Country of Origin: Belgium
Price comparison: About twice the price of everyday beer.
Alcohol percentage by volume: 10½%
Cute bottle/label? 11.2 ounce white ceramic-looking bottle, squat and unglamorous, but kind of cool nonetheless. Red, black, and metallic-gold label depicting a stylized gold dragon (copied from the statue on top of the clock tower at Ghent).
Appearance: Dark chocolatey brown with a thick tan head and heavy lacing.
Scent: Sweet smokiness with cherry, cranberry, and plum, also a hint of vine-ripe tomato on the edges.
Flavor: Malt and sweet wine, not very hoppy. Nice spicy finish though.
Impressions: It was a bit sweet but the big alcohol was nicely couched in the surrounding flavors. This is strong enough to go quite well with any grilled foods, with or without sauce.
Will I buy this beer again? It's not a great bargain, but it's a good strong Belgian. If you've never had Belgian beer before, I wouldn't recommend starting with this unless you are already used to sweet sherry or port wine. However, I like it a lot and I got a nice buzz from it.
Rating:
4 out of 5 cute beer glasses
Reviewed: May 9, 2004
