My local beer store is expanding its beer section, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful that summer is over. Not because I don't like the heat (I do like the heat), but because the summer selection of beers is basically limited to either this hoppy beer or that hoppy beer or this light ale/lager. I don't mind hoppy beers, but I like variety. I picked this up today along with a few others including Innis & Gunn, so the long awaited review on that is coming probably within the next few days.
Gulden Draak pours into the glass a beautiful rich deep red-brown with a very large tan head. My first sniff revealed the scent of grapes and some malt smells. Later on, as I drank more and got rid of more of the head, the smell of alcohol became present too. The primary taste of Draak is alcohol. I did taste a bit of grapes and the slightest of malt tastes, but all that was drowned as I swallowed. There is a massive taste of alcohol just as you swallow. At 10.5%, Draak is very high in alcohol and it does taste like it. The taste of alcohol really dominates over all the other tastes in the beer, which is unfortunate because there are hints of some very interesting flavours. What there are no hints of though, is hops. Try as I might, I couldn't taste any hops in this beer. Far from being a bad thing, this is a good thing. This beer does like to stick around though; there is a kind of a film that sticks to the inside of your mouth. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, just an observation. As much as I'd love to be able to give this beer a higher rating, the dominant taste of alcohol really brings the rating down. If they brewed it to a slightly lower alcohol content, or if the alcohol didn't overwhelm most of the other flavours, this could be a top rated beer.
Rating:
May your glass always be full of good beer!
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