St. Stefanus Grand Cru
Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.

St. Stefanus Grand CruSt. Stefanus Grand Cru
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From:
Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.
 
Belgium
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
Ranked #148
ABV:
9%
Score:
84
Ranked #21,990
Avg:
3.72 | pDev: 13.17%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
56
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 08, 2022
Added:
Nov 23, 2012
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  17
No description / notes.
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Ratings by KJ2013:
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Rated by KJ2013 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.5%

Oct 04, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.52/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
330 ml stubby bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 9%. Golden colour, huge and lasting white head. Very nice initial fruity and spicy aroma, loses some of its impact after a couple minutes in the glass. The flavour is sweet and spicy with noticeable hops, but the alcohol is not too well hidden. Could have been better, could have been worse.
Jul 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.12 by arzt from Germany

Feb 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by teamwiggum from Wisconsin

Apr 03, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by kjkinsey from Texas

Mar 23, 2019
 
Rated: 3.4 by deereless from Colorado

Aug 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by Coel from Pennsylvania

May 01, 2017
Photo of Bruno74200
Reviewed by Bruno74200 from France

3.93/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2015 vintage.
Not bad at all. A lot of honey. Some herbal presence. Fruity with pineapple mostly. Good mouthfeel. Seems like it's oak aged. Not bad stuff at all. A bit sweet but quite balanced.
Feb 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.92 by Eman17 from Illinois

Aug 29, 2016
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
BOTTLE: Purchased at a Monoprix in Nice. 75cl. Best before: 23/02/18. Lotto: 2310. Green foil-ed over hood-and-wire cap over a cork. Brown glass.

Regrettably brief notes below given a less-than-ideal review environment:

9% ABV.

Serve cold into a dimpled mug.

HEAD: ~5cm off-white head. Somewhat thin. Retention is above average - ~4-5 minutes. Leaves no lacing as it recedes. Fluffy.

BODY: Translucent transparent pale copper. No yeast/lees/sediment is visible within.

Standard appearance for the style, with no unique or special characteristics.

AROMA: Lemon. Wheat. Soft floral hop notes. Clean barley.

Aromatic intensity is quite mild/light.

TASTE: Clean barley. Wheat. Mild floral hop character. Noticeable alcohol warmth.

Not the most balanced or complex beer in the style that I've tried, but somewhat pleasant - though I do wish it weren't so boozy. Poor depth of flavour. Average flavour duration and intensity.

Not a gestalt whole of a beer.

TEXTURE: Crisply overcarbonated - even bitingly so. Smooth, wet, medium-bodied. Sharp.

There's no harmony of texture and taste here. They really need to tone down that carbonation.

OVERALL: Not the stellar brew I've come to hop for from the brewery behind my favourite Tripel, but drinkable for its high ABV and certainly enjoyable. I'm glad this is available in supermarkets across France, but it's far from a great Belgian ale and I wouldn't purchase it again. It'll get you drunk...

High C / AVERAGE
Apr 20, 2016
 
Rated: 4.03 by nbal4396 from Illinois

Jan 07, 2016
Photo of Dikfour
Reviewed by Dikfour from Colorado

3.31/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
L: Orange tan in color. Plethora of thick billowing head slowly dissipates. Lively carbonation.

S: Booze. Some wheat and flowery esters though light.

T: floral, sweet, a little boozey. Even a little oak. Pretty approachable entry level Belgian Strong.

F: A little light of perfect. Great bubbles. Alcohol dances on the gums. Near perfect body.

O: An excellent first Belgian Strong. Hits most of the tent poles and doesn't dissapoint. Pretty average all around. Would recommend to people looking to get into beer.
Dec 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by funkel81 from Colorado

Nov 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.93 by dcmchew from Romania

Nov 05, 2015
 
Rated: 4.1 by herman77 from Minnesota

Oct 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.74 by tdm168 from Pennsylvania

Oct 02, 2015
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.04/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
the grand cru i think is superior to the other one, i really liked this. its fuller and richer, a little less sweet after the middle, and carbonated beautifully. it has elements of a belgian pale, and elements of a tripel. i was surprised by its pale color, i have come to expect belgian strong darks as grand cru beers. hazy and heady, smells floral and brightly belgian in its yeast complexion. herbal and sweet on the first sip, the yeast is awesome. i think time has done this well, its not as sweet as expected, and actually drinks a little easier than it should for how strong it is, with the booze all masked by the grain layers and interesting spicy yeast. maybe not the most dynamic beer in the world, but its soft and approachable, and feels like a regal drinking experience all the way. it was an awesome companion to some soy marinated grilled elk steaks, and i suspect its quite versatile with other foods as well. not sure why these beers dont get a little more attention from the beer geeks, but i suppose thats all belgian beer that isnt lambic these days. oh well, more for me...

edit: this ages really nicely. just had a 2013 vintage bottle and it was outstanding. like a drier tripel, the yeast has done a great job cleaning it up, there isnt a trace of the alcohol, and it was even refreshing for a beer of this strength. very underappreciated out there...

edit: just cracked another 2013 (almost 4 years old now) and its even better still with a beautiful fruity yeast complexion and approaching actually being dry in the finish. if you tried this awhile back or when it was fresh, try it with a few years on it. what a beauty this is now!
Aug 24, 2015
Photo of davebarnes
Reviewed by davebarnes from Colorado

4.24/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I loved it.
February 2013 release drunk in July 2015.
Best Coors beer ever.
Went very well with pretzels and Cheezits™.
Sat on my front patio and really enjoyed it.

Aroma - rich, yeasty
Color - yellow brown cloudy
Mouth feel - rolls around nicely
Taste - some sweetness, some tartness (sour)
Jul 27, 2015
Photo of WillieThreebiers
Reviewed by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

3.84/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured a hazy golden orange with a thick creamy 2 finger head that lasted. Aroma of stone fruit and yeast. Taste of plum, maybe strawberry... very complex and interesting.
Jul 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by WiggyKGB from Illinois

Jul 06, 2015
St. Stefanus Grand Cru from Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 56 ratings