AleSmith Grand Cru

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
San Diego, California USA

Bought this bottle online about 6 months ago, so it’s likely between 6 months and 2 years old. For some reason, Alesmith doesn’t date their beers =\

Pour was a dark brown, tiny head, and first sip made me think the bottle may be no good... not because it tasted bad or off, but because it was so different than I was expecting. I was thinking along traditional grand cru lines, pale with a big head, spicy and spritzy... this is anything but! Aroma is very hot, dark cherry characteristics, lemon, spices. In the mouth it is much more interesting, an intricate mesh of flavors, lots of spices, caramel, plum, licorice... even some steak/meat. Still very hot in the mouth, though overall the beer is very smooth, I’m not sure more aging would do it well. With the oxidation and sherry notes I’ve noticed, even, I think maybe this beer would just be drunk best fresh. I wish I knew when this bottle was actually produced!

Complex and incredibly sweet beer. Cloudy reddish body with big-bubbled head. Something was off with the carbonation because there was little making an already sweet beer seem even sweeter. Strong nose of sweet sugar, cramel, alcohol, overripe fruit, especially plum, and a slight funky Band-Aid note. The flavor was sweet — fruits, plum, brown sugar, caramel with a warm, peppery alcohol finish. The palate was flat and slightly sticky. Despite its inadequate carbonation, this was still an excellent sipping beer.

Pours a deep cherry, almost brandy, color with a really bubbly head. Seems this could have used a few more months to fully bottle condition. The aroma really waifs out of the glass, almost like a fuel. There is a definite alcohol heat in the nose, but it is paired with a plethora of fruity esthers and complex malts. Deep fruits - plummy bananas and sweet cherries are a constant theme here. The body is really sweet - caramelized fruits drenched in honey sweet. This is a great dessert beer or fireside sipper but a little too sweet for mass consumption.

Interesting aroma of dark fruits, caramel matl, and some spice. Taste is lightly bitter at first but finishes with the taste of sweet pears and plums. Spicy nose not really present in the flavor.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus, from Boston. Pours orange\brown, without any head. Aroma of citrus, hops, and fruit. The flavor is moderately bitter, caramel, citrus, and fruit. Good beer.

Another illustration of FlacoAlto’s philanthropy, and substantiation of AleSmith’s talent, the Grand Cru was to me the real test of the admired brewery. My tendency towards Belgian styles conjures what I’ve found to be an excellent examination of American zymology. Succeeding at the Imperial IPA, the task set by a Belgian ale is entirely different and its achievement shows to me versatility and nuance of quality. Poured, the head appeared as a layer of crème Anglaise, densely heaped above an opaque autumnal red body. Estery and spicy to the nose, the blend reveals banana and bubble gum, clove, cardamom, cinnamon and pepper. Reminiscent of a Tripel as a grainy corn aroma emerges, this Grand Cru elaborately joins a touch of Irish Cream to flowery peaches. The flavor takes on a slightly hoppy metallic tinge and spicy burn, suggesting an Americanized, or at least AleSmithized approach to the style. Dry coffee and chocolate malts are subdued but add nonetheless a weighty background to the sticky banana, cinnamon and clove combination. While the carbonation seems initially overwhelming, it slowly recedes to uncover a smooth and enjoyable texture. Overall, I was pleased by the effort, but it left me longing for more of that undefinable Belgian flair which seems so difficult to find elsewhere.

750mL bottle. Murky brownish-yellow appearance; light tan head with good retention and lacing. Huge candy sugar nose, showing sweet fruit and spice, raisins and orange peel. Very sweet, full mouthfeel: belgian sugar, chewy raisins, plenty of crisp carbonation, fresh red fruits, spice and vanilla; very tasty, though slightly hot (it felt less and less balanced as it warmed). Dense, generous and well-spiced grand cru.

Suprizingly subtle aroma: toast, pears, and peaches; deep caramel, white chocolate and doughy malt flavor; massive, but amazingly drinkable. Dryish finish, not tto sweet, yet not much hop charactor. Finesse is the one word description here, not complex by any means, though. There’s no way this is 10.6% . Yummy.