North Coast Cru dOr (Whole Foods)

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

Bottle. Ripe fruit, plum aroma. Hazy dark amber body, small head. Pleasing moderately sweet flavor, with fruits and malt. A little restrained, and the finish is somewhat weak. Otherwise, a tasty brew.

Appearance: Dark leather brown with a 1/4 white ring around the top. Aroma: Belgian yeast, a little bit of bubble gum and plums. Taste: Sour bready yeast and a little bit of the bubble gum from the nose. Sweet cherry and dark bread crust. Ends very dry. Mouthfeel: Very carbonated and coating. Overall: A very simple offering, that has a few basic recognizable flavors, starts off a little sweet, ends dry. I appreciate the abv, and the simplicity. Its not a knock at all. This is worth a try, and relatively inexpensive.

Bottle 355ml, Appearance: brown hazed ale with hint of red, medium light creamy , tanned top. Aroma: great aromatic blend of yeast, wheat and brown malts with shot of vodka. 8- Flavour/Palate: Medium bodied. Blend of brown and wheat malt. Top was fairly light (empty) , slightly yeasty sides. Finish mildly chewy with hint off fruit bitterness placed on rough field. F-6+

Pours an opaquish pomegranite color that appeared very effervescent with great tan head. Raisin, light plum, slight nasal burning. Flavor is lightly yeasty with a sweet and heavy malt backbone. Medium body is smooth and velvety. Very enjoyable.

My Bottom Line:
Caramel weighs upon this Belgian-style Strong Ale’s fruit salad until spicy, grassy hops provide polite bitterness which attempts to dry out the finish.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A thin ring of foam circles the misty caramel red.
-An alcohol splash works well with the flavor profile.
-The hefty dextrins delve into vanilla territory at times due to the exotic yeast character.
-I found this to be undercarbonated for its high level of sweetness. The mouthfeel becomes very slick and somewhat of a chore.
-Base cereal flavors are also found underneath.

Bottle.

Bottle: Pours an amber tawny color with an average head. The nose is yeast and floral with a nice yeasty belgian character, critrusy with an up front earthy hop note. The flavor is spicy with yeast and a sweet malty note, ample grassiness in the finish and a bit too much esters and sweetness. Impaired drinkability and a lingering finish.

Nice yeasty belgian ale. Pours a nice brown color. Bottle back from bruisin’ ales but now it looks like I can get this in GA. Very interesting caramel an dprune aroma. Flavor is yeast, a little bit of spice, and some purple fruit as well.

From bottle : Pours a hazy cabonated caramel color, with a fizzy tan head that dies out quickly. Very nice aroma, lots of fruit and raisins, peach, malt. Taste isnt quite as yummy as the smell, but pretty good, pretty carbonated as well. Sticky feel in the mouth and medium body. Cant taste hardly any of the alcohol. Aftertaste isnt very desirable. Not to bad though.