Kasteelbier Donker

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

Chestnut brown w/ generous light brown head. Port-like, strong malt aroma w/ notes of alochol. Smooth, syrupy mouthfeel. Very sweet malt flavours accented w/ molasses, caramel, plums, & fruitcake. Warm finish.

Gentle nose of light sweet malt with some spiced fruit. Pours muddy dark brown with a quickly thinning head and some lace. Flavour is rich toffee malt with a lingering plum pudding finish with brandy notes and figs.

When I first tasted this I thought "Belgian Strong Brown Ale." Looks like the brewer thought that said it all. Dark brown, with ruby notes when you hold it up to strong light. No head at all. Full mouth, almost syrupy. Big taste of malt, chocolate, toffee. Long sweet and sour finish. I would have liked it more if the heat of the alcohol were hidden somewhat.

Looks black, but is actually very dark mahogany. Has a perfect 1 inch head when poured into a snifter (probably better than the regular Kasteel glass); Aroma features alcohol, dark malts, plums, a little bit of smoke (kind of like this smoked plum tea I bought in Chinatown once). The body is thick, but silky smooth, with a sweet palate of demerara sugar, vietnamese coffee, chocolate cake, and only a hint of alcohol or fruit. The finish is of sweet malts. This is big, but sure hides the alcohol well. You know its winter when you’re drinking Bush Noel and Kasteel on consecutive nights.

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.

Little to know carbonation in this 750ml. Slightly sweet...just enough to balance the alcohol. An enjoyable and quite smooth brew.

Red hazy beer. Tones of rubber, alcohol, spices and strawberries in the aroma. Extremely sweet fruity flavour with tones of raisins and cholocate. A bit sweet and unbalanced for me but still rocks the socks of most things.

More sweetness than biscuity malts. I prefer the coffee-like brunes. Nevertheless, this is still a good beer - in fact it gets better the more you drink (ahem!). Warning - it doesn’t taste like an 11%er. Still, gimme a Westmalle Dubbel instead!