Why we picked it: Recommended by Tommy D.
About Flying Fish's Grand Cru Winter Reserve: This Belgian-style strong golden ale showcases a variety of the ingredients and brewing methods that help differentiate Flying Fish beers. The Grand Cru is fermented at a higher temperature than our other beers adding an undercurrent of fruitiness and clove (although there is no fruit or spice in the beer). Very lightly filtered, the Grand Cru exhibits complex mouthfeel, strong malt flavors, a spicy hop presence and a soothing alcohol warmth, followed by a clean, dry finish. It is excellent with food as well as served by itself.
Beer Advocate Score: 83 pts.
Malts: Two-Row Pale, Cara-8, White Wheat, Demerera Sugar, Acidulated
Hops: Styrian Golding, Columbus
Yeast: Belgian Abbey Style
Original Gravity: 15.7 plato
ABV: 6.9%
IBU's: 10.4
Formats: 12 oz. bottles,1/2 kegs, 1/6 kegs, cask-conditioned
Availability: November 1 to February 1
Food pairings: Richer dishes, meats, cheeses, stews, smoked foods. As an after-dinner drink.
Case Cost: $32
*website: http://flyingfish.com/beers/seasonals.html
Better once it sat in the glass for awhile. The first few sips were meh but half way through I thought...this isn't too bad. I would have another but wouldn't run out for a 6 pack.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with April; first sip tasted like fish pee. But it got better as the night went along. kinda like when you are a bar. The women look ok when you first arrive but as the night goes along they get better looking and at closing time they all look great. But nothing changed except the beer googles. This phenomenon describes this beer.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this many blonde Belgians since I spent a week at a German brothel during the 2006 World Cup. No seriously, this beer had more head than Harvard's all male glee club.
ReplyDeleteI'm out. Nothing remarkable to say. Decent beer. Liked the label.
I've never heard of this brewery and have no idea what to expect. Looks good and smells good though. I'm a couple sips in and it's unimpressive. Slightly confused as to why this is a winter beer. I think I would rather have this as a summer beer. Half way through this and still nothing special going on. I'll drink it, but I'm not enjoying it. Completely average and forgettable. Grade 6.5 of 10, C-
ReplyDeleteNice taste, nice color but won't make the 'nice' list.
ReplyDeleteGood pick, Tom! I do not like the label or the name but I'm enjoying the color and taste. Dave, I had no trouble pouring this without head, I guess you haven't perfected the perfect pour yet.
ReplyDeleteMark, DJ, BMoore, Johnny Ringo, Shiney, Kyle: get your act together and start posting comments!
ehhhhhh. This was a good beer and I enjoyed it, but there wasn't anything that stood out to me. I drank it out of the bottle, so never saw the color but after reading the description on the bottle, I imagine it was blonde. Overall, I would drink more if it was offered to me to be but I wouldn't go out of my way to pick this up. B-
ReplyDeleteI didn't dislike this beer, but it just didn't do anything for me. I tried to think about why I didn't like it and for some reason I can't come up with anything except that it was just unremarkable. Clearly a Belgian style beer, but not interesting to me at all. The check-in was good for 2 badges on Untappd, so there you go!
ReplyDeleteThis is much like my previous experiences with Flying Fish: satisfying, but nothing to make me want more. Note: I'm currently drinking an awesome earl gray cask IPA... so the fish may pale in comparison. Grade: 6.5/10.
ReplyDeleteWait a sec....an earl gray cask? As in Earl Gray tea?!? Please do explain. That sound interesting.
DeleteThe Grand Place. The Mannekin Pis. Waterloo. Fries and mayo, waffles, chocolate, and a very few amazing restaurants hidden in a circuitous maze of ancient streets and mediocre tourist traps. Eden Hazard. Vincent Kompany. Belgium is known for great stuff (and not so great stuff, like the traffic and bureaucrats of Brussels). But above all, we know Belgium for its beer - a higher number of beer labels and offerings per capita than any other nation.
ReplyDeleteThis is a Belgian ale like many you might drink in - wait for it - Belgium. I've been to Brussels many times for work, and this beer reminds me of the countless beers I've had there. It isn't better or worse than most, and it's certainly a very pleasant representation of that kind of beer - so kudos to Flying Fish for hitting their mark, though they didn't exceed it by much.
If you like Belgian ales, you will probably enjoy this one, but you'd probably like a few others a bit more. If you weren't familiar with the style, this would be a nice gateway drug. Of course, Pete M. thought it tasted like metallic crayons, which is somewhat worrying (unless you like eating metallic crayons). So it ain't for everyone...
If you haven't been before and like fish and chips... check out Bia Mara in the city center. Great selection of fish, sauces and the price is good! Was the best simply meal I had there last winter.
DeleteNot bad. Not bad at all. Im somewhat of a belgian rookie but I guess this most reminds me of the Tripel style of beer. I drank this straight from the bottle and it was decent. Like Joe F I like my women darker just like my beer so im more of a dubbel or quadrupel guy but this hit the spot. Never heard of Flying Fish but will keep an eye out for any future offerings. B+
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the posts thus far...I am intrigued and very interested to try this one. It came very highly recommended especially at the price.
ReplyDeleteShe give decent head and is very pretty in the glass. Good nose and right on the money for the style. First sip...I like this beer. Great esthers and mouthfeel. Nice little booziness in this package as well. I think they nailed the style. It is by no means the best Abbey Golden I have ever had, but at 1/2 the price of the heavy hitters...it wins on value for the style. It has a slightly rough and rustic feel that I kinda like. Did i mention that it feels quite boozy?
I have no damn idea how this is a christmas beer...but I sure could get drunky on a few of these.
I would love to have a twelve pack in the fridge for a daily drinker.
So I'm a day behind and I know that Mad Elf, one of my favorite holiday ales is on tap for today (Friday). Given that, I did not give this much credence going in, but was pleasantly surprised. Nice flavor and good body. I would definitely drink this again.
ReplyDeleteLike the previous beer, I thought this was just okay. I enjoy Belgian beers, but wasn't blown away by this selection.
ReplyDeleteSo I saved this for tonight. Thursday would not have been good since I spent the afternoon drinking the contents of the Bluejacket Brewery. And I decided mixing this with Mad Elf was also horribly ill-advised. So I tried this right after the Merry Pranquster. So strange that this are both considered Belgian style golden ales since I didn't think they tasted anything alike. The Pranquster was just a bottle of yeast. I'm not exactly sure what this was. As others have said that first sip was quite a shock to the system. I have no idea what I was tasting. Something really sweet but yet bitter. I did let it rest in the pint glass for a while and it improved but still not something I would ever choose to drink again. Maybe combining the two would be a good beer. Or I could just have an Allagash or an Ommegang.
ReplyDeleteA good winter ale, I thought. Nothing to write home about, but enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of Flying Fish. I only found out they were from New Jersey recently, so that was an extra bonus. I do not think this one is as good as others I have tried but my other two experiences with Flying Fish have been awesome. I would recommend Octoberfish or Hopfish. Do not base your opinion of Flying Fish on this beer alone.
ReplyDeleteSo I had this right after I finished the Allagash Dubbel. It seemed to be almost the exact same beer. It didn't quite have the malty character as the the Allagash, but it was a remarkably seamless transition. I'll score it a B as well.
ReplyDelete