Grottenbier Bruin

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Watou, Belgium

Smells okay, looks nice. Taste is just okay, not overall spicy, and not amazing in flavor. Kind of an average doulbe to me.

Bottle conditioned, 330ml, aged 4 yrs. Chestnut brown with white head. Thickish sweetish Bruin with plenty of presence of roasted malt and a herbal spiciness. There is a tartness in the background, presumably from the ageing and a hazelnut type dryness on the finish. Quite accomplished overall.

I’ve had the regular grotten bruin, but I guess this is a special edition which I found at the local lee’s discount liquor. Very similar to the other, but more well rounded and mellow, with a lot of complexity in the flavor and aftertaste. Definitely worth trying if you have the chance.
Earlier Rating: 8/2/2005 Total Score: 4.7
This one caught my eye ’cause it had my last name Valkenburg on the bottle.. apparently there’s lots of caves there-and good ale. I’ve not quite tasted anything like this before, it has a few flavors in it that I couldn’t quite place, but definitely a very pleasurable drink if you can get your hands on it! Yes, the CO2 is rather high, so you have to wait for the head to subside.. which is the only downside.

a nice tasting dubble. dark brown with beige head, the aroma is nutty. medium bodied.

Corked bottle. Background on bottle is red instead of black, and the back says "Grotten Brown," which I assume is "bruin" in Belgium. Anyhoooo... Pours deep amber with brown tones and highlights. A bit thin against the light, and this prevents a perfect appearance. Aroma is bubbly citrus that bounces around inside the olfactory system. NIce yeast background in there as well. Nice lacing and head. Flavor is a bit flat, but notes of coriander, cinnamon, and raisin are in there. Mouthfeel is nice, but it lacks substance. Lacks oooomph. Seems more like a musty saison than a dubbel, but it doesn’t disappoint either way.

Bottled. Dark brown coloured with a medium sized head. Mild and a bit thin mouthfeel. Notes of liqourice, caramel, malt and spices. Somewhat sweet.

750 ml crown and cork. Hazy and totally unfiltered. Deep brown hue with a slight reddish highlight. Finger width of off-white head. Sweet, caramel and toffee nose. Cinnamon and ginger, vanilla spice notes. Full and rich with aserious cola note. Lively and effervescent. Tingling coats the tongue. Nice banana yeast note. Very nice flavor. Nice completity and layered flavors. Sweet and spicy malts, great yeast flavor and aroma. Still nice cola note.

Bottle. Colour is very unclear and brown. Head is very big and impressive off-white. Some lacing can be found on the glass. Aroma is yeast, malt/caramel, some roasted candies, maybe even some spicy notes as coriander. Also thought there was some soup like aroma blending in there. Slight watery texture could be observed in the beginning, but after reaching the correct temperature, the beer developed into a thicker mouth feel. Medium bodied. Flavour is light to medium bitter-sweet. Reasonably balanced beer.