Kasteelbier Donker

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ingelmunster, Belgium

Great beer, got myself a 0.7L ($8.99 from MGM-not cheap) big boy today, wow, what a break! Totally love the richness of it, will go nicely with a meat dinner. Although rich in alcohol but can’t taste it straight away, it kinda comes in later and not with a bang but very smoothly, will drink again and recommend to anyone!

Great richness with malty and roasted barley flavors, slightly sweet with toasty flavor. may go well with a touch of goat or lamb. Over all I just think alone it may be OK but to drink an 11% beer and this is all I get I would be a bit let down.

This one is pretty high powered and and subtle in its power. First impression is of a spicy malty drink. Slowly the sweetness comes through with some purple fruit flavors. There is a cordial liquor sort of quality to this beer that is unique. On tap at the brickstore. Poured a reddish brown with a big off white head.

Deep amber, slight head, part of BJCP training session courtesy of maniac. Aroma was raisin, a hint of perfume, and bread. Flavor matched, definitely malt accented. Seemed simplistic in comparison to the Rochefort and Gouden Carolus we had previously, but not a bad beer.

Bottle. Dark mahogony beer with a light tan head. Fig, raisin, yeast, light roast aroma. Rich caramel, light sweetness, fig, raisin flavor with molasses and brown sugar. Full bodied. Lingering caramel, fruit (plum, raisin), and slight sweetness. Nicely done - not overly complex, but good. Alcohol slightly present.

Bottle as Kasteel Donker (33cL). Bottled on 03/28/2007. Rich "brown" aroma with typical dark fruit aspects. Under halogen it’s a dark mahogany color with a beige/tan head that left rapidly. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. There’s a Port sort of taste/flavor. Except the sugar is brown, and perhaps there is a bit too much yeast for Port. The dark fruits are well blended, if anything stands out it might be date or raisin. The finish is mildly sweet, and extremely smooth. The alcohol is in the nose, but, again, like Port the alcohol does not interfere. A very tasty sipper.

Bottle: fruity, malty and fairly alcoholic in the aroma. The taste is very sweet, very vinous, plums, prunes, raisins, brown suger, very malty, very weak bitterness, quite alcoholic, overall quite rich, thick and syrupy mouthfill, a little unbalanced, a little too sweet, not enough bitterness and a little too much alcohol in the flavor but still a nice sipping beer.

Aroma is a rich sweet scent reminds me a bit of red wine. Color is a deep dark ruby (almost solid) with good carbonation and a big thick head that loosens up around the edge leaving a whip cream like head in the center. Taste is rich and sweet. Starting with a full body it goes down with a sweet feel like you drinking syrup. Finish comes on rich with a very sweet dried fruit, plum taste then just a faint dry end. After taste lingers like a cognac with a hint of alcohol. The only negative to this beer is in the first couple of sips there is a very faint skunk in the after taste, but it seems to fade as you drink it. This is an amazing brew and a very interesting Belgian. Its much, much better then I ever imagined after having there Blonde. Again they have put it in a green bottle, but I see on there website that they put it in a small brown bottle and I will look for it that way and try it again.