Rodenbach Grand Cru
Rodenbach Grand Cru is the deeper, more intense Flanders red ale — 6% ABV, brewed in Roeselare, Belgium, and sold here as a 4-pack of 11.2oz bottles. Where Classic leans young, Grand Cru inverts the blend: two-thirds beer matured for two years in oak foeders with one-third young ale, for markedly greater tartness, complexity and wine-like depth. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 6%
- Size: 4 x 11.2oz bottles
- Style: Flanders red ale (Flemish red-brown), oak-aged
- Blend: 2/3 beer aged 2 years in oak foeders, 1/3 young ale
- Origin: Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium
- Brewery: Brouwerij Rodenbach, founded 1821
Two-Thirds Foeder Beer, Full Flanders Character
Grand Cru is the connoisseur's cut of the Rodenbach range. The brewery's Roeselare cellars hold 294 oak foeders, some of them around 150 years old, and the beer that rests in them for two years develops the acetic brightness, oak and dried-fruit depth that define the style. Blending that mature beer at two-thirds strength — double the proportion in Classic — produces the ale the late critic Michael Jackson's "Burgundy of Belgium" epithet was coined for. Explore more of the brewery in our beer and craft beer collections, or on the Rodenbach vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Ripe berries, sour cherry and balsamic with oak and vanilla. Palate: Bright and tart — raspberry, cranberry and passion fruit over caramel and brown sugar, with lactic and acetic acidity in balance. Finish: Long, dry and wine-like.
How to Enjoy
Serve in a wine glass at cellar-cool temperature with mussels, aged Gouda or a rich pâté; it is also the classic partner for Flemish carbonnade.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Rodenbach Grand Cru and Classic? The blend ratio. Classic is three-quarters young ale and one-quarter two-year foeder beer; Grand Cru reverses it to two-thirds aged beer, making it tarter, stronger (6% vs 5.2% ABV) and more complex.
Is Rodenbach Grand Cru a lambic? No. It is a Flanders red ale made with a mixed main fermentation and oak-foeder maturation in Roeselare — a different tradition from spontaneously fermented lambic.
How is Rodenbach Grand Cru packaged? This listing is a 4-pack of 11.2oz (330mL) bottles at 6% ABV.
Foeder-aged depth at full strength — order Rodenbach Grand Cru online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.