Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Ertvelde, Netherlands
Imported by: Global Beer Network
Middleton, MA
The Gulden Draak is named for the statue of a golden dragon that for 700 years has topped a belfry in the city of Ghent.
ABV: 10.5
ABW: 8.4
Color: 50
Bitterness: 18
Original gravity: 1084
Predominantly sweet and silky in texture with toffee, molasses and malted milk ball flavors wrapped around fig, plum and raisin. Roasted nuts and dried spice on the finish. I was initially concerned that it might be too sweet after a few sips. Not a chance. Liquid dessert.
This is the first I’ve seen of this fearsome creature in the full-size bottle, and I wonder what differences there might be from the familiar 330 ml version. The color is the same, a deep, near-purple-ish brown, and the sweet, heavily toffee-accented nose is familiar, as well. There’s not a huge complexity to the flavor, but there is considerable power, both in the assertive and sweet “herbal tonic” character and the undisguised potency, the latter perhaps a bit more apparent than it is in the small size. Warming and soothing, this is an ale to end the night, perhaps with a selection of caramel-filled truffles.
John Hansell is an equal-opportunity drinker. He writes about beer, wine and spirits. He is the creator, publisher & editor of Malt Advocate, a magazine for the whisky enthusiast.
Stephen Beaumont boarded his first plane at the age of 15 and hasn’t looked back since, obsessing about travel to the point that he gets nervous if he doesn’t have a ticket or two stacked on the corner of his desk. When he’s not running around in search of new taste experiences, he makes his home in Toronto, where a new cultural experience is only as far away as the next neighborhood.
