Shock Top Belgian White Beer Review

Shock Top Belgian White

Belgian White [Type 4] 5.2% ABV

The key descriptors for a Belgian white are light and refreshing. This beer is both. It has a strong orange flavor, created by using orange rinds during the brewing process. Cloudy, with a nice white head on the pour. Orange color (fitting). Sweet on the front of the tongue. Nice spices, not overwhelming, just enough to let you know they are there. The spices give the beer a nice finish.

Rating

This is a great summer beer. I've been very happy drinking this beer recently when I felt like I was in a beer rut. I love drinking seasonal beer, it allows me to exercise my palate and keep my beer drinking from settling down into monotony. Shock Top seems to be expanding their market recently. I find it newly on tap more and more often. Good for them.

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Beer Club February 2011

Belgian Ales

Always a favorite of mine, we return again to Belgian Ales. We had a particularly good selection this year, with two kinds of Golden Carolus, a new front runner for my favorite Belgian brand.

Belgian Ales February 2011Cuvee van de Keizer Rood

10% ABV Golden Ale [Type 3]. Tastes like cherry and apple. Dry and crisp. One beer.

Lost Abbey 10 Commandments

A California Beligan Style brewery, Lost Abbey makes strong, often hoppy beers. This one tastes like raisins and honey. A Belgian dark ale [Type 29] 9.0% ABV. Three beers.

Golden Carolus Hopsinjoor

A hoppier version from Golden Carolus. A Belgian Pale [Type 16], perhaps shading towards the IPA. 8.0% ABV. A great pale ale, with fruit, hops, a dry finish, and lots of fizz. One beer.

Belgian homebrew

Sweet smelling with a cherry finish. Mellow overall. Two beers.

Adriaen Brouwer Finest Dark [Type 29] 8.5% ABV. Sweet, with a quick finish. Pretty easy drinker. Two beers.

Delirium Nocturnum

Pink elephants on parade. Belgian dark, 8.5% ABV.

Piraat

Belgian pale [Type 16] 10.5% ABV. Belgian sourness followed by sweet cherry.

Dogfish Head Red & White

Belgian wit [Type 4] 10.0% ABV. An usual beer due to the presence of pinot noir juice and aging in oak casks. It combines the qualities of a white beer with a red wine. Very unusual, but very good. One beer.

Lucifer

Belgian pale [Type 16] 8.0% ABV.

Kwak

Belgian pale [Type 16] 8.4% ABV

And three for which I have no notes other than name, for some reason.

Corsendonk Pale Ale

Lost Abbey Lost & Found

Delirium Tremens

Beer Club, Missouri Espens Edition

Blue Moon Grand Cru

I'm out in Missouri visiting my brother because my oldest nephew is graduating from high school. While we were here, my brother asks me whether I've ever had Blue Moon Grand Cru? I hadn't, even though I just reviewed Belgian Whites recently.

The first thing to do was go buy some. This proved difficult, Grand Cru is a small batch beer that was made for New Years, so supplies are limited to what is on hand. We had to go to three different stores before we found some. We placed the beer in the freezer for a bit since it had been on the shelf rather than in the cooler.

Blue Moon Grand Cru

As you can see from the picture, Blue Moon Grand Cru looks much like regular Blue Moon. It is cloudy, with lots of suspended solids, and a orange hue with a thick, white, fluffy head. This is a witbier [Type 4], with 8.2% ABV. As a Grand Cru, it is brewed for celebratory purposes, and it is perfect for this.

It is lighter and fruitier than Blue Moon, even though they are very similar. It is less yeasty, with tangy wheat flavors, coriander, and orange zest. It isn't your typical wheat beer at all, very smooth on the tongue.

Rating

This was an amazing Grand Cru. It is my brother's current favorite, and I highly recommend it. If you can find a bottle, savor it, and appreciate the kind of beer that Blue Moon can make. It goes down real easy though, which is a problem. You will really want more, but given the limited quantities, you may not be able to.

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