Val-Dieu Grand Cru

First off, the Winter is not the same as the Grand Cru. I’m reviewing the Winter from 2005, the last year the Winter was produced. Amber brown, lingering head. Big aroma of malt and funky fruit. Flavors include tropical fruit, cocoa, rich malts, amber malts, subtle spice, subdued alcohol, lovely. Note, putting this with a review of the Grand Cru is wrong. The Grand Cru is another creature with big, flavorful components.

some almond aroma with classic belgian dusty yeast. great thick head wont go away. deep nut brown color. oak comes through right away, soft sugary sweetness, yeasty finish

750ml - Looked and tasted like a flat glass of Coca Cola. Really ungood. I expected much more from these people. Not their best work.

On tap at Belmont Station (Thanks Ezra)--Poured a hefty yet silky brown body with some hints of amber. Next to no head evident. Nose of sweet bready, biscuity brown sugars. Smooth mouth feel with a finish of caramel, nouget, toffee, and brown sugar. Strong with the booze, but wel masked in complexities. Great beer!

Nice brown slight cloudy pour with scant head. Aroma is bready and sweet. Medium mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Caramel and toffee flavor with a sweet finish.

Lumpfest 2008- Murky russet colored with a soapy head. Dark fruit in the nose. Heavy deep dark fruit in the mouth and not balanced very well. Feels murky and unbalanced.

750 ml bottle, cork marked 09/08. Pours a lovely deep ruby with cola highlights, minimal offwhite head and some jagged lacing. Nose is very vinous, with a sweet cherry oakiness slightly similar to a flemish sour. Very rich on the palate, smooth and silky, large toffee character with faint hints of chocolate, raspberries, sweet bready malts, nice lingering warm finish with just the barest hint of medicinal hops. Very nice, and much better than I remember a younger bottle being.

Cellared 9 months. Acidic, sour, off aroma. Ruby-brown color. Caramel flavor with sweet, light fruit, some raisins. Very chewy beer.