Victory Grand Cru

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

May 15, 2003 bottle vintage, Sampled January 2005
Pours a hazy full copper color with light amber highlights. The head is a tan color and not as thick as I was expecting, but it is there. The aroma has aromatic notes of orange, apples, spices, coriander, plum, dusty wood, and a slight vegetal character that is not distracting.

The taste is sweet up front with a complex maltiness that has started to age and oxidize a bit. The oxidation has allowed the beer to pick up notes of cider, a hint of sherry, and a fruity mix of plums, raisins, and caramel. This beer has some spiciness as well, though it is fairly muted and almost to the subtle point, I get notes of clove, perhaps a hint of ginger, and some earthy coriander notes. The hops have died down considerably at this point, and are not particularly noticeable.

This beer is nice and smooth drinking. It is fairly tasty, and suprisingly reminds me of an early attempt by myself to make a "Grand Cru." I wonder if Victory used the Chimay yeast as well, it does have that flavor profile. This is a pretty good beer, but it just does not quite do it for me. It is well made, finely crafted, and does work as a Grand Cru, but I wish there was a bit more going on.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

01.23.05 750ml bottle 05/03 (replacement bottle from Victory for bad V10, thanks Bill!)
Pretty beer pours a glowing amber with ample apple juice colored head. I’ve had three of these now and really enjoyed each one. Aromas yield a fruitbowl of ripe treasures on the wane, fresh baked bread, spicey yeast. A delight, the beer is turning more vinous as it ages and the yeasty qualities begin to take over along with more rounded bready malts. The alcohol still plays a strong part, while the hops are fading and blending even moreso. Whatever, I dig it.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This is probably one of Victory's better attempts at Belgian styles. They rock with lagers and Americanized styles like IPA and Imperial Stout, but they've been a little weak on the Belgian side. Not bad, just not great. This is a dark brown with a good malt sweetness and nice yeasty fruit flavors. I keep picking up flashes of dried apricot. I wish I'd had more to drink to see if I could have picked up more.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Kind of surprised to see such love for this one. Pours an orange-ish brown brew with a pretty thick head. Slight spiciness in the nose with more of a malty floral hop presence. Medium bodied but my problem is with the flavor. Mild would be one way to describe it. Nothing is really jumping out. Not in a dominant way, just no assertiveness. Okay brew but nothing to go out of your way for.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Medium brown color. Small white head. Aroma is fruity, spicy and sweet. A medium to full bodied Belgian Strong Ale. Malts are nutty, fruity and sweet. There is also a definite Belgian funkiness to this one as well. Very smooth taste. Hides the 9% alcohol fairly well, its there but you donít care. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

Appearance: This brew is hazy burnt orange color with a quickly disappearing white head. Aroma: The nose is yeasty and spicy. It has a very pleasant aroma. Palate: The mouthfeel is surprisingly thin. The flavors are subduedl

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 8

This has a large white head and a dark orange body. The aroma is dirt with flowers, herbs and some honey ham. Very interesting. The taste was a buttery pancake syrup. It als had tangerines. This had plenty of carbonation and a sticky mouthfeel. Victory continues to keep makign solid beers in various styles. Thanks, MrFacto for sharing this.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

I can't believe I hadn't rated this one yet... Poured a light red color with a small white head. Strong fruity aroma, not sure which fruit, but certainly fruity. Taste was initially bitter hoppy, but became malty smooth on the way down. A different dubbel. Mild spicy/alcohol taste as the beer warmed. And yes, the cork was tough to remove!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Poured a medium amber. This beer did not live up to my expectations -- it is "simple" as the commercial description states -- a one-dimensional beer with only a floral finish worth noting.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This is really quite tasty. I'd be very interested in aging this, if I had thought to grab multiple bottles. Oh well, the fresh sample will have to do for now. Pours a hazy cinnamon with a large long lasting head that leaves great lacing. Aroma is sweet, and fruity, like green apples and grapes, with a touch of alcohol. Flavor is malty sweet, followed by more tropical fruits, pineapple, peach, mango, and some yeasty flavors as well. Finishes nice and spicy, with alcohol notes. This is pretty damned good, and would be perfect if the alcohol was slightly less noticable in aroma and flavor.