North Coast Cru dOr (Whole Foods)

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

Red in color with a thin head. Clear. Cherry in the smell with some sweetness. The taste has a touch of alcohol, cherry and other fruits, and some sourness at the end.

Bottle from Whole Foods. Orange brown with a fizzy tan head. Sweet fruity and caramel aroma and taste. Decent.

(Bottle) Purchased at Spinnakers Wine Merchant. Pours a lasting creamy, beige head with a thick, copper body. Nose of a Quad - its really been a while. It really doesn’t have the yeastiness to be a Belgian Strong. Even the malt content is well beefed up from what you’d find in a Belgian Strong. Very chewy, oily, cherries, wood, strong malted base. Pretty tasty. 8/4/7/3/14

Bottle: Poured a deep clear brown color ale with a rather large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of candi sugar with some subtle fruity yeast. Taste is a nice mix between some candi sugar notes with some traces of fruity ester. Missing some dry fruits elements and candi sugar presence is a bit overdone. Average body with good carbonation and light alcohol ester.

(Bottle from McKean and Charles) Pours dark rusty amber-brown with half a finger of biege head that recedes to a thin lasting layer. Aroma of dark fruits, sugary candy-apple glaze and some brown sugar. Mouthfeel smooth and soft. Flavor is sweet and fruity - candy-apple glaze, dark fruit and brown sugar. A dark chocolatey trait emerges as it warms. Lingering chocolatey and dark fruit aftertaste. Quite tasty actually although it may be a bit formulaic and lack some of the "character" of a true Belgian. ABV well-hidden. Enjoyed it.

12oz brown crown cap bottle. No freshness date. Thanks to Shawn Dunn of Global Brewers Guild for his one! Appearance: Brownish-amber with notes of orange. Not quite clear, some particles floating...bottle-conditioned? Slight tan/orangish head. Nose: Orange peel, lavender, sweet wheat, candi sugar. Palate: Spicy! Lots of spice up front, with caramel malt in the middle, and a crisp finish that fades back into baking spice notes. Clove, nutmeg. A little citrus feeling on the back with some slight suggestions of banana peel. Carbonation is light, but balanced (doesn’t feel too flat or too foamy). Notes: Tastes like a spiced dubbel. A decent brew, especially considering it’s organic. Would recommend it, and will probably revisit it again myself.

Pours an amber-orange with a light head with decent retention. Aroma is fruity and floral - orange blossom or rose water. Taste is nice and fruity, light orange & apple flavour, grains of paradise too. Present alcohol and some floral hops in the finish. Decent carbonation, lightly chewy body. This one is quite drinkable - I was pleasantly surprised.

A: strong belgian spices, allspice, nutmeg, brown sugar, slighty floral. V: reddish orange body with a touch of haze. coating of a head T: fruity, apple with a cloying bitter at the very end that it would be better without. P: unremarkable