Southampton Grand Cru

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

75cl bottle, not sure of age...thin head, almost copper colored...fruity aroma with hints towards sourness...drank light and easy, with an certain almost unclean sourness in the finish. I actually didn’t notice the spices much, which is a good thing. I think they did a good job on this.

(Bottled, 0.75l) Hazy amber color with a thin, bubbly, lacy head. Slightly sour and flowery, yeasty, witbier-peppery-spicy and caramely aroma. Sweet and sugary, yeasty, malty and orangey-peppery-spicy flavor. Long, sticky, orangey aftertaste. No alcohol is evident. Medium to full-bodied, slicky and quite thick, sahti-like, but more sugary palate. A pleasant, spicy and smooth brew with personality. Too sweet, though.

Good copper colour with a thin white head. Nose had a lot of orange spice in plus pepper and possibly vineagar. I’m not getting the citrus. Worked quite well. Taste was very good but had too much orange peel for me. I’ve just sampled it so far and it is very good. Might get even better.

Draught at Blind Tiger Alehouse, New York. Served too cold. Copper colour. Vinegary nose. Rich malty, little milky acidic and an abv tang. Big, yummy flavour with hop presence. Malt sweetness is just very nice. Very well balanced.

Tasted at Dark Lord release party,I think courtesy of Elhefe.Golden brew with creamy head.I must tell ya that I was standing next to TAR and we just kind of looked at each other and said "man this is the most incredible brew",the clove,coriander,anise and what smelled like orange oil just crept up into our noses and cast a spell of disbelief.Outstanding.And luckily enough,the taste was an exact replica of the aroma.

Golden hazy. Funky nose--lots of orange, spice and yeast. Wonderfully sweet with a tart/bitter tange. Perfectly balanced, diverse in flavor and complex. Wonderful.

2005 bottle. Pours a cloudy pale orange...the aroma is all over the place. Lotsa oranges, sweet malts, nice yeastiness, esters, citrus...yum. Flavor follows nicely..very bready, nice yeast, bananas, citrusy, spicy, strong malts...nice. Finishes off dry, and hops are ever present. Thanks David for a great ale.

Update: New 2006 bottle. I liked this one even better than the previous version. Has more body, fuller flavor, and a bit more yeasty spiciness and fruity esters which make it a bit more complex. Previous rating: 3.8 750 ml bottle. 2005. Pours slightly hazy amber with a modest off white head but fades. Relatively low carbonation for a belgian ale. Aroma is sweet, malty orange, citrus, peach, spice, pepper and belgian yeast. Flavor is initally a sweet pronounced orange with a good malt backbone. Perhaps a little too sweet and almost cloying especially at first. As it warms it actually all blends a little better but still isnt as good as I expected. As it warms a bit of the alcohol comes through. Slight astringensy and a moderately dry finish.