Brasserie Des Rocs Grand Cru - Belgian Special Brown Ale

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:10 pm

4.24/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Cola brown colour. Poorly-retained fizzy beige head leaves no lace. Aroma is malty and estery with toasted nut, brown sugar, caramel, dried fruit, and banana notes. Light alcohol nose. Malt-foward and fairly sweet with a bready and nutty character, also caramel, then raisin and gentle black pepper mid-palate. Fruit continuing into the finish alongside a very subtle bitter note. Banana burps. Medium-bodied with light, soft carbonation. Feels smooth and deceptively light for its weight, if that makes sense. Alcohol is well-hidden, with only the slightest hint of warmth. Straightforward but big and boldly flavoured. Very good beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 03:08:53

shintriad · Post by **shintriad** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:02 pm

Pretty much nailed it! Love this beer. It's become my default "sundowner."

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:33 pm

This beer did nothing for me. Solid Meh.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:18 pm

This beer is fantastic. While no Cuvee du Keizer Blauw, this is up there in the style.

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:25 am

liamt07 wrote:This beer is fantastic. While no Cuvee du Keizer Blauw, this is up there in the style.

I think it is better personally, the two bottles of the Blauw I got from the LCBO were both MUCH sweeter than the Rocs. Both were very nice, but I find the AdR much more drinkable.

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:15 am

As much as I like this, I really liked the Gouden Carolus Classic from the winter release a few years back better. And those of you who dislike sweet beer will probably be horrified by that statement.

Seriously though - the only beers I've ever had that were too sweet for my liking were Dragon Stout and Creme Brulee.

lister · Post by **lister** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:12 pm

mintjellie wrote:Seriously though - the only beers I've ever had that were too sweet for my liking were Dragon Stout and Creme Brulee.

Have you had the St Ambroise Erable yet? I had it on Monday and I love the beer (best maple since Schoune 2005) but my teeth hurt after having three pints of it. (Had a Granite Peculiar in the middle to break things up a bit.)

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:35 pm

I'm in the solid "meh" category on this beer. A little too sweet for me, but more than that seems rather thin for its weight.

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:54 pm

To me this is like 1000 other Belgian beers I've had, with the typical nutmeg/dried fruit/yeasty taste, they all taste alike. Some sweeter, some a bit drier, some dark, some light, but same ballpark.

I'd like to see more distinctive beers from Belgian brewing today.

Gary

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:58 pm

G.M. Gillman wrote:To me this is like 1000 other Belgian beers I've had, with the typical nutmeg/dried fruit/yeasty taste, they all taste alike. Some sweeter, some a bit drier, some dark, some light, but same ballpark.

I'd like to see more distinctive beers from Belgian brewing today.

Gary

I'm sure someone else could just as easily say the same of ordinary bitter.

Lukie · Post by **Lukie** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:22 pm

JerCraigs wrote:
liamt07 wrote:This beer is fantastic. While no Cuvee du Keizer Blauw, this is up there in the style.
I think it is better personally, the two bottles of the Blauw I got from the LCBO were both MUCH sweeter than the Rocs. Both were very nice, but I find the AdR much more drinkable.

Ditto for me. Blauw was too much of a malt bomb to stomach at times. It would be a pretty tough choice between Grand Cru and Carolus Classic, which I was really fond of.

jrenihan · Post by **jrenihan** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:39 pm

Lukie wrote:
JerCraigs wrote:
liamt07 wrote:This beer is fantastic. While no Cuvee du Keizer Blauw, this is up there in the style.
I think it is better personally, the two bottles of the Blauw I got from the LCBO were both MUCH sweeter than the Rocs. Both were very nice, but I find the AdR much more drinkable.
Ditto for me. Blauw was too much of a malt bomb to stomach at times. It would be a pretty tough choice between Grand Cru and Carolus Classic, which I was really fond of.

I wonder if the Blauw will lose any sweetness with time? I have only had one of the bottles that were in the LCBO (saved some more), and found it very good but incredibly sweet. A bottle I had previously, which was a bit older, was better and, though certainly still a sweet beer, not quite so intense. Not sure if that was a result of aging or different batches.
Ren

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:45 am

On the point of ordinary bitter, not sure what that equates to in Ontario or Canada. I would agree American Pale Ale, the style, does exhibit a lot of uniformity, perhaps as much as the characteristic (but not invariable) Belgian "taste" which derives I believe from particular yeast types. Of course some Belgian ales depart from the profile, lambics and that type, many Saisons, Orval, and others. Still, it seems to mark much of the Trappist and Abbey range as well as a broad range of the stronger ales in general.

For those who like the taste, I imagine the diversity comes from differences in colour, body, strength, hop characteristics.

Gary

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:54 pm

I like both of these beers, they simply need to be enjoyed when a forward, enrobing malt sweetness (with figgy nuances of dark fruit and subtle complex spice) are just the thing at the moment. ADR GC at Only Cafe has been a pleasure so many times for me whenever the Rochefort 10 ran out! Blessing in disguise.

What a whopping line-up of beers we (GTA'ers) have in LC stores right now.