AleSmith Grand Cru

Grand Cru
AleSmith Brewing Company
San Diego, California
10.00% ABV
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale


C: Cloudy
H: Amber
N: Booze Heavy, Malt Strong, and lots of Yeast Odors

Miguel: This one is a gift that Kirk Diggler gave me for my birthday last month.  And as we opened it up we got some more knowledge dropped on us by Fresh Beer Webguy about the meaning behind the name Grand Cru.  That guy isn't a certified Cicerone for nothing.  This particular Grand Cru is of the Belgian Strong Dark persuasion.  A malty nose with hints of caramel in it and an obvious Belgian yeast character.  The taste is a lot of the same with some dark fruit added in.  There is a booziness about it that becomes even more so when it warms up.  While I think this is a solid beer I wouldn't say this is AleSmith's best effort.  They have numerous others that I believe are much more worthy of a name like Grand Cru.

Score: 3.7224

The Ferm: Holy Booze Batman.....this beer is HOTTTT! Tons of yeast in the attack followed by a large amount of dark fruit. But wait....the BOOZE comes back the tail-end of the taste is covered in Booze Burn. Very good beer even though it is hot. I could see this aging extremely well. Overall not my favorite AleSmith beer, but good!
Score: 3.802

Overall: 3.7612

The Bruery 3 French Hens

3 French Hens
The Bruery
Placentia, California
10.00% ABV
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

C: Murky
H: Brown
N: Dark malts, a bit of ... oak maybe? Shit ton of spices and bready yeastiness. A hint of fruit to the nose. Raisins or Plums are my guess

The Ferm: Ahh it's that time of the year again; the weather is cooling down, the days seem shorter, and those horrific October Beers are coming off the shelf. GOOOODBYE Shitty Beer and HELLOOOOO WINTER BEERS! Last year I dreaded this season which is filled with stouts, porters, and heavy malt based beers. Ohh how the palate can change in a year!
I figured 3 French Hens is a great way to kick off this season. Since after all it is the 3rd day of Christmas and all. This is the seasonal release from the Bruery, which as you can tell is named after the song 12 Days of Christmas.
3 French Hens poured a cloudy brown color making me re-think that excitement of winter beers. The nose is chalk full of Belgium Yeast, Fruit, and Bread Qualities. There may be some Oak floating around in there too. The taste...well it was pretty good. I will say that I liked this beer off first try more than 2 Turtle Doves, but when I revisited 2 Turtle Doves I was in love. The body is very thick, and the French Oak comes across ever so slightly in the taste. The rest of the flavors are just a cluster of bread, dark fruit, brown sugar, and molasses (but they work well together).
WELCOME BACK WINTER BEERS!
Score: 3.40