by Tange

Created on: November 16, 2007   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

We are off to Belgium again in April so we decided to get in practice by trying a few Belgian beers at Chesterfield Beer Festival on Friday and Saturday night. The first one we decided to go for was a nice strong bottled beer called Gulden Draak.
~~~THE BREWERY.

This fabulous beer is produced at the Van Steenberge Brewery (Brouwerij Van Steenberge), which can be found in Ertvelde near Ghent (in the region of Flanders). We will be staying in Ghent so this was why I thought this was a perfect beer to sample! The Van Steenberge Brewery has been brewing for over 200 years now and produces around ten different beers, mostly for sale in Belgium and a small amount for the export market.

~~~THE BEER.

*A Bit of Background*
Gulden Draak means Golden Dragon. The beer itself is named after a golden statue that can be found on top of the clock tower in the Flanders town of Ghent. The statue begin life in Scandinavia (it was owned by Sigrid Magnusson a Viking king) and then traveled to Constantinople (Sigrid gave it to the city during the first Crusades) and then it ended up in Ghent (courtesy of the Count of Flanders, who was also Emperor of Constantinople).

It is a beautiful statue with a really interesting past! The beer Gulden Draak is just as interesting and eye catching. It appears in white bottles and can be bought in three different sizes (one litre, 75cl and 33cl) and also on draught in selected bars. As with all Belgian beers, Gulden Draak should be served in its own unique glass ~ in this case a tulip shaped glass edged in gold, displaying the dragon symbol and the name in a rather classy red and gold.
*Vital Stats*

Gulden Draak weighs in at a mighty 10.5% ABV and is a dark, heavy beer, classed in the UK as a barley wine. A barley wine describes a beer that is almost like a wine and is usually rich, hoppy, vinous and nicely alcoholic. The flavour should be full and malty with a smooth blend of sweetness, hop and alcohol. Gulden Draak is definitely all these things ~ it is also a beer that undergoes secondary fermentation once bottled (or in the keg). Ideally Gulden Draak has a shelf life of around two years.
*Look, Aroma & Texture*

Gulden Draak is a dark red brown coloured beer which pours to give a thick light cream coloured head. The head is long lasting and leaves a coating on the side of the glass as you drink. Aroma is quite sweet and does smell like it is going to be very alcoholic. There is evidence of fruit (vine fruits mostly), sugar (a brown dark sugar), malt

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