Kasteelbier Donker

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

Poured a red/amber color with a bit of an off white head. Aroma was caramel and raisins, a lot of dark fruit, figs, plums. Flavor had the same raisin qualities with some molasses and brown sugar thrown into the mix. Nice beer.

75cl bottle. Clear brown even after I thought I poured the yeast in, and a small head. The aroma is lightly alcoholic and vinous with raisin, almond and brown sugar. Sweet dried fruit and grape flavors, dark sugars and a light alcohol. Full bodied with low carbonation. Just a bit sweet and unbalanced, though the simple malt flavors are still appealing.

Too sweet. Taste is very good, but the sweetness is just too much. Objectively, a decent beer, but not one of my favorite.

On tap at Saint Ex, D.C. Gloopy, murky pour into a snifter. I wasn’t expecting the potency of this beer, thinking I was ordering up your basic 6%-ish brune. Oily and resinous pour, with a very strong raisin nose. Intensely slick mouthfeel and an excess of sweet, sugary flavors. Not a balanced beer, but it made me feel happy with the world.

Bottle from 12th Street Tap House in Charlottesville, VA. Pours dark chocolate brown with a small head, Aroma of plum, candi sugar, sweet malts. Very sweet taste with caramel, brown sugar and stone fruits. Full bodied.

Bottled, BB March 2010. Poured murky medium golden with a short cap of beige head. The aroma picked up alcohol-fueled, candied caramel and dark fruits with a thick dose of fruity yeast.. aggressive and a bit raw. The flavor was along those same lines with sweet caramel, dark fruit, and brown sugar laced with peppery yeast and alcohol.. finished hot, but not necessarily in a bad way.. lots of residual sugars. Heavier-bodied on the palate with moderate carbonation and a thicker texture.. some odd sourness in there as well.. bit too sweet.

Bottle from Trinity Liquors in Spring Hill, FL. Pours dark brown with an off-white head. Nose is candy sugar, dark fruit, caramel, toffee, honey, and a slight yeast presence. Flavor is remarkably similar with a syrupy sweetness that dominates the brew. Lots of sugar and ripe dark fruit. Finished off with a wicked sweetness that lingers. Interestingly Belgian beer.

Pours deep mahogany into a trappist glass. Head quickly recedes to nothing. Prune and pit fruit aromas. Sweet and tangy upfront with a lasting tart dried fruit finish.