Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium

33 cl bottle, I think it said best by 2/5/2008 but it was quite hard to read...in any event, an aged bottle. Pours a dark brown with a huge tan head. No floaties! Aroma of sweet fruit. Flavor of yeast and fruit. It seems that the age dulled any specific fruit notes, as I mostly just got general sweetness from it. I’d like to try this again, fresh, in a 750 as I think it would be a lot better. As it was, just ok.

33cl, exclusive brew, from De Hopduvel Gent, very complex brew, balanced, cloudy, good head, very good brew, a topper!

Appearance was a bit odd, brown and orange. Didn’t matter as this is a solid brew. Somewhat sweet but not persistant as the complexity takes over. Distinct with clove, spice, brown sugar, slight malt and mixed dark fruits. Nicely balanced with some acidity and some interesting funk. I liked the finish. Was out of a 12oz or maybe 33cl bottle. Will be interesting to try later on out of 750ml I have coming. This beer could be aged for several years.

Pours with a medium sized head for a belgian strong .. smell of grape, tar, molasses, plums... abv well hidden... nice flavours with this one, sugary plums and fruits.... good stuff but possibly falls short of the ’grand cru’ title..

750ml. Cloudy brown with miniscule head. Pleasant aroma. Surprisingly sweet initially - honey, toffee, fruit. Finish loses the sweetness a bit but is a smooth full body. Alcohol is totally hidden. Decent.

Brown with faint tan scum despite vigorous pour. Brown sugar, caramel, light dried pit fruits like apricots and peaches, some spice in the nose. Distinctive taste: honey and molasses, sweet venturing toward cloying, but with slightly acidic back-palate. Very fruity in again peaches and apricots set off against a sweet malty backbone of toffee and aforementioned sugars. Yeast and slight spice in the finish, stale hops and slight bitterness in the aftertaste. Relatively high carbonation remains despite nice creaminess, moderately thick.

Very tasty, rusty-colored brew with monumental eggshell head. Brown sugar, biscuit, belgian yeast, and dark fruit on the nose. Flavor is caramel, toffee, honey, and raisin. Thick enough but not too much so. A very tasty specimen!!!

Cloudy brown pour with tan head, decent lace. Lots of yeast proteins floating throughout the beer. Caramel malts, and fruits on the nose. bready flavor with subtle hints of figs and raisons. well balanced.