Lips of Faith Super Cru headlines a Glenross scotch tasting

At the Daily Pint for a free Scotch tasting from Glenross and it's packed! But there's no better place to wait than a pub with Foosball and shuffleboard.

Tasting was interesting and we learned about the process of Scotch, which is similar to beer brewing in several respects. Afterward I ask for a new beer on tap from New Belgium Lips of Faith series, a Super Cru.

The Super Cru is a 10% Belgian Strong Pale Ale but the color is amber and more akin to a Belgian Abbey beer. This beer is unbalanced with an odd mix of sweetness and fruitiness that sweep through a boozy body. All this is probably a product of a Belgian and Saison yeast mix, and while I appreciate the effort, it didn't quite come together. ARMAGEDDON rating.

St. Sebastiaan Grand Cru is as smooth and easy as Van Morrison

Karl picked this gem up in Bruges because he'd never seen the Grand Cru from this Saint, and because he knew this ceramic bottle wouldn't break in his luggage. Smart man that Karl and an incredible friend for bringing 4 beers back from Belgium just for us. 

It's a pretty smooth and light for a 7.8% beer. It's crisp with a bit of that Belgian Blonde sharpness. Karl believes this to be pretty tasty and I agree. It's smooth and easy with an edge at times; this would be Van Morrison singing 'Jackie Wilson Said,' if it 'twas a song. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Small update, David insisted I open up a bomber of my Belgian Blonde for Karl to try, since the small bottle last night proved excellent. Unfortunately the bigger bottle hasn't carbonated yet. Still good but nearly as crisp. Will have to put this back on the shelf for a week. If St. Sebastiaan was incarnate, his royal monkness would tell us to be patient. Lesson learned.

Green Flash Brewing Grand Cru Steals Fire from the Gods

Green Flash Brewery I'm becoming impressed with. It's one of those very small breweries that I can't help but admire because they are Promethean. Their Double IPA is wild. Le Freak combines an Imperial IPA with a Belgian Tripel and tastes fantastic. They brew types which are out of the box and in doing so have won me over. I love a beer that's especially unique. Wednesday we tasted Grand Cru.

So um, where can I steal a Green Flash glass from?

It pours dark with limited head and has a rich chocolate and nutty aroma. It's a dark ale but made with Belgian and American yeasts, so it's sweet but less like caramel and more like ice cream. There is a strong presence of malt and the beer finishes quickly thanks to it's 9.1% alcohol content. It's fairly balanced and not too filling.

This is an HB Toss Pass (any NCAA football gamers out there?). You are sucked into this beer's standard dark ale aroma and appearance but as the HB (halfback) swings around the end he doesn't keep running. Oh damn. He falls back and heaves the ball downfield. The safety has bit on the running action and scrambles to recover but it's too late. Boom shaka laka, it's sweet and finishes quickly.

Grand Cru, you're a solid trick play and I plan on drinking you at THE ROCK.

Green Flash (AHahhhhh!) Grand Cru

I have never seen the "green flash" following a sunset, but I suppose it exists. I have also not seen "Flash" the superhero, though that stands to reason. This beer isn't as extraordinary as either of these things, but neither of them can get you sloshed, so maybe the Grand Cru isn't so bad after all.

I didn't expect the intensity of the darker malts in this, but they do well to balance the alcohol. There's a good deal of chocolate and a secondary coffee bean aftertaste, though neither are overwhelming. It's kind of like a strong brown. Carbonation is regular enough, though I prefer Grand Crus with a bit more similarity to Golden Strongs. I may find a reason to drink this again, maybe at the Green Flash Brewery near SD sometime soon?

This beer is Elizabeth Whatley. Loves chocolate, coffee, an occasional spot of alcohol and at certain times can definitely be regarded as Grand Cru. She's of mixed domestic and foreign origin, and for some people, entirely unpleasant in large doses.