Atomium Premier Grand Cru

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ertvelde, Belgium

Pours a cloudy yellow color with huge billowing head that slowly fades. Aroma is of yeast, light lemon, apple and spice. Taste is of belgian spice, apple, yeast and light citrus. Alcohol is well hidden and moderately carbonated.

Pours a cloudy yellow color with a HUGE pillowy head. Aroma is sweet, citrus, and green apple. Taste is light, apple and pear. Very refreshing and the alcohol is hidden well.

This was a big setup and a huge letdown. On tap at the HopLeaf. As lofty as their Belgian menu is, I looked quite the jackass when I talked my friend into ordering this. I absolutely had to switch him. Watery sweet flavor with nothing besides a simple syrup finish.

Bottle sampled. Pours a light gold color with a big fluffy white head. Aroma of pale malts, citrus, and yeast. Flavor was highly carbonated with fruit, grains, rye, and some mild spices.

Draft at Eulogy in Philadelphia, PA. Pours a pale golden with a white head. Aroma of candi sugar, pear, and yeast. Lighter on the texture and mouthfeel, but not watery. Flavor of bread and pale belgian malt, accented by a very mild sweet apple and pear. Finish is clean and soft. A decent belgian session that won’t kill the palate.

In spite of pouring a dirty blonde, the aroma is strongly molasses. The interplay of different grains lends a good chewiness to the palate and also offers interesting flavors to play with in your mouth. A nice beer.

33ml bottle and served in my NB worthy glass; The initial pour developed a huge fluffy head which settles and left great lace work, the color is a slight hazy golden hue. The aroma has notes of candy sugar, sweetbread, grassy and herbal hops, light apple and pear, and some wildflower yeast esters. The taste starts moderately sweet but a nice acidic fruit and mild hop bitterness kept in in balance. Not a great amount of depth but it is wonderfully drinkable. I also pick up hints of rye, wheat husks and mint about. The mouth feel is light and refreshing, highly carbonated. A good brew that is more akin to a basic Belgian Golden Ale than a Strong Ale (minus the very well hid alcohol). There is a level of finesse that is missed by most IMO.

Huh - seems to me that this beer is a bit under-rated on this site. I ordered this out of curiousity and was very pleasantly surprised by what I got...quite a bit lighter than other "Grand Cru" I’ve had, but not entirely inconsistent with other Beglian Strong Ales (like Duvel) I’ve enjoyed in the past. It poured a light yellow color, with an impressive amount of effervescence. Tons of cumulus head that towered over the rim of my glass. Aroma was very light and sweet, with plenty of very zesty lemon flavor. You could sense the alcohol presence, although the beer tasted smooth and in no way astringent. Mouthfeel was extremely smooth. Highly recommended. I had a bottle of this at the Palm Tavern in Milwaukee. The bartender said they just got it, so I would assume my bottle was rather fresh (I forgot to check for a date code).