Great Divide Brewing Company Grand Cru

Grand Cru

 

Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸

  Belgian Style - Strong Ale Winter Out of Production
Score
7.15
ABV: 11.0% IBU: - Ticks: 58
Grand Cru is our very special Belgian-style dark ale. Imported malts give it a round malty richness, and the fruity complexity and slightly spicy character come from brewing with a proprietary Belgian yeast strain. Don’t let the name fool you; while it may be a special occasion beer, this medium-bodied, elegant incarnation is anything but snobbish.

Suggested food pairings: Roasted chicken with thyme, braised short ribs, oven roasted vegetables, grilled sweet potatoes, roaring 40′s blue cheese, bread pudding.
 

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6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6
Draft at Churchkey, courtesy of Travis and crew - thanks! A decent enough scotch ale-like beer with a bit of spice and a flavor of creme brulee.
Tried from Draft on 02 Mar 2011 at 20:06

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8
Bomber pours clear deep garnet with slight deep purple hue and semi loose tan head. The aroma is pretty rich with yeasty spices mixing with ripe cherries, ripe red apples, spicy maple and molasses. The taste is pretty darn smooth softly bringing up bold notes of molasses soaked ripe cherries and red apples as well as a modest level of spicy yeastiness. By midway a mix of dates, plums, sweet sugary pears and a touch of pepperiness join in and slide this thing into the finish. Real tasty stuff.
Tried on 01 Mar 2011 at 16:57

6.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 6
Pours clear garnet color with cream colored head. Aromas of candy sugar, bread dough and some alcohol. Sugary sweet toffee flavor with some dough. Alcohol is slightly noticable. Medium body with moderate carbonation and a syrupy mouthfeel.
Tried from Can on 23 Feb 2011 at 17:28

6.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle (best before 1/13/11). Pours with a deep garnet hue and a huge tan head. Aromas of bready malts, brown sugar, apple, cinnamon, cherries, esters and currants. A touch rancid as well (faint). Flavors of chestnuts, caramel, alcohol, nutty, brandy, plums, tobacco, raisins, soil. A bit sweet. Lively carbonation but a very heavy body. Thick.
Tried from Bottle on 19 Feb 2011 at 23:38

7/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
On Tap at Brewforia Beer Market, Meridian, ID. Clear red-mahogany with a thin wispy head. Woody dark fruit aroma and a woody slightly tannin flavor. Modest Belgian flavors and some raisons and brown sugar. Decent.
Tried from Draft on 14 Feb 2011 at 20:04

5.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
Pour is a amber with almost no head at all. Aroma has some Belgian spice and caramel. Flavor is super sweet with a little caramel malt. No real hops or Belgiany things happening after the aroma. For as big as this beer is it hides the alcohol well but also lacks a real stong flavor profile. Can a 11% beer be watery? Disapointing.
Tried from Can on 12 Feb 2011 at 14:45

7.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
22 oz. bottle, pours dark amber. Dry dark fruits on the nose with a vinous quality. Flavour reveals this vinous complexity, with dark dry fruits, some slight candied sugar and apple. Very good.
Tried from Bottle on 06 Feb 2011 at 01:33

6.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Tap at the brewery - dark reddish purple - clear pour - semi-tart aroma, dark fruits, alcohol - surprisingly dry in the nose - GD belgians tend not to impress me - they really need a new beligian yeast strain, as many of the beligans they make tend to have some "dirty" phenol notes to them, as well as an odd starchy note - this beer is no exception, but the strength of the beer covers this up a bit more than in their other belgian brews - not all that complex - very sweet flavor, but a clean sweetness - some notes of raisin - a bit of toffee - it isn’t bad, but it is fairly simple, which is not what you really want in something so big.
Tried from Draft on 09 Jan 2011 at 16:39