AleSmith Grand Cru

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

To me AleSmith can be hit and miss. I want to love everyone of their beers and I cannot say that I do. The Grand Cru lifts the bar and holds it high. I was a tad disappointed when I took the foil off and found a cap and not a cork, but from there on it was a pure delight. This is a big beer from start to finish. A dark amber slightly cloudy look with a thick and pale head leaves light lacing after every sip. Vanilla and caramel aromas abound and the alcohol content is evident before it touches the lips. Spicy yeast is the first flavor impression and it gives way to a slightly fruity and sweet caramel finish. This is a medium body malty and low hop beer that at 10+% is a pure delight by any measure. Cheers

750mL bottle, 2006 vintage, courtesy of throwitallaway, poured into a snifter. Pours with low carbonation out of the bottle - an aggressive pour producing a few big bubbles that recede immediately leaving the tiniest of rings around the glass. It’s a slightly hazy caramel brown with no lacing though the beer leaves some legs on the way down. The aroma is sweet, with lots of brown sugar and caramel malts. There is plenty of rum-soaked dark fruit, and possibly a bit of oxidation in the nose. The taste has a sweet fruity kick up front with booze-soaked apricots and pears dominating. The backbone is big on caramel malts and the finish is slightly oxidized and very dry with some cardboard in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and super slick with very little carbonation. This is a decent beer, though I think the oxidation and complete lack of carbonation has hurt it a bit. The aroma and taste are still fairly good, but this particular bottle has seen better days.

Bottle from Peter at AleSmith, apparently from the original bottling, but the label was silk screened, so I have no idea. In any case, this one pours a warm shade of amber with a pillowy tan head. Smells of dark fruit, yeast, and booze -- all of which are mirrored in the flavor along with added notes of caramel and vanilla. Nears a barleywine in flavor, particularly in the way the alcohol is featured. I thought this had a couple years of age on it, but it certainly didn’t taste that way. Please start marking your bottles with dates!

Golden dark brown pour with a light reddish hue. Collapsing brown head. Aroma of berries, yeast and wood. Very sweet, alcoholic, and fruity with flavors of blackberries, plums, raisins, spices, vanilla, caramel and toffee. Well balanced with a musty finish. I really enjoyed this beer and savored it till the last drop.

This was the last beer of an evening of several pretty big beers (American Independence Day), and I have to say that I probably would’ve enjoyed it more had it been the first beer of the evening rather than the last. It was certainly not bad, but not what I was expecting (a problem I would not have had if I read the bottle), but not a great night-cap for a hot evening spent outdoors. Still, pretty good, and something I’d be willing try again. The body was a sort of muddy red-brown with very little head. The description says it is "crystal clear (when served properly)" - I’m dying to know what those conditions are! I thought for some reason that flavor would be fruitier and lighter than it was; in actually it was a pretty heavy sweet cerealness with lots of biscuity character above it with some very sweet alcohol tang to it. Mouthfeel was dry and warming, owing largely to the high ABV. I wasn’t a huge fan of this one, but given the circumstances, I’d be willing to give it another try. I bought this bottle a few months back at the Winerak in Zanesville, OH.

750 ml bottle of an unknown vintage, maybe a few years old thanks to Odeed. Pours a deep ruby hue with a medium tan head. The aroma is great; loads of dark fruit, especially prunes, toasted malts, sweet vanilla and caramel. The flavor is similar; a sweet mix of dark fruit, caramel, light yeast, almost tart or sour fruit, lots of sweet vanilla and light chocolates, very vinous. Quite different than I expected, and in a great way. I love me some AleSmith. Light warmth and a medium to light fizzy body.

Huge thanks to pepsican, badbeer, and iowaherkeye. Bottle from 2003. Mostly like an old english barley wine. Toffee. Old beer must in the finish. I’m sure it was good a few years ago.

Appearance: Pours a dark mohagony with almost no head. Very thick and cloudy looking. Aroma: Dark fruits, plums, raisins,spices, and Belgian yeast. Taste: Belgian yeast, candi sugar, herbal hops, bready malt. Mouthfeel: Alesmith trademark silkiness. Overall: Fantastic.