Val-Dieu Grand Cru
Me and Matty were just discussing what exactly a “Grand Cru” is. To be honest with you, I don’t really know. I just know the concept that I’ve devised in my head based upon the several Grand Cru ales that I’ve had. My theory is that a Grand Cru is a subset of abbey-style ales, and generally is considered to be a ‘slightly better’ abbey-style ale. Maybe the abbey-style that the brewery is most proud of, or one that tends to use better ingredients or a more long-winded brewing process. I dunno – that’s just what I think. You guys can tell me if I’m way off. Regardless of definition, this is an absolutely fabulous beer.
The pour of this is very dark and not too viscous. It is only mildly cloudy and most of the debris seems to have settled kindly to the bottom of the bottle. The aroma of this is sweet with vanilla and maybe even a bit of butter, which is strange but good. In the mouth, this is a delicious beer, while not terribly consistent with my concept of an abbey-ale. It is altogether sweet, with just a hint of hop bitterness around the middle of the tongue. Surrounding this touch of bitterness are different levels of sweetness reminiscent of blueberries and vanilla. I still just get a tint of a buttery richness, although I’m hesitant to say it for fear of grossing people out, because it is really delicious. The major absence that I notice is that there is none of the aniseed flavor that often gets into abbey ales. Instead, this is just sweet and delicious. To be honest, it reminds me a bit of the Cold Mountain ale from Highland Brewery, but it isn’t QUITE as potent in its sweetness. It’s just a delicious and subtly sweet brew that I would like to drink much more often.
Categories: Abbey-style, Beer Reviews, Val Dieu
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