2011 Coming Home Holiday Ale
Grand Teton Brewing Co.

Yellow pour, 3/4" white head. All kinds of belgian spice rack going on in the aroma. Then dry hopped with dirt and band aids. Tastes the same way. Real boozy too. Completely unenjoyable.

750ml Bottle
Capped/Seal
Bottled On: 10/21?

Poured into a chalice a very nice cloudy dark golden yellow color, very nice carbonation, with a nice creamy one-finger white head, which leaves a nice medium size island, and some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, with some nice citrus notes, with a nice spice note. The taste is malty, yeasty, very nice citrus/spice note. Medium body. Overall, a very nice brew. Recommeded.

A: hazy gold under a sudsy white 1.5” foam collar, dissipates quickly but leaves good lacing.
S: Banana, spice, dried fruit.
T: Fruit, caramel, malt, banana, clove, white pepper, raisins.
F: Creamy, medium body, medium high carbonation.
O: An easy to drink holiday beer with big alcohol and big flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Tetons Coming Home 2011

Appearance: straw yellow, small head, and some good lacing.

Smell: apples, grain, and malts.

Taste: yeast, sugar sweetness, a bit of grainy malt, and some apple.

Mouthfeel: medium and a little rough.

Overall:
This is a decent brew. The aroma is nice, but the mouth feel is on the rougher side. The flavors aren't bad, but they aren't something to write home about.

This beer looks fantastic. It's a beautiful cloudy orange with a tight head. The smell is fruity and you can tell this one is going to have a kick. The 9% doesn't hide itself..

It tastes Belgiany sweet, and is more of a Tripel than a strong pale ale. It's spicy and the alcohol is very apparent. The aftertaste is very boozy. It's initial flavor is on par with some of the better Tripels I've had with some nice spicy esters, but the aftertaste is where this one loses some points. The best Tripels are able to mask their high ABV, but this one does not. It's not unpleasant, it's just not my favorite thing. Still, a fine taste, indeed.

The mouthfeel is great. It's smooth with mild carbonation. Almost soft on the palate. Big fan.

Great beer. Unexpected, and a great random purchase.

A: medium gold/yellow color, but very hazy. Pours with a decent white rocky head.

S: A decent amount of fruity esters, slightly spicy and a noticeable yeast character emit off the top. Slight perfumy hop aroma. No noticeable hot alcohol or diacetyl

T: Very heavy flavor forward with a sweat honey taste. The carbonation is held in check and doesn't add a lot of bitter flavor. It leaves you with a pear after-taste.

M: Carbonation is low-medium, body is medium-to-full. No noticeable alcohol warmth

O: I typically find Belgian's of this style with too much carbonation and as a result too bitter and not enjoyable, but this one pulls back the carbonation and lets you enjoy more of the nuances of the flavors that involved in this style.

 

 

 

Bottle pour into pint glass. Nice golden/yellow pour that is clean. A very generous 2+ finger white head that sticks around a bit. Smell is that of a Belgian/German ale. Nice hints of fruit, cloves, seasonal spices and a touch of booze. Taste is very nice and smooth. The fruits (grapefruit, mango, banana) hide the 9% quite well. Comes off a little like a tripel. Pretty complex and unique. Very refreshing. Feel was just okay. A bit too dry and thin. Comes off watery and weak. Overall- A pretty interesting beer. Like the taste and look. The fruits and dull hops make it very easy and somewhat sessionable for 9%. Smell and feel are a bit off, but it was a pretty good brew for a cold December evening. I would try the Holiday series again, price is a bit high too. Belgian style ale/tripel was quite nice and the spices/cloves were just right. Try one-

 

750 mL bottle pours a stunningly clear, light gold color with a moderate cap of white head. Not much for retention or lacing, but the clarity of this beer is truly amazing.

Nose has some mango and papaya fruitiness and a fair amount of alcohol. Light on the grains and hops are almost non-existent at this point. Smells like a good tripel.

If they were aiming for a good, fairly authentic tripel (which I think they were), this one hits close to the mark. A very nice, fruity yeast presence and a light grainy malt flavour. There may be some light spicing here, but Id be surprised if there was anything other than the yeast esters. Its still a little bit alcoholic and I disagree with the claim that it 'should age gracefully and can be cellared for a year or more'. Its already yeasty galore and the malts wont hold up over time. This is an interesting choice for a "Holiday Ale" but I find it to be a refreshing change of pace from the norm...leave it to Idaho of all places to make an innovative winter warmer. Not bad, glad I grabbed a couple of these last time I was in Kansas.

 

Yellow pour, soft white head, nice lace/retention. Blast, whoa, this is one of the most pungent smelling Belgian yeasts I've ever come across. Wow. Was just too much, I'm sure there's some enthusiasts that probably love how big this is, so if you're reading this, you might know that my '2' rating could be awesome if you just love the dirtiest funkiest smelling belgian band aid phenolic yeast dragged through a box of dryer sheets.

Ridiculous amount of coriander and other spice rack stuff. Man this taste, its just overpoweringly unenjoyable, like rubbing alcohol mixed with lots of sagebrush, coriander, thyme, etc. . .who knows there might be some softer flavors like flowers or bananas in here, everything else is just such a path of scorched earth policy, who knows what this has otherwise.

Just not an enjoyable beer for me.

Someone brought this to the March Madness tasting. Nobody claimed it though. It was like one of those bad farts that just wafted over to my part of the table.