Zottegemse Grand Cru
Brouwerij Crombé

A turbid, orange, brown beer with a thin head.

Smell is malty with flowery and spicy notes of coriander. The Belgian yeast lends some phenols and doughy whiffs. The beer smells like Chouffe.

Taste is light malty with some caramel notes, a candi sugar taste and a flowery, spicy ending. The spices appear to be coriander and some orange zest, the latter being moderately present. Carbonation is a little too much and sort of explodes in my mouth, although that is also not entirely true. Bitterness is low.
When the beer warms, it gets a wort-like syrupy sweet mnouthfeel. Carbonation is almost gone now, and the beer starts to reveil it's true nature. It is a spiced, sweet, moderately bitter beer with some alcohol warming. I like it. This is the essence of Belgian beer.

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Perhaps beyond dark amber it's a golden brown, pours with minor haze and a good looking 2cm off-white creamy head.
S- Somewhat perfumed with almost light floral notes.
T- I see the floral notes carry over here. Quite meaty malts and equally robust (though non-aggressive) trad hops balance into the finish. Perhaps worth noting that this does not have the Belgian ester (fruit) notes you can find in their beers around this ABV%; it's less complex, more of a full-on trad ale.
F- Like a pretty full-on trad ale ;) Robust, one for slow-sipping, nothing to offend.
O- It's a nice beer, good balance incl between pungent yet refined. That said it also hasn't a huge amount of unique character, which reads over into reason to buy again...
#1850. Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed!
500ml bottle BB: 05/08/2021 Euro2.60 Bought from BeerMania/Belgium as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.

 

 

 

This beer was bought by me last week at Dranken Geers in Gent. Great beershop!

Poured in my Struise glass this beer looks good, darkyellow fluid with a decent head. Little carbonation.

The smell is a bit bready, not bsd. Taste however is better. Nice and soft mouthfeel, a bit sweetness. This is an inviting beer with potential.

Ordered a bottle of this beer at In de Wildeman in Amsterdam, not having heard about it before. The label has very little information and looks a bit like the quality of homebrew labels I've made. Pours a big, sticky head and is light copper in color. Obviously very carbonated. The aroma is of light corn and white bread. Hops smell enjoyable, but not really a lot to talk about. Smells something like a 'double pilsner.'

Starts sweet but balances quickly. Light earthy and floral tastes emerge. Not many specific flavors come out and a slight bit hot. Sticky in the mouth and foamy going down the throat. Just an OK beer that lacks any depth.

Presentation: Sampled at ‘t Ostens Bierhuus on Sunday 27th March, 2005. After a long discussion with the owner, fellow Brit ‘Sir’ Tim Smith, involving many related stories of the good-bad old days of British Rail (for whom he once worked), he pulled out this brew for t nightcap, one which I was led to believe had disappeared.

The bottle had a light blue label with a yellow border. Lots of historical pictures from oval framed pictures of famous people and coats of arms, all lend a very aged feel to this brew. Listed on the label as “Brouwerij Crombé” but we all know that these lovely chaps have not had liquid in their mash tuns since 1999. Currently brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe to the “original’ recipe. Listed at 8.4%.

Appearance: Turbid and murky looking copper-amber body, large white random looking head sits well in the tall fluted glass. Nice levels of finely dissolved carbonation. Looks pretty good actually, even though it’s cloudy!

Nose: Spicy yeasts in the nose with a black pepper tinge. Malty with some caramel and soft toffee odors. Smells OK but a little contrived.

Taste: Honey soaked malts with Devon toffee and a delicate caramel finish. Sweet in the start and finish with a spicy black pepper middle. Rather cobbled, it lacks a coherent feel. Bitter finish, but not in a good way.

Mouthfeel: Chewy feel with some toffee character. Lingers well but it can feel a little thin in the long run. Carbonation supports the feel but it nonetheless feels

Drinkability: Below average, not a bad brew, but somehow I was very disappointed, yet I have to off-set my disappointment against my expectations and compare them to the beer itself, which is difficult when you have had a brew like this created at its natural home and then re-invented or re-created. Hard not be biased. But not very appealing.

Overall: Aaaaahh, sadly this beer failed to inspire me, or even help me reminisce of the once great ‘Zottegemse Grand Cru’ that I tried in 1995 at the Brewery Café, appropriately called the Brouwershuis, right next door to the Brewery. I was **extremely** fortunate to visit Brouwerij Crombé not once, but twice, during my earlier Easter trips to Belgium between 1994 and 1997. It ceased brewing in 1999, a very sad loss indeed. I sampled the original Oud Zottegems Hergist, Egmont Tripel, Zottegemse Grand Cru and the simply stunning & awesome Oud Kriekenbier at the little Brown Café next on the right hand side of the Brewery entrance, the Café that time forgot run by a gray haired old lady who had run the Café for half a century allegedly, she must have been in her 70’s when we first visited. I wonder if the Café is still there!?

Enough of this starry eyed crap…… bottom lime…..is the “new” Zottegemse Grand Cru brewed at Brouwerij Strubbe any good, or even remotely like the original??…….putting my rose-tinted glasses to one side, and remaining totally un-emotional about the historical links……I think not.

This is just an average brew that bears the name of a once great one. Sadly.

Brought back this 33 cl bottle from Amsterdam. It looks like the cap might say "04-08," but it's a bit hard to read.

Pours a pretty, bright orange color, with a thick, white, foamy head. Nice carbonation. The smell is yeasty, wheat-y, and almost veggie-like. Strange, and not expected from a Belgian Pale Ale

Initially, the taste is slightly yeasty, spicy and ... for lack of a better word, powdery. The alcohol is rather obvious, and at first the beer finishes with a warming, tart citrus flavor. As the beer warms, that tartness gets stronger, and the beer acquired an almost lambic-like quality (the typical leathery, moldy cheese, acidic and even salty flavors).

Strange. Was kinda interesting, but didn't balance well together and ended up somewhat disappointing.