Grottenbier Bruin

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Watou, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

Petites bulles très fines. Brun très foncé. Mousse abondante qui colle sur les parois du verre. Odeur de cerises. Herbacé (?). Très ronde en bouche. Très peu d’arrière-goût, sèche. Goût d’alcool présent en bouche.

Bottle: Poured a muddy brown color ale with a medium head with pretty good retention. Aroma of caramel malt and slightly funky Belgian yeast is quite evident. Caramel malt with some spices dominated the taste at first and then the yeast signature shows up with a slightly funky feel. Body is quite full but could have been fuller and carbonation is perfect. IMHO, a bit more alcohol and body would do wonder for this beer.

Holds a thick off white head….classy. Dark maroon / brown, quite cloudy. Nose is quite typical of the style, earthy malts, some sweetness, slightly stewed. Lacks depth for top marks. Similar palate, competent with more earthy, slightly savoury malts, low / nil hop impact (as expected). Medium palate weight, just needs to be ‘one louder’ as Nigel would say!

(Draft. 03/3006) Estery. Molassas aromas. Deep, clear garnet. Thin, off-white head that dissipated quickly to a very thin film (could be a poor pour). Roasty flavors. Some notes of clove and spice. Astringent. Slightly sour. Medium bodied. Some stickiness.

750ml bottle: This one pours a cloudy, coppery-brown color. There was a big, fluffy off-white head on mine. It hung around for a little while. The aroma is nice. It is somewhat bready, with hints of fruits. Some spices, including cloves start to come up as it warms a bit. The taste is actually a touch peppery when it hits your tongue. Also a touch dry. It does contain nice notes of some dark fruits, as well as a toffee malt taste. This is quite nice.

I sampled the U.S.-labeled “Grotten Brown Belgian Cave-Aged Ale,” in a 750 ml corked and caged bottle. This ale is punchy, effervescent and rosewood in color with an opaque body. The pour also leaves a splendid, large, tight off-white head that left remarkable lacing. The aroma is earthy like a damp autumn forest, with spices like clove, dark dried fruit and discernable alcohol complements. This ale is dry and effervescent through and through, but a sweet, dark malt backbone grows more apparent as the beer warms to room temperature. Mid-palate flavors include the aforementioned clove, but also essences of raisin, prune and sour cherry. The finish is sharp, dry, and long-lasting, perhaps owing to hop bittering but also a heightened alcohol content.

Cloudy brown with fluffy, inviting head. Aroma is strong — spicy clove and nutmeg and wood with just a hint of metal. The flavor is equally big — clove, apple, cherry and wood. There is a slight peppery taste as well. The mouthfeel is fizzy with a short to moderate finish that presents a subtle tartness. Different and tasty and pleasant. Would not hesitate buying again.

UPDATED: FEB 13, 2006 Cloudy, apple cider pour with a spritzy head. Funky and woody aroma has some granny smith apple overtones. Great mouthfeel - the carbonation helps to disperse the complex body. More apple, pear and cherry fill the body with a liquid smoke undercurrent. A slight plum note carries through as well. A sublte metallic tinge near the finish is the only real fault I can find. Belgian Brown Ale - interesting style to say the least. (The day before rating this beer, it showed up on my 365 Days of Beer calendar. The writer suggested leaving part of the bottle opened in the fridge overnight to notice some pretty interesting enhancements. I did the experiment and was happy to find the beer a bit more fruity and even. The metallic note I tasted earlier was gone and a more firm apple/pear presence was in place. Surprisingly, the great spritzy carbonation was also still there, helping to disperse the flavors.)