Gulden Draak

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ertvelde, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

I really enjoyed this beer. extremely thick with a delightful blend of sweetness and maltiness. definitely full bodied and with a very slightly bitter finish

Bottle from Beer Planet, Brussels. Pours a deep, clear coppery body underneath a massive, foamy off-white head, elegantly forming into my newly acquired Gulden Draak glass. Looking good. Gotta love proper glassware. :-) Aroma is raisins, apricots, lots of figs and hints of brown candy sugar; a real dried fruit bomb. Taste is caramel, brown sugar, raisins and apricot again, and a brandy-like alcohol aroma coming in from around mid-palate. Only hints of yeast and hops, so I question the definition on the commercial description of it being a "dark brown Triple Ale" - this has very little to do with a triple. A bit jagged around the edges, particularly with the boozy notes and the peppery sweetness, but still a full-bodied and damn fine quad.

330ml bottle. Pours very dark brown with a large head. Aroma is raisin, burnt sugar and toffee malt. Some apple, too. Not much to taste, fruity malt to start. Dark fruit finish. Alcohol burn on the aftertaste. Very full and thick in the mouth.

Malty, caramel aroma. Almost no head to speak of. Lots of caramel on the tongue, oily, sticks to the tongue. A bit sweeter than I expected, which takes away from how much I like it.

Reviewed from notes. Tasted on draft at The Purple Pig. Pours dark amber brown with a thick tan head that never really dissipates. Nose is brown sugar, bread, yeast, and dates. The taste is sweet brown sugar with bread, yeast, dates, and some alcohol heat. The body is full with heavy carbonation and a long brown sugar finish with quite a bit of alcohol heat.

A-pours a dark mahogony brown with red edges and tons of a fluffy light brown head that doesn’t want to leave. S-there are notes of brown sugar and candied fruits up front, rather sweet, a clove like phenol and yeast backbone provide balance, a nice peppery spice to the alcohol present in the back. T-the taste is very sweet but still balanced enough following the nose only less phenolic. the candied fruits and cooked brown sugar lie up front accompanied by notes of ripe plum. clove like yeastiness and phenols lie underneath, the alcohol is spicy and peppery, nice balance and the flavors really push to equality as I continue to drink. M-soft on the front of the tongue but lively carbonation in back with a good juicy slick feel to it and somewhat dry in the finish. D-this is a well balanced brew with plenty of sweetness but nice levels of complexity to keep this well balanced and very enjoyable. the alcohol is present in a good way and in no way shows the true power of this brew.

750ml bottle, corked, caged and poured into Chimay goblet. Copper color with a thick foamy head that challenges the beer from pouring through but leaves little lacing. Smells of dark fruits and sweet caramel malt. Taste is of sweet caramel with a hint of sherry. Medium bodied and well carbonated. Hides its 10.5% abv well. A must have for Belgian beer lovers.

Nice cloudy brown color with a solid frothy head. Nice head consistency and color (tan). Aroma is a bit weak, hard to judge. Figs, grapes, plantain. Moderate sweetness and bitterness. Mouthfeel is carbonated and a bit sticky afterwards. Nice taste sits in the mouth for a while.