Grimbergen Blonde Ale

From wikipedia: Grimbergen is the name of a group of Belgian abbey beers first brewed in 1128 at the abbey that Saint Norbert of Xanten built for the Norbertine monks in Grimbergen. They became famous for providing hospitality and their home-brewed beer to visitors, and handed down the recipe over the centuries. The beers are now brewed by Alken Maes brewery group.

This beer was suggested to me by the local liquor store clerk, and it was a good suggestion. I let this beer cool down to the proper tempature while taking pictures of it, and poured it into a glass. It produced a giant head with big bubbled lace that took a bit to settle down. Initial smells were flowery, honey, malty and sweet. First taste was very sweet, toasted caramel and malt followed by a nice bite from the hops. Huge mouth feel, with lingering honey grain taste on the finish. This beer was great. I suspected that the alcohol content was somewhat high, but it was hidden by the malt really well. A very complex tasting beer, I’ll have another one tonight and add to my thoughts.

Amy’s comments

“smells like a melted snowman” -she said this was a very easy call

“ugh“

“pixie stix times a billion”

What others thought

I was fairly close with my review of this beer. Comments such as “Flavour of complex malts, candy sweetness, with a touch of tartness too” were common. Also alot of “fruity” comments hinting at peach and apricot. I never seem to be able to pull these tastes out of beer, I’ll have to try eating more peaches and apricots. Also alot of “spicy” comments hinting at cloves and corriandar, again something I need to work on tasting.