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Stone growler as displayed
in my kitchen |
Grand Cru is a perennial favorite at
Town Hall and GABF medal winning brew. It is also one of our favorites, especially my wife's. I've had this in every form, including the briefly used Stone growlers for those Town Hall patrons who remember that experiment. Over the years, we've loved and liked this beer, mostly loving it in earlier years and liking it now. We are unsure if our tastes have changed over the years or if the beer has changed. One possible explanation for the difference in perception is that is we tended to drink Grand Cru on the opening night that it was tapped when we first fell in love with the beer, and now we get it when we see it: too many variables and not enough background information to make a conclusion. At any rate, I'm still a fan boy and like or love this beer a lot, depending on the particular version of it that is in front of me at the moment.
Took home a growler of this 9.4% Belgian ale. Dirty white head is a tough pour and almost evaporates. Draft on Saturday fell less quickly, but dissipated just the same. Fusel alcohols apparent in the nose with a spicy hotness along with strong caramel, toffee and burnt malt. Swirl the beer and full legs appear along the edge of the glass and betray the high alcohol. Sticky sweet, full mouthfeel with caramel malt and a yeast and alcohol spiciness. This beer warms up nicely and really opens up, so take some time and enjoy. Otherwise, the flavors are muted and the full potential will be missed.
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