Grand Cru
Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Strong Ale Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.40
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This deep-golden beer was one of our first “experiments”. Grand Cru traditionally means the “premier” beer for Belgians. Grand Cru is full bodied with suggestions of smoke and licorice, hint of hop character and bit of spice.
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7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 4
Overall 8
750 ml. Batch 12. Sweet and spicy, a tasty and highly drinkable Belgian strong ale. Too bad the texture is so watery, quite unlike the velvety mouthfeel associated with Allagash beers. Perhaps this is a result of the age on the beer. Beautiful hazy amber body below a frothy, off-white head. The aroma is malty with notes of cookie and caramel, spicy with notes of coriander, yeasty with slight notes of cobweb. There is also a hint of lemon and honey in addition to a floral scent. The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic and lightly bitter. Thin to medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Dry finish that lasted. Despite the disappointing palate, this is still a nicely crafted beer.
Tried
on 31 Dec 2007
at 21:30
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Yeasty, spicey, fruity aroma. Hazy orange color with a head that tries to lace while departing. Thin to medium body; creamy carbonation. Touch of orange flavor, maybe some clove, mildly sweet caramel/candy. Arguably seeded fruit flavors present - touch of pear? Spicey and fruity, but it all blends very well. Seems to have a touch of golden sultana. Really very good stuff. The finish is not overly sweet and the spice hangs around somewhat. Perhaps a bit of anise. Any hop is fruity rather than bitter. Good drink.
Tried
from Can
on 02 Aug 2007
at 20:30
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Aroma has sweet malt and light fruit. Flavor has some alcohol, light fruit, salt, and lightly sweet malt. Light brown, cloudy appearance. A surprisingly light and simple beer for their ground cru, but good enough. Rating of batch 15, around 12 years old I believe. Still holds good carbonation. Some oxidation, otherwise still good but light on the palate. 6/17/18
Tried
on 24 Apr 2007
at 14:39
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Pour is a hazy, dark amber color with a small, dense head. Aromas are of bananas, cloves, citrus and yeast. Flavor includes all of the above, but is a bit less full than I expected. It’s not watery, but it’s not really strong, either.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Feb 2007
at 20:33
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
(Bottle 75 cl) Slightly hazy amber golden with an off-white head. Fresh, lightly citrusy nose with a touch of yeast. Light and slightly watery. Sweetish, spicy notes of both citrus and coriander. No bitterness. 061006
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Oct 2006
at 12:38
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
A hazy orange beer with a lazing orange head. The aroma is sweet and very spicy - especially coriander comes thru, but it also has light notes of oranges. The flavor is sweet - somewhat too sweet and sticky for my liking, with notes of malt, oranges, and peaches, leading to an end with a slight alcohol burn.
Tried
on 08 Oct 2006
at 15:29
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Pour is a cloudy orange with a tall white head. Aroma is very much a nice grassy hops with some malts and candy sugar. Flavor is very good. Some hops but the spices really show up. Malts come in next along with some yeastness. Finsih is dark fruits with a slight touch of alcohol. Very tasty and pleasing to all the sences. Easy on the wallet as well makes this one to look for.
Tried
from Can
on 11 Aug 2006
at 18:56
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottled. Hazy reddish orange colour, mediumsized off-white head. American hops along with fruits and berries in aroma. The same in flavour, with some spices added. Also a plummy tone to it in the finish. Wellbalanced brew, and hides the ABV well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jun 2006
at 15:44
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
[Bottled] Cloudy amber, creamy head. Aroma of almonds and butterscotch. Medium sweet with full body and firm mouthfeel. Dominated by caramel and grass. A solid work.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jun 2006
at 05:49
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
750 ml bottle, batch 6 - Pours very hazy orange with a big, fizzy head. It smells great. The assertive aroma had yeast, spice, and citrus notes. The flavor was fairly good though perhaps I wasn’t in the mood for a Belgian tonight as I thought it was extremely sweet, overdone even for the style. I don’t see that reflected in the other ratings much. It tastes rich, spicey, and yeasty. The finish is mildly dry. I couldn’t really taste the alcohol. It’s good, but far from my favorite Belgian style brew.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Jun 2006
at 01:55