Brooklyn Grand Cru

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

Draft at Capone’s. Pours turbid deep gold with 1-finger white head. Nose is very fruity, with orange, fig, melon, honey, peach, spicy yeast, perfumy florals. Very complex aroma. The flavor is fruity at first, with apricot, peach, orange, giving way to spicy yeast, florals, and some earthy and peaty finishing notes. Very complex in flavor, with a rich, complex palate, I’m gonna go ahead and cal this an elite grand cru; certainly one of the 10 best examples I’ve ever tasted.

On draft at the brewery. Pours a hazy yellow in the glass with an off white head. Aroma is slightly sweet with corriander and orange notes. Taste is fruity with a slight banana ester and an extremely dry and smooth finish. This is definitely one of the best beers I’ve had in a long time.

Never thought I would find this on and finally did while in Orlando. Pale clear golden color with a thin white head that stuck around. beautiful smooth mouth feel. Sweet mild taste of vanilla, bananas with bit of yeast. Great overall beer.

Tapped into a goblet. A beautiful golden color that was moderately translucent. Don’t remember much of the aroma however the taste was good. It is a very smooth Belgian style with little of the sourness found in similar styles I’ve tried. Overall a good beer.

This is a phenomenal beer. It pours a hazy golden color with a strong aroma of honey, light fruit, slight floral, and very slight brett. It tastes exquisite with a very smooth taste of sugar, light fruit, and a great sweet finish. Complex beer that has many different flavor. Kudos to OTH for carrying it on draft,

Tap @ Blind Tiger. Pours a clear golden color with a small but lingering white head. Aroma is slight clove and banana, with vanilla detectable as well. Taste is the same, with the flavors delicately dancing across the tongue. Finish is vanilla, which is a vast upgrade from the usual watery finish of Brooklyn’s Belgian ales. I was incredibly surprised by this one, and I hope their future Belgian offerings are the same high quality.

Draft at Max’s Taphouse, Baltimore. This is a top notch example of an American Belgian Ale in my opinion. Yellow golden straw color, slightly transparent. Big and lively head. Huge sweet Belgian candi-sugar aroma. The taste is awesome, big yeasty characteristics among the sweetness. Perfect mouthfeel. Well Done.

Sometimes there are certain breweries where I just don’t think I give them enough credit. Brooklyn Brewery is one of those, and it’s not so much a matter of not appreciating their various beers, yearly and seasonal, but my rather limited access to them. Even at work, I only have a couple three of their yearly beers while keeping a couple spots open for seasonals and such, but that is all. Brooklyn Brewing is also known for their special limited release keg only beers, and it was with much lip-smacking pleasure that I enjoyed the Brooklyn Grand Cru at a favorite semi-local beer haunt of mine. Served to me in a very cool custom Brooklyn snifter, I had to savor a few moments of pure bliss before digging out the tasting book and getting to work.
Technically speaking, the Brooklyn Grand Cru was a Strong Ale in true Belgian fashion and what a fine beauty of a lass she was. Wide in girth, full in sprit, and robust with personality, every single moment I spent with her was Belgian bliss. She came to me that evening with a light haze to her otherwise brilliantly golden body, a soft top-hat of cream-hued foam which faded into a scattered array on top. As our eyes met, I was immediately smitten with her tart yeasty sour-dough, freshly cut golden hay, orange zest, sweet summer melons, and pink bubblegum notes. Our lips meet... Viscous and mouth-coating, an effervescent delight of tart yeasts, sourdough, peppers, melon, and bubblegum assault my tastebuds first, and how sweet it is. As she warms, the orange zest comes to play along with some peach, adding to our fresh summer fruits profile as she grows ever chewier with yeast and dough. Amazingly enough, her finish is rather clean, and as our lips part I am left with a pleasant warmth and faint esters of pepper and spice. Truly delicious and truly delightful; may I have another, please.
It is a shame that the Brooklyn Grand Cru of 2008 was a draft-only offering for she is definitely a keeper. Fearing I would have to search long and hard for this special offering, I am glad it was only a short-drive away. My eternal thanks to the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewing for bringing her into my life.