New Belgium Abbey Grand Cru

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Reddish brown mostly clear body. Light brown head displaying good belgian lacing. Very malty aroma with nutty, toffee aspects together with dark fruits (dates) and maybe some licorice. Spicy on the tongue, yeasty and bready while just being very malty and candi sugar sweet. Nice velvety mouthfeel, mostly thick with gentle carbonation. Mild alcohol warmt in the finish. This does right just about everything I expect from a dubbel which really seems to be a tough style to make a great example of.

Best by 11/1/2004 - Clear ruby with a small light tan head. The aroma is sweet, caramel, some toffee and that is about it. The flavor is nutty malts, caramel and toffee. There is a definte spice presence that kicks in about mid way through. The body is medium but is lightned up the alcohol. The alcohol is a bit more noticeable than I would like fort his style. Overall a pretty nice dubbel. Thanks to Andre’.

Big, creamy white head. Great murky aroma of figs, nuts, and belgian yeast. Taste starts off malty and creamy, then fades with a nice belgian yeast flav and some spices. I kind of thought this was going to be bigger in all respects, but it was by no means a bad beer.

2002 vintage: Orange hued, speckled ruby. Creamy, semi-rocky, dying, off-white head. Sweet and tangy aroma of plums, candy sugar, and clean, peppery belgian yeast atop a juicy bed of noble hops. Very slick with faint mustiness and jellied malts. Silky body. Fairly velvety with remarkable softness. Redolent spice notes are capped off with a dousing of alcohol and plums. Lovely crescendo of sweet plums and belgian yeast encompass the lightly coarse (Spalt?), juicy noble hop foundation. Peachy esters and rose petals soften the brew and marry flawlessly with the delicate noble hops. Ends with a gritty candy sugar sensation and a peppery/fruity yeast spark. Scores of juicy hops smother the delayed tangy, bready malt push while the alcohol warms the innards. Melon, flowers, candy sugar, and spicy yeast linger as the sweet malts become an afterthought. After two years in the cellar, this is teeming with even more subtleties, which perfectly complement the soft body. Delectable Grand Cru, worthy of many more years in the cellar.

Clear chestnut body. Come-and-go thin white head. Aroma of mashed plum, apricot, cherry, tart apples, toasted toffee, dark sugar and oranges. Supple mouthfeel gently hugs the tongue. Malt and fruit flavors dominate in the mouth with some faint bitterness in the finish. I find it hard to say this, but I kind of wanted more yeast in this one. Recently I've been turned off by too much yeast, but right now I really think this could have been better with a little more. Regardless, this is a tasty beer. Not my favorite, as I would probably take the trippel over this, but still immensely drinkable.

Loved it! Such a strong malt background, this one bridges the gap between lambic and barleywine. Extra delicious when you can find it on tap.

Just found the notes on this one from a tasting back during the summer. Dark brown pour with a decent head. Malty and fruity with a full rich mouthfeel. Sort of a nutty thing going on in the background.

Very much in line with European Abbey Dubbels. Dark amber colored, translusent. Aroma fruity, like figs or prune, sweet, and yeasty. A lot of Belguim candi sugar in the flavor with a moderate amount of hop bitterness. Finish is slightly dry. Excellent beer.