North Coast Cru dOr (Whole Foods)

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Fort Bragg, California USA

Bottle @ Sunset Grille. Ok nose, sweet. Dried fruit, fig/date/raisin, ABV gives it a bit of a paint thinner scent. Sugar. Lite spice. Tad hazed orangy brown, little to no head. Sweet flavor, like aroma with the fruity part being strongest. Lite body, creamy oily mouthfeel, sweet bitter finish. Nice brew, though I can’t say I’m seeking another out, that lost a little as it warmed.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with jimbowood (thanks!). Poured a deep and dark amber color (almost a reddish-brown) with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of fruits, light spices, and candi sugar. Tastes of sweet fruits, spices and has a candi sugar sweetness to it.

Clear light amber color with vanishing tan head. I smell sugar, beat sugar I think and maybe a whiff of hops. Very sugary taste. I get mostly beat sugar and possibly candi sugar. The label lists the ingredients as: “water, organic malt, hops.” Not sure how this is beer without yeast in there somewhere. Plus they left off the adjuncts that are the major flavors here. Basically I don’t like this beer. Nothing in there at all to balance all the adjunct flavors. Not recommended.

Reddish brown/dark ruby with thin, diminishing light brown head. Aromas of prune, raisin, molasses, honey, orange rind, spice, dark Russian bread and bubblegum. Gum aroma became more and more pronounced over time. Thin fizzy palate with a sweet malt flavor- brown sugar, citrus and fruitcake. Soapy yeast finish and slightly bitter aftertaste. Not my favorite style, but I guess this is generally passable for a lower priced domestic knockoff Belgian.

12 oz bottle. Deep orange brown beer, tan head. Aroma is fairly plummy, brown sugar, toasted nuts, some heavy honeyed fruitiness and a touch of chocolate as well. Flavour is very fruity, cherry/plums, toast, peanuts, sweet mintiness on the back of the palate as well. Flavour and aroma also show some rummy notes. Complex and not entirely cohesive, but still pretty tasty.

(bottle from my s.s.)brown body with a nice off white head that left lacing.bananas,grape soda,and spices made up the aroma and taste.

Bottle (12oz). Thanks to my Summer06 SecretSanta!. Clear deep ruby with an average lasting straw-yellow head. Lovely sweet malt, spice and yeast aroma, only a hint of alcohol, candied raisins and orange peel. The taste is lighter and fruiter than the aroma, less complex, quick off the tonge, some appleseed bitterness in the finish. Slightly watery body, decently carbonated with a fruity, lightly alcoholic mouthfeel - not bad, I felt a tad let down after the aroma. Weak, but pleasant - really finishes more bitter than I thought it would, needs more malt kick and yeast/spice in the flavour.

Bottle via marcus. The beer pours to a deep orange garnet body. A nice tan head sits atop the beer. The aroma is raisins, woodsy spices, plums, earthy yeasts, bubble gum, melon. The flavor is a strong melon and bubblegum. Earthyness pervades through the flavors. The palate is alcoholic, sweet bubble-gummy finish.