Brooklyn Grand Cru

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Brooklyn, New York USA

Growler from Bierkraft, Brooklyn. Pours hazy gold with a slight orange tint, with a healthy white head. Aroma is fruity - bananas and apricots, with a big fresh-baked-bread note coupled with a spicy yeast presence. Taste is sweet candy and wheat up front with a big yeasty spice presence, with overripe golden fruit coming on a fairly clean, lightly yeasty finish. Light bodied, creamy carbonation. Really a nice beer, very drinkable for the style.

Got to try this on tap, served in a tulip glass at RFD in Washington D.C. Pours a hazy, translucent, rosy orange amber with a thin, ringing white head and plenty of tight, carbonation. Very pleasant aroma, of ripe fruits, some tropical fruits, flowers and perfume, that quintessential Belgian candy aroma and Belgian yeast. The sweetness of the Belgian candy dominates much of the flavor with plenty of banana, tropical fruits like pineapple, some wheat germ, a touch of citrus, honey, a little pepper and plenty of Belgian yeast. Fizzy on the tongue makes for a unique mouthfeel that adds to the drinking experience. I usually don’t like Grand Crus, but I enjoyed this a lot and would recommend it to others, even those not familar with craft beers.

Draft, BCTC 2008. Unfiltered and hazy golden yellow colored body with a white head. Wet, soft nose of wheat, yeast, hazy, light creamed fruit. Texture is chewy, viscous, heavy with a gritty soft of wheat character. Twangy flavor, heavy and strong on the palate, alcohol is noticeable, flavors are semi-sour lemon, gritty wheat germ, light sweetness, and a light note of some sugary, greenish hops.

On tap at the Oldsmar Tap House. Pours hazy copper with impressive creamy white to off white head. The aroma has sweet candi sugar notes, some sweet ripe banana, clove and what seems like a note of wheat. The taste is much the same with sweet candi sugar, some wheat as noticed in the nose, big banana cream pie that is bursting with slices of ripe banana and then a mix of spice to round things out. After a few sips I start to notice some bubble gum too. The flavor notes could be a bit better blended with additional aging but this is only a minor point.

Draft @ BCTC. Thanks for pointing this one out Ken. Pours golden with a white leace. Nose has a bit of spice, yeast, bread and is very dry. Similar flavor with a dry finish. Pretty well done.

Draught at Bar Great Harry. Poured into a Palm tulip a cloudy amber with a creamy off-white head. Bready aromas marked with banana, mild spice and floral notes, becoming more yeasty after a while. Sweet cakey malt and sticky fruit flavors--banana, pear, white grape, fresh fig, even a bit of peach and pineapple. Slight tinge of spiciness on the finish cuts into the fruitiness. Full yeasty body with fine carbonation. Pretty nice all around.

Draft @ BCTC. Pours a murky, hazy golden color; off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Lots of honey, breadiness, and complex yeast in the aroma; light spicing. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy honey, breadiness; light spicing (cloves, touches of white pepper); high, sharp carbonation; chewy, bready, complex yeast and vanilla; as hopdog noted, reminiscent of a tripel more than anything; generous beer. Lengthy finish: sweet Belgian sugars, esters, and complex yeast; some toasty vanilla.

On tap at the Oldsmar Tap House (Tampa, FL). Pours a hazy bright caramel golden with a one finger bright white foamy head. Good retention and lacing. Aroma is fresh fruit, spice, yeast, hay. Flavor is sweet malt, fresh ripe fruit with mainly apple and banana notes and a slightly spicy finish. Lively carbonation with a light to medium body. Slightly tart finish.