Bottleworks Van den Vern Grand Cru

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

Purchased at Sam’s WIne, Chicago. Brownish-red with a massive, pillowy tan head with nice staying power. Sweet, deliciously musty aroma: brown sugar, molasses, plums, dates, ginger, alcohol, and a bit of weathered leather. Fruity mustiness follows through into the flavor - sweet malts, raisins, and brown sugar flavor is thick and complex with a gentle warming thanks to the alcohol. Full mouthfeel, pillowy soft and moderately carbonated. Finish is peppery with a nice burnt sugar and molasses send off. Deserving of as much praise as Westvleteren Abt 12 or Rochefort 10, in my opinion, and grossly underrated on this site.

Bottle… This beer rocks!… Lightly hazed burnt orange ale with a mid-sized, frothy, white head. Decent retention. Robust, malty aroma offers a plethora of sweet dried dates with wonderful undertones of raisins, brown sugar, caramel, wood, sorghum molasses and yeasty bread. Full-bodied and chewy with medium carbonation. Sweet, but not cloyingly so; the breadsy, fruity flavor boasts caramel and dates alongside whispers of other dark, dried fruits and a rumor of sorghum molasses. Finishes lightly sweet. Thanks go out to explosivebeer for shipping this incredible beer all the way from Washington state!

C&PLYFOTD: Bottle, courtesy fogdog. Dark brass pour, some frothy head and lacing. Some tart elements in the nose, cherries, chocolate, and some licorice. Flavor is full of caramel, chocolate, and delicious sweet fruits. Full-bodied, extremely good, balanced and quite drinkable.

Yeasty bread dough nose with notes of spice and dark fruits- some chocolate and pepper. Nice clear dark crimson color with a rocky white head and great coating lace. Spice, chocolate, dough, thick and fruity body. Very creamy texture and a dry finish.

Dark brown with long lasting, thick tan head. Malty nose is nutty and has hints of tobacco and wood. Superbly soft palate and texture, silky smooth. Sweet, sugary, malty and some funky yeast notes. Finishes with a dryness which reminds me of ashy firewood. Sugary aftertaste long after the the beer is gone. Alcohol is wonderfully masked. This is a treat.

330 ml, 2004 bottle (fresh): garnet-auburn body with a fluffy light brown cream. Sharp fruity-alcohol aroma with plenty of dark purple grapes, green apples and pine. Smooth, creamy palate with rounded peppery anise and grainy pear flavours. Fleshy fruits fill my mouth as a slight alcoholic bitterness tingles my tongue and a sugary sweetness draws a long finish. Tasty.

2004 bottle: Dark cloudy red color with a big rocky beige head. Aroma of sweet malt, yeast and a little alcohol. Starts sweet and malty, then becomes sour and caramel, then has bitter chocolate at the finish.

2004. Beautiful, glowing rubies crowned by luscious, fluffly clouds. The fruity, sweet and spicy aroma greets the nose and brings about a smile. The strong spice is complimented by sweet cherries, oranges, mangoes, alcohol, sweet apples and candi sugar. The body is surprisingly light despite the strong nose and high alcohol. The flavors are great and amazingly well-combined. The fruit takes the fore-front of the flavors despite the strong spices in the nose. The spices come in to balance the sweet fruit and to effectively deliver the alcohol. The finish is long, warm, sweet and pleasing. Another winner.