Val-Dieu Grand Cru

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye du Val-Dieu
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Aubel, Belgium

Smells sweet and wine like. Dark red, perhaps slightly purple. Looks black when not held to the light. Fruity yet still beer like. Kinda nice tasting. Rather sweet. Feels very full and thick on the tongue. A decent abbey ale...

Draught chalice at Redbones on 2/17/07
Purple-maroon-mahogany body has overtones of cola and is quite bubbly. Medium-beige head is small, precariously retained at cover and creates only minimal lacing at best. Clarity is medium-high.
Expressive, yeasty nose is full of smoothed out esters and phenols, with plenty of medium/dark malt complexities. Light clove, anise, allspice, light bananas, touches of citrus and prunes. Sticky, nice and caramelized thickness to the aroma, but still properly attenuated, it seems, from the nose. Light notes of cola and chocolate, with a touch of slick alcohol, redolent of Godiva raspberry liqueur. Really nice, the alcohol, for its size, dosent harry the nose too much and the key here....it’s not too bready/acidic or hard/crusty in the nose unlike St Berny Abt 12 on draught.
Much as expected, a competent, if somewhat predictable Belgian Dark Strong/ABT. Not as soft, chocolatey-sweet and malty as Westy 12. But darker, softer and more vinously fruited than Rochefort 10. Similar, but not as lacking in soothing texture as St. Berny 12. There’s a nice chewy/stickiness, though, importantly, it’s not syrupy/cloying or underattenuated. In fact, it might even be a touch loose on the end (though you can never be sure if that’s the beer or the draught nature. Most likely just the draught nature). Vanilla, cola, anise, prunes, and light clove dryness on the finish. A pleasant citrus-raspberry note plunges through the medium-dry chocolate and vanilla creaminess, strengthened by some insidious alcohol. It’s well-concealed for its strength, but it still has some effect, drying the beer out on the end and cutting some of the maltiness. Soft bananas and vanilla linger on. Very, very drinkable for its size. Excited to try it from the bottle.

Ruddy red with a thin head. Aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, banana, fruity esters, alcohol. Very sweet. Flavors of plum, cocoa, alcohol, some spiciness. Huge body. Warming.

750ml bottle, with 09/08 on the cork. Pours a dark brown that’s nearly black, with crimson highlights. The head peaks at about one finger, and fades very slowly to a thick cap that remains throughout the entire beer. Lacing is a thick sheet, almost completely covering the inside of the glass. Smell; lots of dark fruits with dates, plums and a little bit of some figs. Some bready malts are present along with candied sugar and a little bit of vanilla. Taste; the fruits are just as prevalent in the flavor as they were in the aroma. Plums, figs and dates are all there as well as a touch of cherries. The candied sugar adds a nice, but not cloying sweetnees, and the yeasts add a bit of a dying chalkiness. A peppery spiciness mixes very nicely with a bit of an alcohol bite in the finish. Mouthfell/Drinkability; the mouthfeel is full bodied, with a nice smooth carbonation, and the drinkability would fantastic if the alcohol was not so high.

On tap at the Pianeta Birra, Rimini, Italy.
Dark brown/ruby coloured, small creamy head, sourish nose. Sweet malty and spicy aroma with notes of fruit, yeast and milk chocolate. Light fruity and sweet alcoholic finish.

Bottled. Beer is clear, very dark brown, nearly opaque with a small, frothy, white, mostly and quickly diminishing head.<P> The aroma is malty with moderate notes of toasted grain, toasted nuts, light notes of chocolate; Hoppy with moderate notes of resin/pine; Yeasty with moderate notes of buttery pastery dough, basement; Moderate miscellaneous note of spicy alcohol. <P> The flavor is moderately-to-heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter with a long, warm, trace bitter, lightly acidic, moderately sweet finish.<P> The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.<P>Very rich and desserty.

Wheaty aroma with dark fruit, toffee, rum. Slightly alcoholic flavors but not a sharp burn. Nice complexity here and a good abbey style ale. Nothing that sets it apart from others in this style, but I could drink this all night and be happy.

Sweet malt aroma that is good but lacks complexity. Flavor has some light charcoal and that lightly sweet Val Dieu house flavor. Dark brown appearance with lots of sediment. Like other Val Dieu beers, this one has a way of offering a heavy, powerful beer with refreshing qualities as well.