Gulden Draak Vintage
A brown bottle with paint on it...shouldn't be light struck. This is a 750mL bottle of Vintage Ale 2010. I've never tried this one before, and it is a bit weaker than others in this category. Let's see what this one has to offer: Appearance: Pours a dark brown color that you can't really tell the clarity. There is a huge head of tannish bubbles that rose at least 1/2" after the pour. There are lots of bubbles rising. There is some pretty solid lacing left on the glass after drinking. Aroma: I initially got a good bit of sweet malts and caramel with some reserved yeasty notes. Very reminiscent of a traditional Dubbel. Fruity notes are definitely coming out once the head finally fell. Taste: The flavor follows the aroma pretty closely except that there is a dryness to the malts that is a little unusual. The sweetness is the main player, but there is enough bitterness to have the malt be the leader in the finish, but not by much. As the head finally starts to fade, you can pick up a bit of grassy and slightly floral hops. There is some warming that hits the back of the throat and stays with the alcohol seeming like it is going to stick around for a while. This along with the acidity from the dark malts hit the palate relatively hard in the finish. The carbonation is high, which is ample for this or practically any other Belgian Style. As the beer warms up, raisins and other dark fruit are coming out in spades. Opinion: Well, this is a pretty good beer, no doubt. It is more of a Dubbel than a BSD. The flavors are toasty and sweet like you often get with a Dubbel, and the overall texture and mouthfeel doesn't really lean toward the BSD category. I would definitely say that this beer is worth a shot, but drink it expecting a Dubbel and you won't be disappointed.