterness and alcohol. Medium body fizzy carbonation and light alcohol in the finish. Tasty brew.

Bottle cork & wire: First pour is clear rusty amber with a thin, bubbly tan film. The following pours become cloudy (the sediment became disturbed) Duh. Sweet aroma. Some Belgian yeast hint, which is smothered by alcohol. Sweet dark fruits of dates, raisins, but mainly a caramel sweetness is apparent, along with that alcohol. Mouthfeel is overly carbonated, bubbly with generous alcohol burn on the palate. Has a malty flavor. Sweet, boozey, esters. Syrupy fruityness. Some caramel apples, subtle spicyness of cinnamon, glazed figs. Has a light roastyness with plenty of alcohol. This stuff is somewhat simple, with an overall malty, boozey sweet profile, although it is still not bad. I just expect greater complexity in "Grand Cru" Belgian style ales. This stuff didn’t develop anything with warmth, or later sips. If this stuff holds well with age, it may improve a bit. However, I’m starting to notice that high alcohol content doesn’t necessarily mean Ales will age well; I’m guessing it’s other factors, like the yeast used. Well, overall this was a bit of a let down.

Drank this last night but forgot to rate it. 750 ml bottle pours copper in color with a very short tan head that faded as quickly as it formed. Aromas of yeast, raisin, caramel, some fig, and maybe a little plum. Flavor is quite malty upfront with caramel, a touch of spice there, some yeast, raisin, some honey notes, and a touch of alcohol at the warm finish. Palate is almost sticky sweet with pretty full body and soft carbonation.

sampled at blind "Better Know a Style: Belgian Strong Ale" tasting 07. 2006 bottle. poured pretty red with small white head. nose was really nice with yeasty, nutty, molasses, raisin, and plum notes. flavor had nice toasted cookies and sour cherries. very tasty. palate was a tad too thin and alcohol in finish. a very tasty beer indeed.

Got some caramel malts and a hint of alcohol in the aroma.Pours a light brown with a thin to medium tannish head.Very sweet flavor including sweet and caramel malts.Medium mouthfeel with a sweet finish.

The beer arrived in a handsome bomber, courtesy of BA dogfoodog. After removing the gold foil, I was expecting to use the corkscrew, but the plain old crown cap made liberating the beer a much easier proposition. I was also surprised by the green glass, which seems to be more of an exception for and American craft brewery use. The Duvel tulip I had appointed for imbibing awaited, so without further looking, I poured the beer. The body was Burgundy in color and quite clear. There was very little head to start with, and it faded right away. Despite the D etched at the bottom of the glass, there were no streamers, and the beer sat very still.

The smell was richly layered with dark malt goodness. I could smell raisins, figs, red beets, and grapes. The taste was pretty much the same, except some hop bitterness and oak wood like dryness became apparent at the end of each sip. This and a hint of sourness kept the taste from being too sweet. I was expecting a little more complexity from this beer, but overall this ended up being a little bit bland. It was slippery and smooth on the tongue, and not as thick as I initially suspected. By the end of the drinking session, the 10% ABV started to wear me down a little. A good pick up however for a Saturday night like this, where I can stay in bed late tomorrow.