AleSmith Grand Cru

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

This dark brown ale poured with a thin off-white head, eliciting a malty aroma. The flavor is sweet and fruity brown with a chalky slightly bitter finish that lingers on the tongue. The flavor is very complex but well-balanced with only a slight hint of the hefty alcohol content. This is a truly fine ale.

LCRBM: Brown with a large tan head. Lovely berries, caramel, prunes and raisins. Very vineous flavour. Warming mouthfeel. Good stuff.

(Being starved for good beer, arjoseph fends off a particularly sharp withdrawl pang by retreating to his "cellar" to procure some long-saved bottle, and drinking it.) 2003 vintage. 75cl into Duvel tulip glass. Thanks to cquiroga, as always, for a generous gift. The pour produces a smallish-medium sized head of yellow brown-gray ("gray" or "grey"? I never know) bubbles, some of which are dense and small and others (mostly in the center) are largish and soapy looking. The head diminishes not instantly but quickly, leaving a ring of the soapy bubles on the edge. Said bubles pop intermittently like an unenergetic witch’s cauldron. The head will revive if the beer is swirled, but it will diminish just as quickly. Lacing is almost nonexistent, but where the foam does cling to the side, it does so in an archipelago of irregular islands of very dense, almost imperceptibly small bubbles. The sub-surface "racing" is deep at first, and mildly energetic (by which I mean it doesn’t race to the top, but doesn’t rise sluggisly either). Color is ruby brown with orange-yellow highlights, both glowing in the almost-transparent transluscency. The aroma is strong; I can smell this thing almost immediately after the pour, even though my nose is at least a foot away from the glass (and two from the bottle). The nose is burnt leaves, buttered saltine crackers, brown sugar, burnt caramel; I can smell lots of sweetness and musty malts. This reminds me of autumn, like harvested corn in silos and sugars of various colors being baked in cookies and pies. The taste is just as sweet and musty as the smell. On the medium to full body, this might be considered syrupy by some, but I don’t think it reaches that level on sweetness or thickness. Flavors of candied apple and peach prop up buttery and sugary malts. Right after the swallow, acid emerges in the form of overripe prunes and apricot, mellowing into a light meringue sweetness with a strong vanilla character. About 5 seconds after the swallow, the finish kicks in: musty, burnt, almost smoky; the harvest impression of corn comes back (maybe even Indian maize); the alcohol wafts up the nose and adds an acrid bite. Some kind of hops add to the acrid/musty bitterness, which lingers for minutes. In all, this is a great beer. I think the age might contribute to the character and potency of the finish; if it were a bit younger, the acrid and overripe qualities might not be so prevalent, which I think would make it better (but only marginally so). In the end, I have no hyperbolic remarks (not even "dope"), only deservedly high marks.

Courtesy of Kinz. Clear dark brown color with a thin off-white head. Aroma of sweet molassas. Flavor of sweet malt and molassas.

Pours deep reddish brown with a thin white head. Strong malty aroma with nuts. Strong coffee taste on a thick body. Thanks Kinz!

Again, thanks to Kinz for this amazing beer! Excellent reddish-brown body, with light carbonation/head. Nice malty aroma with some spices, peet is very evident. Good sugar tastes with some hops evident. Clean, yet sharp ending... almost like a cheddar cheese.

"Expected more from this one. The horny devil was way way better then this. Pour was normal for style. NO HEAD AT ALL. Coffee taste in my belgian not a fan, plus some dark fruits. Hops were there. Overall a good beer but not as high as its rated."

Bottle. Pours very reddish brown with a very thin, wispy head. Aromas of dark fruit, toasted nuts, caramel, vanilla extract and some spice. Very complex and lots of alcohol. Initial taste impression is of sugar and lots of it. More malt, chocolate, caramel etc. It almost feels like a fruit juice, a little heavy and syrupy. I like the taste and aroma, but I just can’t dig the mouthfeel.