Michigan Brewing Celis Grand Cru

Brewed by Michigan Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Webberville, Michigan USA

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle that has been sitting in my wine fridge for close to a year. Pleasant, powerful, floral aroma featuring orange, lemonade, white grape juice, pear, and salt scents. Pours a translucent, sparkling, pale gold. Almost a light green hue in the right light. Small amount of near white head. Produces some lacing. Yes, most beers this pale, clear, and low in head are boring, but that doesn’t mean this beer looks bad. I would like to see more head, but, otherwise, it appears crisp and cool. The initial taste is sweet, somewhat overly so. The finish is lightly dry and spicy. Alcohol taste noticeable but not overpowering. Yellow plum, candy sugar, and green grape flavors. The taste reminds me of a screwdriver mixed drink (orange juice and vodka). Spicy aftertaste. Medium to full body. Soft and remarkably smooth in the palate with a touch of liveliness on the front of the tongue. Nice if not great palate effects. This is the third Celis Grand Cru I’ve tried from a six pack that I purchased almost a year ago. I drank the first two more fresh. I think the beer has improved upon aging; it was better than I remember. I’ve been a tough rater lately, so my score may not seem all that impressive, but I really did enjoy this beer. I consider this an underrated brew, and I think the low scores may be a consequence of people drinking it at too young of an age.

Pours a clear, pale yellow color with a quickly disappearing white head. Sweet aroma, a hint of spices, but overrun with corny alcohol, a la your favorite 40 oz. Definitely not a highlight, but it can only get better from here, right... ? It turns out that the answer is "yes". Light bodied, but still somewhat complex. Can pick out cinnamon and nutmeg through all of the sweetness. Better than expected, just don’t expect a real Belgian, and you won’t be disappointed.

Poured from bottle. Pale golden color. Very light aroma of mint and cinnamon and ALCOHOL. Flavor was cinnamon, cirtrus with a very sweet and heavy alcohol punch. I felt it immediately! YUM!

Bottle shared with Fly, Dewbrewer, Humulone_Red and others. Thanks guys!
Light golden pour. Spices and guaze like maltiness in the nose with similar sweet flavors as well. Light carbonation.

12oz bottle. This bottle is from the Austin, Tx brewery with a best before 11/01. I know I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to rate it if it was bad but it’s really good and I will try and get a newer bottle and re-rate. pours hazy orange with creamy white head. nose is slightly soured with a sweet chocolate presence like a tootsie roll pop, and some orange citrus notes. weird but nice. flavor has aged into a real sweet and sour thing going on and i’m not sure where the artificial chocolate flavor is coming from but its there, there’s some spice and citrus finish to it. this is almost like a berliner weisse but not really. i’m sure this tastes nothing like it did fresh but i dig it.

Typical Belgian ale aroma - spice and fruit. Good golden color with a decent, though ephemeral, white head. Full bodied with mild creamy carbonation. The flavor is a bit sticky candi, with exotic light fruit esters. Like pineapple and banana. The finish is sweet (not sticky) with fruit and spice, and some floral hop notes. It has some bitter to balance the sweet. It is really very well put together.

Paler than Pilsener w/ absolutely no haze. Head of small bubbles dissapates quickly. Nose is Belgian cloves and banana fruitcake--maybe a bit much for my tastes. Lack of bitterness makes it come across slightly sweet but fine carbonation keeps it from coming across as sticky.

golden color with small white head. Spicy aroma with a prominent coriander component. Flavor yeasty up front then spicy and warm finishing slightly bitter and of coriander.