La Grande Blanche

A nice spicy aroma, a little surprising in that there isn’t much wheatiness in the aroma. Flavor is definitely wheaty up front but with a fair amount of dryness. Interesting, okay.

hazy yellow orange pour with huge fluffy white head, the aroma is very yeasty with a hint of orange citrus and lemon, tasty brew and very refreshing

This was the first in a series of beers for my second and most recent outing to Denver’s premier watering hole, Falling Rock Tavern. I chose the DeProef La Grande Blanche as a starting brew solely on it’s name, hoping a Blanche, or white-ish beer might be a good starter. Indeed, this beer is on the delicate side, a femme brew, leaving murkier favors for later in the drinking session. The Grande Blanche’s color is maybe less grand than Grande, but it is still a clear, white grape juice color, maybe like a white wine. The head is a mottled aspen white with a firm lacing. Despite this well webbed top, the aroma comes punching through, pleasant and dense. The smell of sweet white grapes, almost hoary in its refreshing coolness approaches a sugar content near high fructose corn syrup with a taming grain touch. The smell, if dense, is still challenging to read; I find myself struggling to jot any other flavors down besides "sweet and lightly grainy." The taste is comparatively muted, or rather, normal. A light dripping of honey, well weighted palate and refreshing character make this a simple taste, but a pleasant one. Perhaps the Grande Blanche would make a better accompaniment to food than as company to nothing, as the simplified flavors are strong enough to pair with fairer dishes. The second tasting of this beer, which came many months after the first, introduced a much more bitter beer, with a sneaking sourness and a slight touch of sour cherries in the aroma. Otherwise, it is as simple and nice as it was the first time.

In short: A superior thick nourishing witbier
How: Bottle 750ml, consumed a week after purchased.
The look: Cloudy yellow body with a medium white head
In long: Body is very pleasant, full, fluffy, very yeasty. Very bready, one of the most bready beer I’ve had. Light phenols notes. Usual lemon notes but also fresh bananas and some orange peels. Tartness level is below average for the style. This is more a nourishing wheaty beer than a light refreshing lemonade witbier. If you thought that all witbiers were light thin lemony you were wrong because this is The Proef.

Draft. Body-crystal clear gold with a good foamy head. Nose-clean banana, cottony, soft, very light phenols, clove. Taste-light clove, cardboard, banana. Decent for a wit. I like it because it isn’t all fucked up with the usual awful wit flavors. According to Kevin, I like to get nekkid pour cooking oil all over my body when I drink this.