Val-Dieu Grand Cru

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

Bottle. Almost black wit red and brown tints and a beige foam.. Aromas are fruity, yeasty and malty with cookie dough and chocolate. Mellow berries, too. Flavours are malty with smooth chocolate. Spicy, yeasty and bready with liquourice and herbal notes. Alchohol on the finish with a good foaming palate. Very good.

Bottle from State Line. Pours hazy deep rubyish dark brown with 2-finger khaki head. Aroma of spicy nutmeggy malt, figs, toffee, cognac, port wine. Tastes roasty malty, with figs, sweet dark chocolate, nutmeg, prune, some funky yeasty notes. The palate is dense, smooth, amazingly complex, and I didn’t notice a lick of alcohol in this. Wonderful.

Dark brown with a lasting off-white head. Aroma of caramel and dried fruit, almonds and spices. Full bodied caramel sweet flavour with spice, figs, dates and vineous warming alcohol.

A deep clear brown ale with mahoganny hues, and a super thick frothy light moka head. A nice aroma of sweet malt with catnip and Brett notes. In mouth, a sweet candy sugar with light licorice, woody notes, and Brett. A bit too sweet but overall good. Rich and oily. Tasted January 2009. Bieropholie import.

Head is initially small, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium hazy orange-brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie), lightly hoppy (flowers), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with light notes of brown sugar, clove, tangerine, banana. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Like most Val-Dieu products, this is a mid-to-high 3’s level brew, nicely made and very pleasant, but not quite stellar. Sweet, but not cloying. VERY well-hidden alcohol for being around 10%.

Bottle. Creamy off-white excellent fully lasting head. Dark amber colour. Heavy malty and hoppy aroma with eveything in it but the kitchensink. Powerfull bitter and sweet flavor. Long spicey finish. Perfect creamy palate. Fantastic beer.

Bottle. Rich aromas of dark malt and dark fruits. Near opaque brown color with a substantial beige/tan head. Full in body with creamy carbonation. Flavor is darkly malty (not toasted) and the fruits and spice are very tasty. A little heat interjects, but does not really bother the experience. Finish is mildly sweet, but some hop seems to be there for balance.

From a 750 ml bottle. This poured a very dark brown with a hint of garnet at the edges when hedl to light. There is a thin light khaki colored head. The aroma is lightly roasted with some apples and peanuts. The taste is fairly sweet with lots of caramel and some black walnuts. There is also a little anise and some watermelon. The mouthfeel is a little sharp on the carbonation while being really thin for the alcohol content. This would definitely benefit from some aging.