Great Lakes Grand Cru

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Growler courtesy of goryshkewych. Pours a hazy amber with a nice white stubborn head. Smells of ginger, coriander, cloves, pepper, dough, some residual sugar. Tastes earthy with some dry malt, lots of spice, some touches of citrus. Nice, but I was hoping for a little more flavor to suit the nice nose on this beer.

Tap: Hazy amber hue with frothy head and very good lace. The aroma hints of apricot, apple, orange zest, allspice, corriander, earthy and zesty yeast esters. The taste starts with a tart fruit and sugery candy combo. Mild bitterness, spice, and flowery finish. Lively and sharp mouthfeel, slightly warming. A touch too much hops for style but still very quaffable.

On tap at the brewpub. Hazy light amber color with a thin and fluffy off-white head that disappears quickly. Nil lacing. Zesty citrus aroma, with a bit of sweet spice. Medium-bodied and very smooth on the tongue with a straightforward sweet and spice balance that interplays with citrusy hops flavor. A bit of alcohol comes through as the glass progresses. The finish is lightly bitter and lingering. For a "regular" Belgian ale this is pretty darn good.

20% darker than Holy Moses. Same general flavor, but minus the herbal notes - this one had a strong orange peel flavor - even in the head. The low bitterness and thick malty flavor have me convinced that this is really the ale to pull the macro drinkers over to our side; as evidenced by my dad, who usually prefers Carib or Dixie Crimson - he took one sip of mine and switched from the way too light Locktender. This is only my second Grand Cru, so I don’t know if this is typical of the style, I can only judge it on it’s own and compared to the lighter Holy Moses. As usual, at their pub, Great Lakes is fresh and tasty.

This one has a big poofy white head. It’s very citrusy with orange and clove. It’s very drinkable as well with a good malt backbone. A bit hoppy-bitter for style. Before I even found out that it was basically Holy Moses big brother, I noticed the similarities. Both are excellent beers.

6/02/2008: Great Lakes Grand Cru is like an "Imperial Belgian Wit" beer. It has a balanced fresh orange/tangerine and spicy corriander aroma and flavor like a regular Witbier, but is much stonger all around. It is also thicker, but still very smooth and easy to drink. It has a cloudy, deep dirty gold color with a small, frothy, off-white head. The body is medium-full and is it really smooth, mellow, and soft on the palate. It is pretty good overall, but not overly great or truly interesting...

Draught (pint) at GLBC in Cleveland, Ohio. Rating #20 for this beer...

On tap at the brewpub. Cloudy golden amber color with a candi sugar and coriander nose. Nice head that left good lacing. Pleasant warming alcohol sensation as you drink it. Nice body and nice balance between the sweet and spice. Bitter orange peel and coriander are noticable, as is a real hop presence in the finish. Nice beer.

Sampled on draft at Smokin Joes this beer poured a dark amber color with a medium sized yellow-white head. The aroma was sugary, fruity and a bit boozy. The flavor was dryish, tangy and yeasty with a note of candied fruit. Boozy yet again on the taste and especially on the sharp and tangy finish. Ok.