Grimbergen Optimo Bruno

Bottle, 33cl. A pleasent surprise. Much better than Grimbergen Dubbel, Triple or even Cuvée de L’ermitage. Beautiful red/amber colour, with a long lasting beige head that leaves a fine lace in glass. The aroma is probably the thing that’s less developed in this beer: malt and caramel but nothing very intense. Flavour is fantastic! A little sweet at the beggining, it becomes powerful and complex. Alcohol is always there but not overwhelming. Dry aftertaste. Great beer!

Bottle. Nice reddish/brown color. Medium head that reduces to a thin creamy head that lasts. Goes down easily despite the 10% . Sweet taste and malty aroma. Ii liked it a lot

bbd. 12-03-05 (an aged example, yummy). hazy brown with a yellowish head. aroma: sourrish, sherry, port, dark fruit. taste: sweetish, bitterish, woody, port, sherry, raisins, plums. long dry finish, full bodied. very nice aged beer!

Bottled. Caramelly, malty with a hint of tartness in the aroma. Alcoholic, malty, bitter taste. Has a weird flavour that in combination with the alcoholic flavour forms the impression of a cheap European strong lager. Sugary and some herbal notes. I never was a particular fan of Grimbergen, but it´s easy to say that this is the worst of their line-up.

Light, generic malt aroma. Red with a small head. Malt and fruit flavors; the flavor is much better than the aroma. Medium body. Alcohol hidden well. Bottle was 2 years old.

Bottle. Majestic-looking reddish-brown with a medium head. Let’s see...this is a total cornuicopia of fruits, with apples leading the way followed by pears, cherries, and nectarines. Hints of brown sugar as well. Flavor has some alcohol in the back end as well as sugar cane, like that "Sugar in the Raw" stuff they have in brown packets in some restaurants. Somewhat effervescent, well-masked 10%.

I drunk one new bottle, and one which expired two years ago and was conserved in bad conditions. The rating is for the new bottle. Dark semi-transparent brown. Small fully lasting brownish head. The old beer has a fuzzy colour and the head has initially quite big bubbles. Uncommon aroma for a Strong Ale, with alcohol, dark fruits, apples, malt, caramel, citrus. Over the years, the aroma becomes much more alcoholic and becomes a strong (but not good) smell somewhere between cognac, alcohol and solvent. Any hints that this beer has ever been fruity are gone a long time ago. Initially sweetness, but still malty and alcoholic. Finish of malts and alcohol. The old beer has still some sweetness, but is unbalanced.

Dark amber colour. Nice head. Somewhat sourish malt aroma. Mouth-filling sweet, malty flavour. The alcohol gives it warmth and bitterness.