Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Reserve

Bottle in trade as an extra from Dmac621. Thanks!
Pours a hazy gold color with a fizzy white head. Smell is honey sweet malt, banana, yeast and spices. Bit overly fizzy mouthfeel. Taste is slightly tart and fruity and yeasty, with light bitterness, but the sweet malt still dominates in this one. Not bad, but not a preferred style.

7-14-08 bottle
Clear orangish yellow. Smell is lemony and doughy but light overall. Not my favorite combination but it could be worse. Flavor is very light and has the slightest little funky bite to it with more lemon and dough as well. Mouthfeel is okay - high fizzy carbonation.

let me be not pretentious this grand cru is a quality sweet appropriately flavored (and spiced) belgian ale that was tempered to the interests of many who do not appreciate fully the usual belgian ale. i can plainly tell you that it is a resounding success. wonderfully sweet, chalky, refreshing, very well balanced, tangy and tart these are all correct descriptions of this very well balanced beer that is not at all boring. as it has so many characterists within this brew reveals to our palates differently as you meander from sip to sip. first aroma of vegetable then over to the sweetness and taste. mild astrigent hard to dicern hop profile in this yeasty biscuity brew. bravo!

Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Reserve Bottle conditioned Belgian Style. ABV: 5.5% Calories: estimated at 150 C Volume: 12 fl oz Glass: tulip Purchased at: Glendale on special Price per fl oz: $5.99 / 72 fl oz = $0.08 per fl oz Consumed at: Home sensory first impression: Clear, golden with impressive aroma of banana and apple. Well rounded flavor - a bit metallic, and astringent. Delicious, but not to the level of Golden Monkey, Aventinus, or River Horse Tripel. Bypasses Hoegaarten. Aroma/Olfactory: Malt flavor is: syrupy, nutty, toasted, and rich. Hop flavor is: citrus, pear, orange, very nice. Yeast flavor is: doughy, cheese, mold, wet, slip, clay. Other flavors include: banana, apple, string beans, raisin, smoke, vanilla. Visuals/Appearance: Color is: pale, golden, orange, bright Liquid is: clear, clean Head and lace are: bumpy, white Taste/Flavor: Maltiness or Sweetness level is: heavy Hoppiness or Bitterness level is: light Sour level is: medium Palate/Tactile: Body or Mouthfeel is: medium Texture is: thin, creamy, slick, salty Carbonation is: flat Finish is: long, thick, clayey. Overall experience: An enjoyable beer, but not at the top of its class, though not a bad bargain on special. I liked the Belgian style, fruity overtones, cherry and banana infusion, and depth. I did not like the average color. A very nice ale.

I think this is the 2nd or 3rd time with Flying Fish. And while the beer wasn’t bad, it just didn’t do much for me. Lots of corriander in the aroma, with a showing of citrus. It reminded me in many ways of a witbier. Appearance was really pale for a Belgian style ale that’s not trying to be a wit...or is it? Tasted sweet with a lemony kick to it that was rather refreshing. A Grand Cru is typically "the best" a brewery has to offer. This is Flying Fish’s best?