CulturAle Press

Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru

If you missed our 12 Beers of Christmas, here are links to them:     first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth.

Date:   January 7, 2019

The Story—  The brewery allocates some of their annual Mad Elf production to be seasoned with Balaton cherries.   If you don’t think differences in the variety of cherry in a beer is significant, you could fly to Brussels and ask any lambic brewer, of do a side by side tasting of both versions of the Mad Elf.   They’re both way better than good and each has its own strengths

The beers, happily, are well distributed in the Mid-Atlantic region.   We found the Grand Cru in a small wine shop in rural Maryland.   See more about the brewery here.

The Beer—   Richer darker and fruitier than its cousin, this beer even manages to surpass the success of the more easily available (and more easily afforded) Mad Elf.

Value —  Good to very good.   Any beer this good under $20 a bottle is a pretty good deal these days.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is iour response to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”