Square One Grand Cru

Draught, at the brewpub. Strongly fruity and sweet aroma, citric and fresh, with bushels of golden apple, white grape, pear and melon along with some honeyish malts and touches of perfume here and there. Very hazy medium-dark golden color with a lasting, creamy head. This calls for a tulip glass instead of the shaker pint style it was served in. Flavor is similar to the suggestions given by the aroma, including plenty of tropical fruitiness, but also seeing some richly sugary maltiness and floral hints. Mouthfeel is gently effervescent, creamy and smooth, body is medium-full. Actually pretty tasty.

Sampled from the brewpub. Slightly hazy with a dull golden amber hue. Ring of white head. Candy floral nose. Medium bodied yet muted. Granular and perfumy. Notes of bananas with a light acidic hop finish. Lingering cloying wheaty flavors. Nothing special.

Poured dark in color with a tan head. Sweet aroma of fruits. Carbonation when it first hits the palate with a spicy flavor and a slight alcohol finish

The bartender told me this had a 6% ABV. From the tap, served at cellar temperature in a pint glass. Poured a partly cloudy golden hued orange with a small foamy, bubbly white head that settled into a thin lacing. Aromas of apples and pears, spicy, sour yeast, a light Belgian spiciness, not much clove or coriander, a subtle zesty, floral and sweet malty. Good carbonation and a crisp, dryish, smooth, but watery, medium-light bodied mouthfeel. Tastes of apples and green pears with a slice of lemon squeezed over them, a very light spiciness and citric peel, a sweet maltiness, the alcohol is very light and barely noticeable, a spicy, softly herbal hop bitterness towards the end and a dry, mildly bitter, softly spicy, fruity finish. This is pretty average, a tad thin, should be more spicy and dry, passable, but not enough flavor to make me want more than one.

There is something strange going on at Square One brewery. For some reason all of their beers have similar profiles: They are either citrusy or otherwise strange-fruity, and many of them exhibit qualites of malting traditionally found in scotch ales. I am not sure what is going on here, but it is really different, and I am undecided on how much I like it. I guess it depends on their beer. Their Grand Cru was very fruity and had apple, pepper, and a little astringency charactaristics to it, but overall I thought it was a decent attempt.