Grimbergen Optimo Bruno

Brewed by Brasserie Union (Alken-Maes / Heineken)
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Jumet, Belgium

Bottle, own chalice @ Cambrinus, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. (let it sit for an hour as it was chilled from the fridge)
Why I wasn’t expecting much from this Abbey ale I don’t know, may be the ’Brasserie Union’ part. A pleasant surpirse it turned out. Poured an alluring, burnished ruby red, shimmering in the lights, and filled with fine, tight streams of bubbles. Head rose to fill the remainder of the glass with a thick, stable, rocky beige pad that left behind some fine lacing. Deep, sherry soaked and vinous, ripe plums and savoury, spicy fruit aroma is projected well from the glass. Underneath lies a little tart cherry syrup, sweet honey and feint earthy and dusty hops and malt. The first mouthful is sweet, treacly and slightly tart bringing upon some fat, juicy, rich malts and layers of ripe fruit. Whilst the aroma tickles the nose the palate is weighed down by some heavy, well rounded flavours that make this a slow sipper. Sweet toffee shows upfront as does some candi sugar and berries. Mid-palate holds those deep, chocolaty malts and the back is sherryish, spicy and oozing with earthy hops and dark fruits. Nice tickle of alcohol joins in with the long, dry, smooth and warming, malty swallow. This was lovely stuff, showing ’Union’ may have stuck loyal to the original recipe they recovered at the brewery. A nice, winter warmer. (33cL, BBE 08/07)

Bottled. A dark brown coloured beer with a dark red hue and a nice off white blanket of a head which leaves reasonable lacing. The aroma is moussey fruits with candy sugar and a little treacle. A very nice smell. The taste is strong and malty. A touch sweet and some candy sugar. Berry fruits and a tasty long finish. Alcohol doesn’t show itself to be 10%

Robe auburn très claire surmontée d’une mousse beige en dentelle qui s’estompe. Arômes de caramel et d’alcool. Saveurs de caramel, de miel, d’alcool et de torréfié.

Aroma:spice,light plum.... Appearance:Dark brown,huge foam white head... Flavor:caramel,dark fruit,litlte to much sugar,alcohol...

Dark brown with red tint, head was beige and creamy. Sweet caramel smell. Sweet taste of spice and caramel.

Bottle. Dark amber colour with a huge light brown head. Aroma of malts and fruits. Good beer.

Gust of marmite-sodden yeastiness from beneath the freshly-prised cap. An aroma that should be awarded an ABV. Marmite AND strawberries?? Apparently so. Deep red resolving into a swirly beige scum, clumped with dense patches of foam. Sweet malty strawberry finishing with a pleasing lactose-stouty sourness (Mackeson?). Yep, incredibly, that’s what it reminds me of. Lovely stuff, but should be illegal. (Re-rate 01/06/07 Odd but not unpleasant balsamic chip shop batter nose. Orange, liquorice, brown sugar. Stirred with a Twiglet. Good, but nothing like as good as it seemed a year ago.

This beer has a dark brown body - hue apperance and a fine light brown scum collar. I have drunk the beer from the a bottle and it had a no carbonic acid. The initial flavor taste is very sweet with a light bitter afther tast.