Bottleworks Van den Vern Grand Cru

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Lochristi, Belgium

Deep aroma of plummy dark fruit. Malt too. Dark amber with lots of stuff - this is live ale with the trimmings. Head didn’t last, but it was white at the start. Medium mouthfeel. Starts with lightly sweet light fruits. Then some plum and/or raisin crops up. Spice somewhere in the middle, a bit peppery, but the end seems to be a nice hop arrival to balance the sweet malt. Really very good stuff.

Bottle. Rich dark amber beer with a nice off-white head. Dusty, caramel aroma with yeast, green apples, lemon, and spice. Rich fruity (plum/cherry/lemon) flavor with malt, spice, and eyast. medium bodied. Well balanced - lingering fruity spice.

330 ml pours a muddy raisin brown with a small white head. A lightly sour aroma of yeast and spice. Creamy body with a smooth texture and a nice amount of carbonation. The flavor is mostly dark over-ripened fruit, like a bruised red apple, with chocolate and a little sour. Finishes oaky. Tasty but not exceptional.

Bottled 2002: Poured a dark reddish brown color with a huge off-white head. Lightly tart fruity aroma with notes of raisins, dates and figs. A little dusty as well. The fruit keeps growing but isn’t very sweet. More like dried fruits and sweet ripe ones. Fruity flavor of dried dark fruits exactly matches the aroma. A little spicy and fairly warming. There is a bite at the end that seems to be from the carbonation. Alcohol taste is hidden but the warmth shows in the throat. Medium to full body that would feel fuller with less CO2. Pretty tasty.

From 750mL Bottle, 2002 Bottling Date. Pours a deep sunset red, dipped in raisins, and settled quietly beneath a thin layer of off-white, fine bubbled head. Powerful, slightly medicinal aromas of cherry cough drops and mentol. Some nicer, spicy layers of fig, spiced apple cider, and soured orange peels are in there as well. Thick, syrupy mouthfeel with a crisp, champagne-like carbonation. Sweet, fruity flavors - kind of syrupy and a bit like a British style barleywine, actually. A little bit of dusty, yeasty spice comes through at the end to reaffirm this beer’s style. Final smack of apricot and clove.

Pours with an amber body topped by a thin head with no lacing left behind. It’s slighlty sweet with malty notes, and a touch of sour apple. It seems like it’s trying to be a sour beer but it’s not quite getting there. medium bodied and smooth.

Bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar- Pours a clear, golden brown color with no head and just a little sticky lacing. Aroma is slightly sour but malty. Flavor reminds me of apple juice (sweet yet tart) with just a little bit of slightly tart dryness that’s noticeable throughout. Very light and dry on the palate. I really enojyed this beer but felt that it didn’t taste anything like i expected it to for the style, very different is the best way to put it into words.

Thanks Tim. Ruddy brown, nose is sweet caramel, chocolate, cerry, quite hoppy, some alcohol. Flavor is caramel, fruit, raisin, alcohol, hoppy. A bit cloying but not bad.