This is one Hilgar sent me. It is a Belgian dark triple by Brouwerij Van Steenberge called Gulden Draak. Named for the golden dragon on top of the belfry of Ghet, this beer uses caramel malt and Bordoux wine yeast during secondary fermentation. The dragon that inspired the beer has an interesting story, according to Wikipedia "The legend of the gilded dragon says that it was first featured on the prow of the ship with which the
Norwegian king Sigrid Magnusson sailed on in 1111 to go on a
crusade. Sigrid offered the statue to the emperor of
Constantinople (the current Istanbul) to put it on the cupola of the Aya Sophia. Over a hundred years later, the
Flemish count Baldwin IX had transported the show-piece to the Belgium regions. The Norwegian dragon ended up in the hands of
Bruges.
After the battle on the field of Beverhout in 1382, the inhabitants of
Ghent took their spoils of war, including the dragon as and put it on
top of their Belfry. In the Belfry all communal charters were kept. The
dragon had to protect these documents and it was also the symbol of the
freedom and might of the city. The brew-master gazed upon this statue
and was founded with inspiration to create and thus name the ale." (I copy and pasted this because I'm lazy). This is supposedly one of the best beers in the world. In fact, in 1998 the American Tasting Institute decided it was the best tasting beer in the world and just recently won the silver medal at the New York international beer competition. The brewery Van Steenberge quite a story to it as well. (I'm going to sum this up) The brewery was started by Jean Baptise De Bruin in 1784 and was then called the De Peer brewery. The brewery would change hands amongst family members for a while and just after WW1 Paul Van Steenberge would take it (professor of microbiology at the Ghent brewing school at the time). He changed the name to Brewery Bios in 1919 and released a beer of the same name. He ran the brewery until his death in 1962, although as he was Mayor of Ervelde and a Senator as well so the brewery was not his main focus. After his death, his son Jozef Van Steenberge would take over the brewery, although he was also a Mayor and a Senator, he would pay the brewery more attention after he retired from politics at age 64. Under his leadership the brewery would create it's three flagship beers, that being Augustijn, Piraat, and Gulden Draak. In 1990 his son Paul Van Steenberge took over the brewery, his cousin Jef Versele would join him eight years later.
The bottle I received is a stubby bulged neck 11.2 fl oz crimpcap with plastic shrink wrapped labeling instead of paper labeling. On the label, it features the storied Golden Dragon on a white background sailing a black sea with the words "Gulden Draak Ale" in red Gothic lettering (the crimpcap features the same). Other than that it has some legal information and the name of the brewery. I'll be using a Chimay goblet tonight as it has an agitator and I find it quite useful for reviews and I just feel like it. Let's pop the top and see that head.
When I popped the cap, that live secondary fermentation burst forth and down the side of the bottle. The nose from the bottle is a pungent boozy cherry aroma. It forms a frothy beige head and has burgundy plum color, life within the glass is ample. Nose from the glass is the same as the bottle, but with a plum/raisin quality to it (prune?). On first sip, it is a little boozy at the beginning but that subsides to raisin, then to plum, and has a boozy finish. Now that I give it some thought, this has a just over subtle black cherry flavor all the way through. It has a strong acidic bite at first, but that goes away after a second to become a quite smooth medium full body.
I'm listening to Tokyo Paradise Ska Orchestra's album "Ska me forever". They remind me of "The Pillows", who some of you may recall provided the music for the 2000 anime mini series "Fooly Cooly". I was into anime in my younger days, not so much anymore. I suppose I grew out of it around age 22-23, as allot of people do. I still have an appreciation for it though. I love the attention to detail they often put into the art, even when on a shoestring budget, especially the backgrounds. I kind of wish I could get back into it, but in the past two years I have found it incredibly difficult to finish anything that is not (at least on some level) educational. I yearn for knowledge and unfortunately art does not often give it to me. It's a shame, to not be able to enjoy visual art beyond a passing glance, but I potentially only have 90 more years on this Earth and there is no time to waist. I suppose that is why I got so into music in the past two years when before I would go months (no kidding, months) without putting music on. I can work and do things while music plays, visual mediums require more of your attention. On top of that, I got into vinyl because I not only love tinkering with the technical aspects of it, but I find it fascinating as this strange anachronism. I also love the physical nature of it. The music just seems so much more real than it would sound on YouTube or on CD. Also there is the fact that you have to physically put the disk on the platter and flip it at the end, the whole ritual of it forces me to pay at least a little bit of attention to the music, it can never be just background noise, it is special.
Final thoughts. It is an excellent beer, but I think others have left more of an impression on me. That is not to dissuade anyone from seeking out and acquiring this beer, it is excellent in every conceivable way. But I think I have become a little numb to Belgians. I should lay off and try some other things for a while. As it is a phenomenal beer which I have nothing negative so say about and it's lack of impression I believe is only do to overexposure to excellence (like mortal men ever existing in Gods presence and therefore being incapable of sensing it without His absence). I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.
