Kasteelbier Donker

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Toothachingly sweet. There are good and interesting flavors there, leather, oak and others. But the finish is mouth numbingly sweet, so much so that I couldn’t finish it.

UPDATED: JUN 26, 2011 2002 version, tasted as Kasteelbier. Aroma of smoked malt like in rauchbiers. Very, very sweet taste with porto, raisins, liquorice. Bit tart and smokey. Alcohol hidden behind the sweetness. Hopefully it will develop well after a few years. (6 3 5 2 12 = 2.8) Kasteelbier 2003 version, tasted dec ’03. Malty sweet aroma with hints of cappuccino. Sugary sweet flavor with raisin and syrup.The alcohol is totally hidden by the sweetness. Too much for my tastebuds. 1999 version, tasted in june 2011. Corked bottle, kept in the cellar from the brewery. Amazing how this beer has developed. Still a decent head. Dark brown color. Porto, dust, raisin and toffee in the aroma. Toffee, raisin, porto, warming alcohol in the flavor. velvety, but still enough carbon left. Plums. Very tasty! (8 4 8 3 15 = 3.8)

Yuk. Way too sweet for me. Nice malt and toffee aroma, but the taste made me gag.

Tan with a thin quickly discipating head. The nose is sweet with a doughnut smell. The taste is actually sweet as well, but almost sickening. I dont get it, and I typically dont get belgian strong ales but this was just way too sweet for me.

Dark, dark brown with very little see-through. Almost impossible to coax a head out of this beer, and what little foam does form quickly vanishes. Not much to sniff at: some molasses, some strawberry, but disappointing given the nature of this extra-strong brew. Very nice, smooth, creamy palate. You can feel the weight behind this beer, especially as it warms up, but it still seems quite innocent given its 11% alc./vol. Not much in the flavour profile aside from the heady alcohol, residual sweetness and maybe a touch of berry fruit.

Bottled. Pours dark/medium brown with a light brown head. Aroma is soggy bread, yeast, spices, and a hint of sweet cherry burried underneath it all. Flavor is very sweet with dark fruits dominating the profile. Some plum and fig both sweet with a hint of alcohol and then a even more sweet finish. Almost cloying.

Cola Brown / dark red in colour with a huge frothy and tanned head. There is a full aroma of cola, plums, sugar, espresso, fruits... the taste is sickening sweet with a touch of ginger and lots of wine... spices show up with malts, but I think I got a bad batch. The smell was nice but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Not what I’d call a satisfying beer.

The aroma is sweet and fruity with dark fruit and yeast. The appearance is dark brown with an average head. The flavor is like the aroma. The palate is OK. The beer is good.

330ml bottle, 2005 vintage. Ruby-brown body with a slight haze. Two-finger, beige foam slowly fading. Sour cherries in aroma offset by sweet almonds. My mouthfeel says oversweet in spite of acid plums and spicy fruits. The alcohol strength is noticeable, but mostly covered by all the candy sweetness. Short aftertaste (03.04.2008).

Bottle at The Bishops Arms on Västra Hamngatan in Gothenburg, Sweden. Dark non-see-through color and a brown head. acid and a bit alcoholic scent, fruity taste