Grand Cru
Brasserie Castelain

Grand CruGrand Cru
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From:
Brasserie Castelain
 
France
Style:
Bière de Garde
Ranked #49
ABV:
7.8%
Score:
85
Ranked #20,610
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 10.37%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
41
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 05, 2023
Added:
Sep 04, 2012
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  6
No description / notes.
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Ratings by rfgetz:
Photo of rfgetz
Reviewed by rfgetz from New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a light golden orange, faint haze, moderate head. Scent brings a bit of earthy soil, light musty grain, some honey like sweetness and a splash of dark pitted fruit. Taste a bit brighter with an added touch of citrus... earthy and grassy, lightly sweet, some fig, alcohol noted. Moderate bubblyness but smooth body, dry. Some decent qualities, but not unique enough for repeat visits.
Oct 22, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of MadMadMike
Reviewed by MadMadMike from France

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
75 cl black matte bottle poured into a taster’s snifter. This 2023 version clocks in at 8.5% ABV.
Many Bières de Garde (‘holding beers’) are wonderful examples of “hybrid” beer, quite like Germany’s Kölsch. In this case, the hybrid description refers to a beer being top fermented (like an ale) yet cool-aged for an extended period (like a lager). The result is a beer with great depth of flavor, smoothed out by time and low temperatures for 6-10 weeks. Earthy, grassy, citrusy, slightly sticky palate, with aromatic maltiness: long finish. A beer to go with food.
Grand Cru is a ramped up beer—the brewery’s strongest, in fact. Pours a deep, coppery straw color and wears a nice dressing of creamy, off white foam. On the nose, a delicately floral aroma. It’s lightly honeyed, with a faint note of gingerbread dough. Also, it’s distinctly nutty—interpreted as almonds, perhaps chestnuts (sweeter nuts). Not surprisingly then, there’s also a prominent Marzipan note—further showcasing the nutty sweetness of the locally sourced Pas de Calais malt.
As it warms, a prominent grassiness develops atop an earthy backdrop.
This smells like quite a big, rich beer. On the palate, we got a complex blend of moderate sweetness and balancing bitterness, with minor acidity. A muted funkiness of a farmhouse lilt keeps it rustic within the larger context of balance. Got notes of orange zest, with the nutty sweetness from the aroma breaking late and holding on into the finish. The bitterness is moderate, yet contributes toward a lengthy finish.
Overall, this well-carbonated beer showcases a profound balance of malt and hop—truly classic old world beer. But perhaps most notable is the lager-like cleanliness—a result of the ale yeast being fermented at low temperatures, then cool-conditioned. For a beer of this caliber and complexity, the refreshing nature is not only impressive, it’s downright dangerous.
Great with stinky cheese.,.,
Nov 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3.1 by JOBEERFB from Belgium

Apr 28, 2019
 
Rated: 3.99 by Cpmitchno1 from Virginia

Mar 14, 2019
Photo of Piercan
Reviewed by Piercan from Wisconsin

3.74/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2018: Pale Ale (fermentation haute) 8.5% ABV - usually described as the Belgian style known as ''bière de garde'', and more generally, just 'bière de dégustation'.
Pours a clear, deep gold color, with an abundant, creamy top.
Complex, herbal nose.
Full body, with strong barley malt flavors. Subdued sweetness, soon overcome by somewhat bitter, hoppy-mixed-with liquorice aftertaste.
My conclusion: a pleasant experience, a very interesting and enjoyable beer. But just once will do. Thank you.
My quest for the Graal must go on.
Dec 04, 2018
Photo of Impetuous
Reviewed by Impetuous from Montana

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A rather beautiful colour - hazy amber red with clumps of ? floating. Generous head disappears leaving good lacing.

Smell is rather like fresh fruit with wet dark soil. Meaning.... sweet and musty.

In flavor it's fruity and alcohol and fruit and some astringent flavors not unlike home made fruit wine. Complex ! Very complex but from a few disparate ingredients, not just dumping the kitchen sink in.

The castelan blonde by this brewery is more straightforward- showing off the excellent malt profile- but this... this is something!
Oct 12, 2016
Photo of thepenguin
Reviewed by thepenguin from Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Reviewed 10/12/12

L: Pours a gold-copper color with large head and very visible carbonation. Pretty serious lacing going on as well.

S: Spicy saison-like esters mingle with a nutty and caramel maltiness with subtle noble hops. Maybe best described as rustic.

T: Nutty and somewhat grainy, with caramel-like malty sweetness, but not in the cloying fashion of most biére de gardes I’ve tried. Some perceptible alcohol in the taste and probably a bit more (grassy) hops than most BDG’s. Fairly sweet finish.

F: Just above medium body with medium-high carbonation.

O: The good news: Best biére de garde I’ve had to date. The bad news: it still hasn't quite sold me on biére de gardes. Still, I wouldn’t mind having this again, but maybe next time I’ll pair it with food.
Nov 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4.32 by sporklift87 from Colorado

Jul 08, 2015
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

3.96/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass. Good give off the cork, minor twist and she pops out nicely with no effort and nothing crazy either. Date on bottle back Nov 30th 2013. Good Till? Bottled on? Not sure.

A creamy one finger off tan head is made, not much else on that except a simple sheened thin puck, slightly creamy but dissolves quite a bit. Body color is real interesting. Gotta love this style, such a varied animal. The body color is very translucent, deep shiny brass tangerine orange, just barely see through if slightly cloudy. Microfine carbonation on the sides in faint streams keep that head going. For a blonde biere de garde I'd figure yellow, but nope there you have it. Really love this shady and bright brass orange quality, unlike any color I've seen before. Lovely looking brew.

Aroma has a sense of sugary caramel, and lots of sticky taffy like notes. Nice mild dry floral sense, quite "airy" if I could say, almost like perfume but still quite subtle as the sugar notes dominate the brew. Doesn't seem to hint of farmhouse much but that's ok, it's certainly pleasant, and has a very distinct caramel flavor on the nose to it.

Palate really takes a nice change. Sweet caramel definitely is the flavor profile but finally other factors jump in the mid palate. A refreshing light body with a grassy dry quality hits all over. Mild earth tones finish, barely hinting a little at pepper, but come out more like dried herbs of thyme and mint with a real light finish. Breath mint quality aftertaste but very herbal and far less sweet than the bouquet indicates on the palate it seems from first go. Mouthfeel is surprisingly unexpected and light, but it works nicely. Easy light drinking herbality matches with a mild tea and toffee green earth flavor all over.

Fun neat beer. Not amazing, probably not everyones cup of tea either, but delicious and I love the light character and hinting dryness that takes much of the sweetness into some delicious herbal depth. Aged probably pretty lengthy, probably not fresh, but still quite delicious. And if it's still 2 years expired, still solid drinking.
Mar 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.32 by LakerLeith from California

Feb 25, 2015
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.24/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A light fruit nose with some traces of over ripeness with light malt aromas. It pours brilliant amber under a 2” rapidly dissipating foam cap that leaves intricate lace. A faint cola note seasons a fruity palate with touches of over ripeness joining light malt flavors. A hint of wet cardboard approaching leather suggest some age but it is not offensive. Crisp, slightly above average carbonation and a slightly above medium body to a touch more help make a refreshing, drinkable beer.
Jan 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by spycow from Illinois

Nov 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Hellpop65 from Kansas

Sep 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by frlrv1020 from Florida

Jun 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Keith_R from Georgia

May 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by RBorsato from Virginia

Mar 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Danny1217 from Florida

Dec 18, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by ChestSplitter from Mississippi

Nov 17, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by ste5venla from California

Nov 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by mendvicdog from Maryland

Sep 10, 2013
Grand Cru from Brasserie Castelain
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 41 ratings