Kasteelbier Donker

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

bottle, pours dark brown with a medium dark tan head. Aroma is huge with notes that are sweet and spicey. Raisins mixed with cinnamon and dark candied sugar, smells like a deliciously dark cookie. Flavor is sweet, but not overly, with a moderate bitterness that finishes with touches of spice. Nutmeg, all spice, and again cinnamon. Alcohol burn rounds out the lightly carbonated, creamy mouth. Very good ale, strong, but well masked. Easy to drink, and hit the spot as my nightcap.

Porus deep ruby with a thin, long lasting and blond head. Aroma has fermented fruits and berries, yeast and some alchol. Very intense stuff, almost like wine. The alcohol is well hidden behind the sweet berries. There´s maybe cherries and black currants. Flavor is syrupy/sugary sweet, not very malty. Only slightly bitter in the finish. Some alcohol burning in the finish. Long and berryish aftertaste. PAlate is thin, oily and sugary sticky. Soft and low carbonated. Alcohol is not prenent in the palate. Very sweet but still drinkable beer that has nice berryish aroma. Not very complex, though.

On tap at the Brasserie V in Madison: Pours a dark mahogany colour with a huge rising tan head. Aroma is was very pleasent, strong notes of brown sugar, molasses, raisins and caramel. Flavors were rich and semi sweet. Roasted malts, nutty character with generous amounts of plums and blueberries. Really nice beer!

Nice brown pour, and a nice tan head. aromas of dark fruit, malt, syrup, and dark dried fruit. Flavor is pretty damn sweet, malty, dried fruit and syrup. Pretty nice beer...maybe a tad sweet.

Label date of 05/2009 but once opened the cork displayed 01/2004 bottling date. Pours a murky dark dirty brown with tan head. The moderate strength aroma is sweet dark fruitiness, brown sugar and mild tart crispness. Wow, the taste tries to push intense sweetness on the senses with slick sweet brown sugar and rich sweet dark fruity esters of dark grapes, dates, prunes, sweet red delicious apples and sweet rip cherries. I also get an under current of molasses that seems to become caramel into the finish. A mild wine fruity and dry tannin sensation peaks up from time to time. The sweetness nearly becomes too much after a while. Riding along with the sweetness are mild notes of spices like coriander and pumpernickel bread. There is virtually no sense of the huge ABV. I’m not sure more age will do this beer any favors. It may be past its prime here at 4.5 yrs.

Shared this one w/ oldrtybastrd. Picked up at Maruhn Getränke in Darmstadt. Pours a darkish red/brown. Aromas of spice, coriander, yeast, and alcohol. Flavor has an alcohol taste to it, mixed with a nice smokey dark fruit. Also has strong hints of spice and orange. Not my favorite kind of beer.

Shared this one w/ SkyCop32. Picked up at Maruhn Getränke in Darmstadt. Pours a darkish red/brown. Aromas of spice, coriander, yeast, and alcohol. Flavor has an alcohol taste to it, mixed with a nice smokey dark fruit. Also has strong hints of spice and orange.

330 ml bottle. Deep, dark reddish brown; thin light brown head. Sweet aroma of dark fruits. Sweet syrupy-malty flavour with dark fruits, and alcohol warmth in the finish. Overly sweet, but otherwise quite OK.