La Grande Blanche

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Lochristi - Hijfte, Belgium

Serve in Tumbler, Weizen

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750ml bottle-Has an orangish appearance unlike most other Wits and has a head of ice cream and soda mixed. Aroma of banana, wheat, and yeast. Taste of coriander, banana, wheat, yeast, and a little citrus. This light bodied brew has a dry sweet finish. Not what I was expecting from an Imperial White but still very tasty.

A nice spicy aroma, a little surprising in that there isn’t much wheatiness in the aroma. Flavor is definitely wheaty up front but with a fair amount of dryness. Interesting, okay.

hazy yellow orange pour with huge fluffy white head, the aroma is very yeasty with a hint of orange citrus and lemon, tasty brew and very refreshing

This was the first in a series of beers for my second and most recent outing to Denver’s premier watering hole, Falling Rock Tavern. I chose the DeProef La Grande Blanche as a starting brew solely on it’s name, hoping a Blanche, or white-ish beer might be a good starter. Indeed, this beer is on the delicate side, a femme brew, leaving murkier favors for later in the drinking session. The Grande Blanche’s color is maybe less grand than Grande, but it is still a clear, white grape juice color, maybe like a white wine. The head is a mottled aspen white with a firm lacing. Despite this well webbed top, the aroma comes punching through, pleasant and dense. The smell of sweet white grapes, almost hoary in its refreshing coolness approaches a sugar content near high fructose corn syrup with a taming grain touch. The smell, if dense, is still challenging to read; I find myself struggling to jot any other flavors down besides "sweet and lightly grainy." The taste is comparatively muted, or rather, normal. A light dripping of honey, well weighted palate and refreshing character make this a simple taste, but a pleasant one. Perhaps the Grande Blanche would make a better accompaniment to food than as company to nothing, as the simplified flavors are strong enough to pair with fairer dishes. The second tasting of this beer, which came many months after the first, introduced a much more bitter beer, with a sneaking sourness and a slight touch of sour cherries in the aroma. Otherwise, it is as simple and nice as it was the first time.

UPDATED: JUN 10, 2008 In short: A superior thick nourishing witbier
How: Bottle 750ml, consumed a week after purchased.
The look: Cloudy yellow body with a medium white head
In long: Body is very pleasant, full, fluffy, very yeasty. Very bready, one of the most bready beer I’ve had. Light phenols notes. Usual lemon notes but also fresh bananas and some orange peels. Tartness level is below average for the style. This is more a nourishing wheaty beer than a light refreshing lemonade witbier. If you thought that all witbiers were light thin lemony you were wrong because this is The Proef.

Draft. Body-crystal clear gold with a good foamy head. Nose-clean banana, cottony, soft, very light phenols, clove. Taste-light clove, cardboard, banana. Decent for a wit. I like it because it isn’t all fucked up with the usual awful wit flavors. According to Kevin, I like to get nekkid pour cooking oil all over my body when I drink this.

hazy gold pour with an enormous puffy white head. yeasty, grainy aroma with coriander, lemon. flavor is very soft with vanilla, a pleasantly sweet graininess, coriander and a twist of lemon/orange. medium carbonation. very nice.

750mL bottle. Poured hazy medium golden with a well-retained cap of white head and plenty of rising carbonation. The aroma began with sweet banana wheaty esters paired with lemon zest and dusty notes.. followed up by dried fruit and more banana.. sweet overall and nicely presented. The flavor was as expected from an amped-up Belgian wit.. sweet wheaty and lemon notes at the core surrounded by refreshing lemon sourness, nutmeg, and cloves.. the alcohol served only to amplify, and the finish was quite refreshing. Medium-plus bodied and refreshing on the palate.. dry for the most part.. really well done.

Thanks to André *MacGruber.* This beer has a beautiful yellow-golden color. Can only see shadows through it, while the beer just radiates and glows. The small head leads to a decent lacing. Aroma first starts with a sweat wheat candy but then there is this completely awesome aspect on the back end of the aroma. Its a short punch at the end of a peppery/floral perfume, its amazingly original and awesome. Taste is basically a similar sweet candy and a watery version of the peppery/floral perfume. All very nice, very easy to drink and the sweetness is not heavy at all. Basically. its esters gone wild in this Imperial Wit.
750mL bottle, plastic cork, Rodenbach GC smaller tulip glass.

Draft at Max’s 72 Hour Belgian Beer Fest. Blond body. Fruity and spicy nose. The first hint of fruit seemed berry like in nature. Taste is spices, fruit, yeast notes, an expected grain/wheat flavor and was semi-sweet overall. Very mild tartness at times. Body is light and has a strong bubble carbonation. Ends with more grains/wheat, citrus fruit, yeast notes and spice. Standard witbier but not bad, overall.