Feature Beer Friday! - Green Flash Grand Cru

Picture from my old review!

And we're back with the second Green Flash brew to make an appearance on Feature Beer Friday!  We reviewed the West Coast IPA not too long ago to generally high marks, and this time it's the Grand Cru, their take on a Belgian Dark Strong Ale... basically the same style as a Belgian Quad. I've actually reviewed this one once before, an earlier version well over 2 years ago... it'll be interesting to see how my thoughts then compare to my thoughts this time around. 

Their take on the beer: "Our Belgian-style Dark Ale is inspired by traditional Abbey Ales to deliver the richest malt flavors. Dual-yeast fermentation and spicy hops provide increased complexity and depth of flavor to satiate your palate and keep your taste buds dancing."  That sounds good to me!  Belgian strong ales have long been some of my favorite beers, so I'm excited to try this one for sure. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Dustin Davis, and Mandi Kaelberer.

Serving: 12 oz. brown bottle.

Appearance: Dark red bordering on brown with an off-white head.

Aroma: Fruity, rich, a little spice to it.  Dustin thought it smelled strong, and it clocks in at 9.1%, so he's not wrong at all. 

Taste: It has a really nice malt/fruit combination on the palate, but also some spicy hop notes.  

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, a little bitter, nice body.

Overall: I really enjoyed this one, a nice slightly hoppy take on a Belgian style.  Very well done, I think I like it more now than I did two years ago.


Overall Rating: 83
My Rating: 86

Review: Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Grand Cru

I mentioned a week or so ago that the Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale was available at Bet-R for relatively cheap.  Sure, I did that mostly to try out some mobile blogging, but today it was finally time to break it out and give it a try.  I was excited for this one after really enjoying a previous 30th Anniversary brew... the Imperial Stout.

I poured it into a Chimay goblet... it's darker than expected from a "Grand Cru" with a deep red hue and creamy tan head with great retention.  The smell is hoppier than expected, but I guess I should know better for a Sierra Nevada offering! The hops come on strong but there are some dark fruits in there as well.

The taste is more Belgian... it's still hoppy like the aroma but the spices come through better and compliment the hops very well. There are still slightly bitter hints of dark fruits in there as well.  It's not a terribly complex beer, but I think it feels great on the mouth. Highly carbonated, a good enough blend of flavors to really get all the taste buds going, and just a slightly bitter hoppy aftertaste. The high ABV is hard to pick up as well.

A very good beer... these 30th Anniversary Ales have not disappointed. If I see any more around I'll have to pick some up!

Blue Moon Grand Cru

Found this one at the Bet-R store a while back... I was surprised to see it, and it didn't have a price on it (must have just been put out) and they rang it up for $4.29. After seeing some pricing info and such apparently I got a steal, should have bought more!  This will be the first BMC (that's Bud/Miller/Coors) product I've talked about individually on here, but in general I think Blue Moon does a pretty good job with their beer.  They are what they are, a cheap American belgian-style wheat ale... not great, not bad, very drinkable beer and something different than the macro lagers.  So, time to give this Blue Moon specialty a try.

I poured it into an imperial pint glass, hazy orange-melon color with a frothy white head... good retention and lacing. So far so good!

Smell is a bit muted, but there is definite wheat in there, as well as hints of spice. Nothing stands out, though.  The taste is better than the smell, the spices really come out, bitter hops on the end after the coriander and orange rind. I'll be honest, I'm impressed by the taste of this one, and it really has a good mouthfeel.

I'll admit I was skeptical, but I'm really glad I picked this one up. I'm by no means going to rush out and buy a case, and it's not the best witbier I've ever tried, but not bad. Not bad at all.

Taste: B+

Value: A (at the price I got it... probably more like a B or C+ at correct pricing...)

Wheat Beer