Gulden Draak
Name – Gulden Draak
Country – Belgium
Type – Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Appearance – Poured a some what clear copper color that was a nice mix of reds and browns. The head was nearly non existent.
Smell – I didn’t get a lot on the nose but you can pick up some dark fruit and a bit of alcohol.
Taste – The taste has more going on. Dark fruit, toasted malts, a little bit of chocolate. There is an alcohol burn at the end and especially as it warms up.
I had Gulden Draak on tap a number of months ago at The Lodge in Boca Raton and remembered liking it so I picked up the Belgian Beer Pack from Brouwerij Van Steenberge and started off with this one. I have to say it wasn’t as good as I remembered it being on tap. I remember it being a bit sweeter before and not as boozey. But the differences between bottle and tap are always going to be found in some beers. This is one of them for me.
Overall Grade – B-
Posted on February 1st, 2010 under Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Grade B • Tags: Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.. • 
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February 1st, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Mike I find that I typically like beers better on tap than from the bottle. That said I’m not a huge growler fan because it is just too much beer, and I don’t go out that much, so most of the beer I drink is from cans and bottles. My beer store has recently opened up about 6 taps and the owner is generous with the samples. I have found that the tap beers have a better flavor when I decide to pick one up in the bottle. It mush have something to do with packaging in a keg vs a bottle, and the act of running the beer through the tap. I don’t know all the chemistry behind it, I just know it is easier to be disappointed in a beer if I’ve had it on tap first.