Val-Dieu Grand Cru

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

Tasted 11/22/07. 750ml bottle. Murky brown hue and almost opaque. Taupe head. Musty cocoa aromas. Touch toast and fruit. Aromas of apples and dark fruit. Rather full bodied with a good dose of alcohol. Super smooth. Citrus yeasty flavors counter with the smooth sugary malts. Nice caramel notes. The second glass has a clinging head from a vigorous pour. Tootsie rolls and toffee. Plays well over the tongue and palate. Good stratigraphy from the head. Candy and cola flavors. Dried fruit notes. Really Nice!

Poured a nice murky brown color with some sedimenties that came out at the end of the pour. The head was nice, yet only respectable within the style, nothing outstanding. Lacing was good. The aroma was gentle, soft, nice meld of dark fruits, light yeast, some breadiness, and a candi sugar type sweetness. The flavor was ever so smooth, nice dark and light fruit activity (plums, cherries, yum), light cocoa, gentle spicing, all finishing with a touch of yeasty bready bitterness to finish pretty clean. Mouthfeel was lightly carbonated and gentle and smooth.

On Tap Hamilton’s. This ale is very dark with a nice froth head and the flavors dance around from that belgian candy sugar with a balance of fruit and spices similar to plums and anise. The nose isnt as presence as the flavor but this one is going real fast.

The first pour produces a transluscent brown colour with little suspended yeast, but the second pour leaves a good amount of large particulates. The head is small and dense, light beige, and leaves good lacing. The aroma is rich with caramel malt, buttery toffee, blueberry, vinous notes (pinot noir), rasins, other dried fruits and some almond. The aromas are very distinct in this beer, leaving little guesswork for me. The flavours are equally distinct and rich. Flavours of buttery caramel, raisins, figs, other dried fruits, brown sugar, nuts, apple, cocoa and barley any booze to be detected. Its a little meaty too. The palate is full and chewy, finishing a bit oily, with gentle carbonation. Amazing.

Bottle 75cl. Reddish-brown pour. Nose was slightly alcohol and that of which I can only describe as a buttery triple cream brie cheese. Flavor was slightly sugary, with hints of dark fruit and yeast. A nice beer with lots more potential with cellaring.

Bottled. Pours dark brown with a massive cream colored head (almost like canned foam). Aromas of alcohol caramel, Flavors of dark cherry and raisins. Alcohol present, but not overwhelming. I will buy thisagain.

This beer is soft and long. There is no indication that it packs ten percent alcohol. Nice lacing, plenty of head, and a lovely caramel brown color. Aromas are mature: dark fruit, raisin, yeast. Flavors are bright and sharp on the hop and fruit side, doughy and slow on the candy finish. It does have a very long finish. Excellent example.

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.