Kasteelbier Donker

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Draught @ 15e Kerstbierfestival 2009, Essen, Belgium.
Clear dark brown color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, chocolate, licorice, light alcohol. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light to moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily and sticky, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic. [20091212]
Earlier Rating: 8/3/2006 Total Score: 4
Bottle. Dark brown with a large creamy light brown head, mostly diminishing, good lacings. Aroma heavy malty , brown fruit, light hoppy. Flavor heavy sweet, light bitter, in a good balance. Medium body, soft carbonated. You feel the alcohol.

A brown or dark red beer with an OK but fast disappearing head. The aroma is sweet and slightly fruity. The flavor is fanstastic; very sweet, fruity, and complex. It ends on an earthy note - but with a good sweetness and notes of oranges. It has no bitterness at all. A really good beer with a good palate, but a little too sweet, and not bitter enough for my liking.

UPDATED: JAN 9, 2006 (Bottle 33 cl) Very dark and extremely full-bodied. A pruny sweetness with loads of malt. A bit flat actually. A very complex strong ale. Try it from the beautiful Kasteel-glass at the castle grounds in Ingelmunster. 100993

UPDATED: OCT 13, 2010 33 cL bottle. Pours dark brown with a redish tone, head is light brown and crispy leaving some lacing. Aroma is sweet, dark malt notes and bitter/citric rounded off by a yeasty spicy note. Flavour is extremely sweet, malt notes drowning in the sugar. Warming alcohol finish with distinct yeast notes. Fullbodied. At first does the classical fruit notes that come from the yeast completely blend out by the rather brutal sweetness, but for every sip they provide a more sofisticated palate to the sweetness showing some raisin and other dried fruit notes. This is clearly a beer for slow sipping. I won’t have this as my favourite beer for that though.

Bottled. Comes in a real classy shallow tulip glass. Pours dark ruby with rich head. Toffee aroma, and once it is warmed up also roasted malt and burnt sugar. Sweet vinous and very malty. In a way quite remimiscent of a full bodied red wine. The mouthfeel is soft and it is arousingly flavourful. The balanced finish contains a slight trace of hop bitterness to balance the port wine.

Bottle (Kasteel Bruin-Brune). Clean brown, little brownish head. Malty sweet aroma. Caramel/malty taste with a bit bitter finish. Good feeling in the mouth, taste of alcohol is well hidden.

Draught at Ølbaren. Redbrown colour with a lacing beige head. Sweet aroma of dried fruit. Sweet flaovur of dried fruit, dark bread and chocolate. Reminds me a bit of dansih low alcohol’s (mørk hvidtøl). But this one is, of course, more powerfull.

Bottle. Aroma is OK malty, though not very powerful. Almost black colour, very small head. Very malty flavour, and very peppery. Not excactly thick mouthfeel, but it does give the impression. Caramelly aftertaste.