Grimbergen Optimo Bruno

Brewed by Alken-Maes (Heineken)
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Jumet, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

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My favourite beer, perfect aroma and taste with a great paladar. The best beer in the world !!!

Coter la Optimo Bruno de Grimbergen, c’est un peu comme la Tongerloo Prior, une autre bière des Norbertins. En effet, une est faite par Haacht, et la Optimo par Alken Maes. Il est toujours difficile de faire confiance à une brasserie industrielle... Mais : 1. Nous avons une brune à 10 %abv, pas triste, mais cela ne garantit rien. 2. Nous avons une abbaye fondée en 1128, et qui est plusieurs fois renée de ses cendres, d’où le Phoenix, et de bonnes vieilles recettes. 3. Mon exemplaire avait presque 5 ans de plus que sa date limite. Un critère de sélection. Couleur presque noire, limpide. Mousse beige qui reste sur la bière une demi-dégustation comme une nappe de garde. Odeur de charbon, terre, prune blette, réglisse, herbe mouillée, épices et une pointe de porto tawny. Volume soyeux. 1er goût de stout, alcool, whisky, chocolat noir, café, moka. 2ème de haricot tarbais, pomme blette, orange givrée et une pointe de Comté. 3ème d’abbaye tendant à trappiste, et une pointe de sureau. Levure assez corsée, mais bien lisse. Longueur chaleureuse, vu le niveau abv. Finale assez brute de décoffrage, mais très agréable. Cette bière fait la preuve que les brasseries industrielles peuvent gérer de vieilles recettes, pour autant qu’elles y mettent les soins particuliers, comme je l’avais relevé pour la Tongerloo Prior.

This beer is a real gem and a classic--belying its commercial parentage. Even more than Bush, this is truly a cognac beer with a strong brandy undertone present throughout. A fruity sweetness pervades, along with a persistent winey strength (this pup weighs in at a firm 10%)

Beautiful amber color; generous, creamy head. Intense aroma: malt, caramel, brown sugar, banana, orange peel. Very strong body, well bearing the alcohol content, warming. Round and malty, sweet in the front; orange peels and caramel, light liquorice. Would be perfect with some more fruitness (easier to find in the English Ales) and a more bitter final.

Bottle. Delicious beer. It has a burnt aroma, with caramel, toffee, chocolate, and also wheat. Flavour is long-lasting, sweet, and there is bitterness at the end. Medium body, good in the palate, just a bit watery. Dark red colour, with a thin, frothy, and long-lasting head.

UPDATED: APR 1, 2011 33 cl bottle from a local supermarket. It pours a murky ruby-brown liquid with medium-high creamy beige head. It looks absolutely delicious, leaving a nice lacing. The aroma is very malty, with caramel, brown sugar and Modena vinegar. There is also a notable wheaty touch, yeast, some orange peel and dark fruits, as well as a slight touch of herbal hops. It tastes more or less likewise, with a little licorice that adds complexity to a very nice brew. It is medium sweet and bitter, with a long finish; softly carbonated and full-bodied. This Quadrupel is nearly everything you can expect from a beer. Complex, awesome flavour and aroma, you can hardly notice the 10% abv. Very nice presentation (bottle and crown cap). Thumbs up!

Very nice clear amber with a large off-white head. Nice aroma of malt, orange peel, caramel and brown sugar. Complex taste, sweet to begin with, caramel, malts, orange peel, turning nicely bitter. Full bodied with pretty well hidden alcohol for 10%. Excellent.

What a great brew! Reddish dark brown with tasty head. Huge vinous aroma with a fantastic touch of acidity. The flavour is extremely powerful and complex. Strong, fruity, sweet. Very full bodied with a sirupy mouthfeel. I love this brew.

VEry nice, I needed one of this, it was strong but a little sweet, the fom was not too strng, but was there.

bbd. 12-03-05 (an aged example, yummy). hazy brown with a yellowish head. aroma: sourrish, sherry, port, dark fruit. taste: sweetish, bitterish, woody, port, sherry, raisins, plums. long dry finish, full bodied. very nice aged beer!