Gulden Draak
Gulden Draak
Rated 3.915 by BeerPals
Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Ertvelde, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium Style: Belgian Strong Ale
10.5% Alcohol by Volume
Availability of this beer is unknown
Sign Up to Participate:
Gulden Draak is a dark heavy beer with 10.5% alcohol by volume. Gulden Draak, just like Augustijn, is a beer that undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg. Gulden Draak is a beer in a class of its own. It is a beer that is so rich, so glowing, so full of its very own characteristic flavor, that it reminds some who try it of chocolate and others of coffee. The English call this type of beer a Barley Wine. Gulden Draak (Golden Dragon) smells of triumph. It is a definite party beer. It is no wonder that Gulden Draak was crowned best beer in the world by the American Tasting Institute in 1998! This beer won many other awards as well. Did you know that the Gulden Draak is named for the golden statue at the top of the clock tower of Ghent? The statue was originally given to the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) by the Norse king Sigrid Magnusson in 1111, during one of the first crusades; hence of course the form of a Viking ship that the beast was given. Approximately one hundred years later, Boudewijn IX, Count of Flanders, was the Emperor of Constantinople in one of the following crusades. Because he found the statue so beautiful, he simply took it back to Flanders with him. In 1382, the cities of Bruges and Ghent even did battle for this statue. And who do you think won?
ID: 9382 Last updated 1 month ago Added to database 21 years agoKey Stats
percentile
1
Drunk83
Reviews0
Likes
Beeributes
Most noted beer attributes
None to date - be the first! Beeributes help BeerPal predict what beers you'll love.
Sign up to participateSimilar Beers
Statistics
| Overall Rank | 359 |
| Overall Percentile | 99.7 |
| Style Rank | 37 of 2241 |
| Style Percentile | 98.3 |
| Lowest Score | 1.7 |
| Highest Score | 4.9 |
| Average Score | 3.948 |
| Weighted Score | 3.915 |
| Standard Deviation | 0.562 |
Rating Distribution
Beer vs Style
83 Member Reviews
Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 9
330ml bottle into tulip. Nose of raisins, plum, brandy, malt and Belgium. Red/brown beer with towering creamy head and a million tiny bubbles. Good body, smooth texture. More dark fruit and brandy is followed by caramel and, late on, orange zest. Superb.
Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9
11.2oz bottle picked up at the state store
Clear dark reddish/brown with a big off-white head and some lacing. Aroma of dark fruit, raisins and chocolate. Flavors of Belgian malts, yeast, raisins and chocolate
Very nice and smooth. Let this warm up.Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4
The notoriuos Draak! On tap at the Sharp Edge Bistro, nice place. Pour is like rootbeer. Clear and dark brown. Has a creamy head that fades to a froth after a few minutes.. Aroma is laid back and clean, not hint of the 10% that lurks within. As a matter of fact, there is very little aroma at all. The taste however is a big alky kick in the pants. Mouth and throat warming. Strong and I can feel it making its way down to my tummy. Alky presence is up front, however, it is not the in your face kind of impact, more refined. Like good sherry or brandy. Pretty flat in appearance and on the palate. Each sip brings that hard initial alky smack. It is strong at the beginning of the sip but then morphs to a delicate coating sweetness of bananas and candy. Finish leaves a medium malty bitterness that is hard to forget. Quite a brew with quite a unique impact.
Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
33cl bottle at Jack of All Trades, Malta. Pours brown with a reddish hue and a beige head. Malty aroma with fruits, dried fruits, Belgian yeast and hints of roasted malt. Sweet and fruity and quite well balanced concidering the high ABV. Alcohol is detectable, but well integrated. Pleasant, but a bit too sweet for my taste. (2012-09-23)
Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8
11.2oz dusty bottle of unknown vintage pours murky dirty brackish brown with amber hues and 20 second tan head. The moderate aroma brings up soft smooth dark fruitiness, brown sugar and not much else initially. As it warms the dark fruity notes grow. The taste is much more assertive than the nose with sweet sugar coated raisins, prunes, grape jam and boysenberries. Behind these notes are faint brown sugar and smooth aged spices.
Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
Dark brown with light brown head. fruit sweet oder left to a sweet tingly malt flavor.
Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8
Pours out a cloudy dark gold with a massive foamy head that just won't go away. The aroma is of malt of hops or maybe alcohol. The mouthfeel thick but not massive. The flavor is bitter sweet. This is good but nowhere as good as the Draak 9000.
Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9
Splendid! Pours a deep, opaque brown with a very thick and remarkably persistent head. Aroma is malty and inviting. Flavor is strong but not fierce, with sweet overtone like molasses and some smoky hints, and just a dash of bitterness. Jazzy and tingly, this is a beer one should sip and savor. Train a dragon today!
Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
Pours a slightly cloudy copper color with a massive 4 finger head that stays aloft for a long time. Massive carbonation. Aroma is very rich of Belgian yeast and dark fruits. Taste is very rich in sour dark fruits and Belgian yeast. Sticky body like watered down honey. Slight booziness and you can feel the burn. Not half bad. Leave the yeast out of the glass since it makes it taste like blood.
Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8
Pours a beige coloured large foamy head. Has a coppery, light brown appearance. Dirty lacing. Aromas of Belgian yeast, malts, spices and dark type fruits. Flavours of roasted malts, dark fruits (raisins, plums) toasty and nutty malts. Hints of citrus hops but quite faint. Chocolate notes in the finish, with hints of caramel. Alcohol is just barely noticeable, nicely balanced. Full bodied, sweet and bitter well balanced. Puckering and chalky mouthfeel. Goes down very smoothly.
