Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru

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

Poured from a 750ml bottle and served in a tulip. This ale poured a dark, cloudy amber color with a huge, tight, dark tan head. Excellent head retention along with some fair lacing. The aroma of the beer was made up of caramel, sweet cherries, brett yeast esthers, as well as a bit of roasted nuts. The flavor was almost like a caramel apple. Sweet, rich, somewhat dry, and very appealing!!! Other flavors noticed included light candy sugar, cherry, and more apple and dark fruits. The mouthfeel was medium to full-bodied with a nice amount of carbonation. A very well done beer with a very pleasing flavor. Give this one a try!!!

We’ve got a gusher here. Pours a very murky amber with some head. Nose is extremely sweet. Cherry seems to be on the nose. Flavor is strong with caramel, but doesn’t stay constant. It moves and shifts and takes you on a bit of a ride. Starts off extremely sweet and smooth and then gets calmer, though not for lack of character. Feel is nice. Smooth with a touch of bubble. For a 10% you don’t really feel...extremely drinkable.

I’ve been sitting on this beer for a while. A rich syrpy belgie. A lot of caramell and very heavy on the tongue. I liked a lot.

11.2 Oz Bottle via footy. Deep savory musk of ancient spice, woody tannins, and unique florals. Differently herbal. Mature alcohols, expressive chemicals, and rich dried fruits. Fruitcake, old plums, and bits of coffee syrup. Nice. Pours a fantastically clouded hazel and amaretto, with a silky slip of pale oak. In the mouth, certain density and gravitas. Really bold zesty middle fruits, plouts, candied ginger, plum wine and toffee. Lightly vinous, yet well sugared. Nice caramelization and darkness development. Edges of the darker stuff. Yeast character is really alive and bright. Fresh feeling. There’s lemon zest, light Italian flat leaf parsley, and glowing brandy. Figs and walnuts pop in. Alcohols warms and carries a delicate bouquet to the nostrils. Out the back, over a crisply dried finish on almonds, comes a handful of lightly aged Noble hops. The carbonation is explosive, yet reigned it. It really carries the beer as it should. Really wonderful stuff. Almost a Pannepot, but not quite.

Name: Grand Cru (Noel)
Date: August 03, 2002
Mode: Bottle
Source: Bacchus, Chattanooga
Appearance: Burnt orange, fine tan head
Aroma: slightly sweet spicy fruity aroma
Flavor: rich malty flavor, lots of fruity character that intensifies as it warms into a rich mixture of figs and dates with a touch of plums, no hint of alcohol, simply amazing

Name: Grand Cru (Noel)
Date: July 09, 2005
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Appearance: brown with a big frothy tan head
Aroma: fruity aroma with a touch of sweet orange and a hint of spices
Flavor: rich dark malt flavor with a nice fruity aspect that ripens as it warms, the fruit dries out a bit much upon warming and never reaches the depth seen in the bottle

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Score: ***4

The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Bottle. Deep sweet malty aroma, candi sugar, with leathery dusty yeast character, light Brett, horseblanket. Mild metallic note, too. Musky and vaporous nose, really takes you in. Dark brown with chunks of yeast circling with the force of carbonation. The head slowly rose from the bottle upon opening with a forceful pish. Pillowy creamy off-white lacing lasting head. Heavy body, almost oily. Silky carbonation, like a pillow for the tongue. Alcohol warming. Starts with huge sweet malty character, with candi sugar and light chocolate notes. Raisins and figs. Rounded full sweetness that’s just right. The finish is drier, with a mild bitterness and chalky yeasty note. Undertones of spice, like cardammon or something. Light alcohol taste that is pleasant, leaving you warm with no cloying sweetness on the tongue. This is a very nice Belgian strong, and I wish I had a larger bottle! Will definitely look for this one again.

Dark amber of color with a off-white head. A lovely aroma of dark fruits, spice and anis. A flavor of camomile, anis, spice and dark fruits.

Gorgeous brownish red color, pours with a rich, foamy, thick head. Smells hoppy, hoppier than most in this category anyway. Oh, it’s scrumptious. Has tons of flavors--tart, bitter, sweet, alcohol is detectable but nice--mellowed with a bready finish. Excellent beer. Lots of sediment. Hints of cherry in nose.