Val-Dieu Grand Cru - Brasserie de l'Abbaye du Val-Dieu

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Deep violet, opaque, nearly black, almosr, under a fine sheath of creamy froth...I like the look, so far...

Aroma: lovely, and uplifting, sweet and delightful...yeasty, brady, some delicate fruit...some dark malt notes, too, some black pepper, licorice, cola....

Taste: mmmm-MMM!!!Espresso whispers, cola hushes, dark fruits and anise, black pepper peeps in, black and chocolate malt, and delicious Belgian malt and yeast. Mmm, darkness and spice aplenty! Yu-um! That's what makes this special, this particular sparkling spiciness....a bit rough in the texture, burrs against the buds to much, methinks...but then this unique and wondrous flavor creeps in ...too much...

Wonderful beer...wish I had a caseful at hand...alas, and alack!

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2007 07:51:56 | More by feloniousmonk

lordofthewiens

Maine

4.4/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

We went to Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, ME for a party, and Chris had a metheuslah of this beer. Besides the impressive presentation, this is a very good beer. A brown color with a medium head that lingered well. Sweet, fruity aroma. A nice vanilla taste, with the dark fruit and Belgian yeast present also. Lovely beer, very smooth. Didn't know it was 10.5% ABV until I was admiring the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2007 21:33:07 | More by lordofthewiens

csteeves

Florida

4.65/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a goblet..
Nice dark color, nearly black, with a great aroma, slightly fruity, slightly malty, slight alcohol aroma but did not overpower the aroma...

the taste was the best part for me, which is, of course, very important...could taste the fruitiness, malt and hops, and could taste that the alcohol was there, but again, not overpowering...very easy to drink

for a beer that is 10.5% alcohol, this is very smooth, and i definitely put it right up with the other quadrupels i have tried, 3 philosophers and st. bernardus...great beer, pick it up if you ever find it..

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2007 17:34:51 | More by csteeves

phisig137

Virginia

4.28/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The cork tells me 09/08... I can only assume that this is a best by sept. 2008 dating. Pours a fairly dark black color, with ruby brown highlights around the edges. 1 1/2 finger bone white head has great retention, and falls into a creamy blanket on top of the glass, leaving behind abundant thick lacing.

Aroma is quite nice. Malty sweetness, caramel, and yeasty esters. Quite a bit of complex sugar as well as dark fruit aromas, a touch of cloves, and also a distinct smell of cooked sweet yellow corn. But not in an adjunct way at all. Perhaps the corn aroma is left over from the massive amounts of candi sugar that are present in the...

Flavor: mildly sweet up front, with complex malts. Slight toasted grain character, with good dark caramel sweetness. Nice raisony, plum and fig like fruit profile from the yeast. I don't notice much in the way of spice, but at the same time I feel that there is something extra in there. Again, a huge amount of candi sugar is present... mostly the dark candi sugar I would guess. Finished slightly sweet and lingers. Mouthfeel is heavy and full. Drinkability is quite good.

Wow, this is one of the better quad's/noel's that I've had in some time. Great flavor, well balanced, and enjoyable from first sip to the bottom of the bottle. I'll probably pick up another few bottles to lay down for a few years. I think that this will age very very well. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2006 03:04:54 | More by phisig137