Southampton Grand Cru

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Southampton, New York USA

RB Summer Secret Santa 2006: 750 ML bottle, finally getting around to entering this little bugger out of my note pad. Lasting tall, fluffy cream colored head w/ a light amber/orange body. I can smell the plum esters a foot away, also rose petal floral wafts into my nose. Bready malt and doughy yeast character, and bit of raisiny fruity ester as well. Lightly toasty malt and a bit of alcohol as it warms. It’s also got a chalky minerally aroma. Well balanced up front, turns lightly bitter in the finish. Toasted & bready malts w/ plum fruity esters & yeasty flavored mid palate. A bit of herbal hop in the lightly dry finish. Lingering aftertatse is a slight hint of alcohol & more herbal hop. Lighter medium body lightened by higher medium carbonation, light alcohol warmth, smooth m/f. Dries out as it leaves the mouth toward me belly! For my taste, it could be a little less bitter, but still a pretty darn good beer! Thank you RBSS Summer 2006!

2005 750 ml bottle. Pours an orange coppery color with a tiny white lacing. Has oxidation set in ? Aroma is yeasty with doughbread and orange peel overtones. Taste is spicy with citrus overtones,primarily orange peel as well as sourdough bread. Kind of acidic in a pleasant way. Im wondering if age has taken something away from this brew. Will try a newer version soon and compare.

The aroma was a little doughy, its flavor was strong on orange, with a little spiciness. The color is an attractive orange, with a hazy appearance. This beer had a nice, long-lasting head. It was a sweet beer, but not too sweet. Definitely not as sweet as some other Grand Cru’s. Leaves a lillte sweetness on the palate. Nice finish. I would get it again, except that it’s a little pricey. I did enjoy this beer, and have resolved to make a pilgrimage to Southampton Publick House which is about 1 hour from my house.)

750ml - thanks ClarkVV - Aroma is yeasty with a sharp citrus zest, coriander, honey, alcohol and a touch of hops. Pours transparent yellow-orange with a huge fluffy head and great lacing. Flavor is bread dough, orange, coriander, alcohol and butter with a nice malty finish of whipped cream. Palate is creamy and tart. Very tasty, chewy brew.

pours a brilliant copper/amber, quite lively, with a dense white head that retains well and leaves good lacing. nose starts very yeasty/doughy while cold, and as it warms the spices come out with a sticky malty toastiness. further warming puts a bit of butter into play - normally a downer for me, but it is not over-bearing, and it goes nicely with the spice. balanced flavor starts with a restrained sweetness ,and dries and puckers a bit from the combined bitterness of the hops and spices, particularly some zest bite from the bitter orange. very nice beer all around, with a great malt/spice blend, underpinned by a solid hopping. a touch of diacetyl starting to come out, though. better than my first bottle of this beer, which was flat.

Bottle. Pours a golden colour with a white head. Malty spicy and a little yeasty aroma. Sweet malty spicy, yeasty flavor. Has a malty spicy finish with some hints of yeast.

Despite being hidden in my dark closet Southampton’s Grand Cru traveled a roller coaster of expectations, varying from utter excitement to a worrisome prospect, affected by praising and terrifying reviews alike, shifting to new brewing grounds and methods - I was simply confused. It was concluded that the brew I drank was the most recent iteration, produced at Sly Fox.

As light shines through its apricot hue a bucolic mist develops under fluffy off-white clouds. The scene reminds of my summer travels through Flanders, a mellow glow flooding the horizon. The aroma immediately strikes as eminently Belgian, in fact I dare say I’ve never experienced such a cogent imitation from American brewers. Its a delicate combination of sweet and spicy, rich and buttery; complex fragrances and flavors that compose a true symphony. Esters are accentuated in Southampton’s interpretation, showing plenty of Bazooka Joe, banana, pineapple but also buttery wheat, yogurt, brown sugar and light caramel malts. Sweet clementine and apricot, a hint of tulip and vanilla, coriander and nutmeg, every nuance adds to the unity of this wonderful nose. Like a post-impressionist painting the flavor surprises with dabs of unexpected color, bursting initially with a creamy orange peel only to flow directly into a more vivacious nutmeg and cinnamon tone. The palate continues to evolve developing buttery caramel before it collapses onto lasting anise and gin. This ale speaks for itself, and with brio I might add.

750. Thanks, Luiss! Pours deep honey-orange with some serious haze. A positively Vesuvian bubbly white head that falls to a sturdy layer of white bubbles that last and last. Gorgeous. Rich apples and cherries on the nose, and interestingly enough, the spices don’t show up there. Strong tart-to-bitter attack. Sharply fizzy body; medium thickness. Plenty of racing spices and fruits on the palate--cherries, green apples, coriander, banana, clove, caramel. Could have been a train wreck but instead it’s spectacular. What an astonishingly good beer. Wish I could get it all the time.