De Hemel Nieuw Ligt Grand Cru

Brewed by Stadsbrouwerij De Hemel
Style: Barley Wine
Nijmegen, Netherlands

A: Nice light brown hue no real head, or lace. S: Yeasty caramel, toffee, spices. T: Malty sweetness. caramel and dark brown sugar. Hints of apple and light raisin. M: Medium in body, smooth, low carbonation.

Bottle. Reddish, clear liquid with almost no head. Smell is sweet and malty with some grains and dried fruits. Taste is very alcoholic and rather sweet with some dried fruits and sugars. A good beer, but not more.

2005 Vintage

10/18/2009: De Hemel Nieuw Ligt Grand Cru Barley-Wine Style Ale... Aroma: Weird... some kind of herb... Appearance: Cloudy golden color with a thin crown. Flavor: Mild caramel malts; delicately sweet; slightly oxidized; nice alcohol in the nose. Palate: Body is medium to medium-full; milk-like texture. Overall: Warming, interesting, and definitely worth having at least once!

Bottle shared by Tmoney99. Thanks again Tom! Rating #195 for this beer.

Cuvée 2005. Bouteille de 330 ml dégustée avec MartinT. Arôme: Légère odeur de raisin, de caramel et d’alcool. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée-dorée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel légèrement fruité et de raisins. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’alcool en arrière goût. (Rating #2749)

2005 vintage poured into my de Paas tulip. Nose is pretty boozy when first piured, transitioning to a nice floral boquet with hingts of figs and cherrues. Taste is a lot of fruit, plum, raisin and more fig with a light bitterness and a heavy dose of bourbon booziness. A little astringency develops as it warms, and overall, the fruit kind of breaks down and gets muddled. All in all - this is a decent after dinner sipper, but I agree with others that it’s a year or so past it’s prime and starting to move down the backslope so to speak.

A Mes rate. Bottle at Chris O’s beer exposed tasting.
True story, my notes say this:

A bloody awesome blend of a dubbel, a kerst bier and a barley wine.

I see no need to embellish that description any as having had it again recently, I think that hits the nail on the head.

2005 bottle. Hazy amber body. Short, off-white head, quickly diminishing. Malty aroma of cookie and caramel with hint of grain and some notes of peach and raisin. The flavor is heavily sweet, moderately acidic and lightly bitter. The finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic and lightly to moderately bitter. Dry. Tastes of alcohol and cherry emerge in the finish, somewhat medicinal. But there is also overripe fruit tastes — plum, sweet peach. Medium body, watery texture that turns somewhat syrupy. Moderate carbonation. Nice port-like sipper.

11.2 oz bottle - Grand Cru 2005: The clear, copper colored concotion coils and curls in my cup. The short lived whitish head with big soap bubbles struggles to remain. A quick swirl releases a boquet of aromas that are heavily hinged on rich oxidation and ethery alcohol. As the nose adjusts, more subtle notes of bourbony raisins and plums start to emerge. The thick, rich body brings the nicely aged caramel malts to the front with a heavy layer of toffee hitting me first. Toast, biscuit and sugar cookie notes come in waves, before the heavy plunk of alcohol heats the stomach. Wow - lots of booze here. The hops play a backseat role here, not making an appearance until the finish, where they balance the sweetness with a bitterness that is extremely rindy. Hmm, lots of interesting things happening here, but yet it seems somewhat sloppy. Lots of malt and lots of booze, but no real flow. Maybe a bit too long in the cellar I am guessing, because some of the meaty middle that you would expect with a beer this big is missing. Still nice, but a shell of what I believe this was a year or two ago.