Awesome. Pouring a rich toffee and molasses brown, this beer also has ruby and orange hints that emerge when held up to the light, even with the slight cloudiness from the yeast. The head is ivory, and slightly profuse, with a rich, lightly sweet malty nose mixed with dark fruit—raisins and possibly prunes—backed up by molasses and soft banana esters. Flavors open with bready malt coupled with wheat flavor, chewy melanoidins, and low levels of spicy clove phenol; the middle has banana yeast esters and some richer molasses sweetness that shifts into a more candy-like sweetness combined with a wheaty nuttiness in the finish. The finish also contains a small amount of hop bitterness that helps balance the light alcohol flavor, both lingering lightly on the palate to help the beer end clean, although with some residual flavors. The mouthfeel is creamy and a bit chewy, with a alcohol warmth at the back of the throat, and the carbonation is bright but does not limit the rich maltiness of the beer (although combined with the alcohol and bitterness does help dry out the beer on the palate). A good beer, but one I know less about as a whole, so I am less able to place it. The beer has good flavor; the alcohol warmth is slightly high, bordering on providing a bit too much heat. But the malt complexity and depth works well in the beer, and provides a solid 
body. Aging this beer could allow the flavors and alcohol to better marry, helping limit the warmth at the end while also allowing some of the fruit flavors to further develop across the middle.You can’t hide that Grand Cru from me!
(9/2/2010)
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