Grand Cru (2018)
Barrel of Monks Brewing

750 ml bottle from Tavour. Bright golden pour with some orange hues, small bubbly head fades quickly. Aroma and taste come on like a tripel, big buttery, sweet notes. I'd have guessed a tripel for sure, but there's that huge alcohol presence. Slick and smooth. Apples and peaches, belgian yeast. I can not say enough good things about this beer.

Large bottle

Pours slightly hazy amber brown. Yellowish head is fluffy and dissipates to a lacing.

Aroma is of of sweet bready malts, candi sugar, and yeasty esters.

Flavor is of biscuit, toffee, caramel, apple butter, candi sugar, graham crackers, and wine grape.

Full body, warms going down. Tingly carbonation.

Really good, rich beer. Drinks easy and smooth despite it's heaviness. Very enjoyable and I hope to have it again.

Great to see a New World brewery willing to put in the time and effort to create a great rendition of a classic Belgian style that has been around for hundreds of years. Kudos to Barrel of Monks for a brew that stands up to the best of the style, yet has a unique flair of its own. A must share due to taste/flavor and abv @ 14%. Thank you BOM.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium golden amber with a thin, fizzy white head that dissipates to patches with slight lacing. Aroma of candi and lightly caramel malt, lemon and light stone fruit, pear, light vanilla. Flavor is caramel malt, lemon, orange, apricot, pear, mango; coriander and clove develop into the finish which tastes almost hopped. Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation and peppery, active carbonation. A great, fruity and authentic tasting Belgian pale ale, with a rich variety of fruit flavors that are almost syrupy. The finish is bitter, not sure whether it's from hops or Belgian ale spicing, but the base ale is more than ready to support it, adding an interesting twist to the style. Right on the edge of hot, but still dangerously sippable at 14%. Amazingly well carbonated despite the fast fading head. This is a fine domestic Belgian and fully worthy of the Grand Cru name. I'd like to see other ales from this brewery.