Hofdraak
't Hofbrouwerijke

HofdraakHofdraak
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From:
't Hofbrouwerijke
 
Belgium
Style:
Belgian Dark Ale
Ranked #43
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
81
Ranked #25,370
Avg:
3.48 | pDev: 11.21%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
25
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 13, 2023
Added:
Nov 02, 2006
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
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Ratings by DoubleJ:
Photo of DoubleJ
Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

2.69/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Belgian beer. Let's write another chapter. On to the beer:

Look out, we have a gusher on our hands. After it (and its side effects) clears, we have brownish-orange colored beer. The head is soapy looking and thick, retention is good. A few chunks of sediment sink into the glass of the beer. The nose....it's like a touch of bland sourness with pinches of dark malt and fudge.

A little sour and a little sweet. Flanders Brown knnockoff? There is an essence of toffee and strawberry, only to be knocked off by a mild, bland sourness. Its body is nearly medium sized, and rather smooth with the carbonation.

Not really what I was hoping. The dragon court is a miss. I prefer my Belgian dragons to be golden (looks towards Gulden Draak).
Mar 26, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.81 by samEBC from Belgium

Jan 13, 2023
Photo of utopiajane
Reviewed by utopiajane from New York

2.83/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
Pours dark brown with a fat tan head of belgian style foam. Clear. Smells nutty and with lots of chocolate. Spice. There is a brett note on the nose. Earth and no real hops presence. Effervescing. Caramel notes and toasty notes emrge as it warms. Hay. Drinks with all that . Biscuity creamy malt. silky mouthfeel. bubbles perfect but there is a brett note and instead of finishing with all that flavor the beer seems softly cut short by paper int he finish. Drying but not bitter. I don't think these are brewing flaws. I think this beer was simply on the shelf too long.
Apr 08, 2017
Photo of guityler83
Reviewed by guityler83 from Wisconsin

3.19/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.25
bottle

A: Dark brown, nearly black color. Clarity is moderate. Head poured huge (4 fingers) cola looking with lots of mixed sized tan bubbles. three pours before I could fit the beer in the glass.

S: Moderate brett aromatics - Rustic barnyard, wet hay, and basement come to mind. No hop aroma. Mild toast and nutty malt aroma.

T: Medium biscuit, toast and nutty malt flavor with low hop bitterness. Very rustic, earthy, dirt forward brett fermentation character which dominates the balance. Slight oak comes through as it warms up. Light tartness. Rough around the edges mineral flavor in the finish.

M: Medium body with very high carbonation. Mild alcohol warming with no creaminess. Medium drying affect on the palette - slightly harsh.

O: Some major flaws with this beer. Carbonation was so high it was almost undrinkable. The harsher brett characteristics made the aroma and flavor unappealing. I don't know if this bottle was infected (un-intentionally) what but it was a big let down.
Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.87 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jan 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by BeersAndBears from Georgia

Nov 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.35 by mattfancett from England

Aug 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by HoistinBrews from Minnesota

Aug 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by LJWalker from Indiana

Apr 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by drummerguy from Virginia

Apr 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by desint from Belgium

Oct 18, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Brew33 from Ohio

Aug 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

Feb 09, 2013
Photo of atr2605
Reviewed by atr2605 from New York

3.53/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A-pours a brown/dark amber with a tan head with outstanding retention
S-brown sugar, plums, black cherry
T-plums and a toasted brown sugar flavor that finishes with caramel
M-really high carbonation, medium bodied
O-A bit different for the style, I liked it but probably wouldn't seek it out again
Aug 11, 2012
Photo of avalon07
Reviewed by avalon07 from South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
A: Poured from a bottle to a tulip glass. Had a brown color and a cloudy texture. There was a large, off white, creamy/fluffy, ling-lasting head.

S: A slightly muted aroma of malt, fruit, and some yeast.

T: Tasted of Belgian yeast, dark fruit (plums), spices, malt, and a hint of chocolate. Not a bad flavor, but certainly a little on the thin side.

M: A massive amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: Definitely a mixed bag here. Not a bad beer, but there are better examples of the style.
Jun 12, 2012
Photo of drpimento
Reviewed by drpimento from Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Not bad, not bad. Poured at a good temperature with a lovely, massive, thick, foam, frothy, billowy, light tan head that slowly settles and lots of lace. Color is an appealing clear, amber brown with lots of bubble trails. Aroma is malt, yeast, bread dough, rye, fruit. Flavor's like nose, is fairly well balanced between, sweet, bitter, and carbonic tang, with sweet on top, then bitter wiith the tang not so strong but the action of fhe carbonation perfectly offsetting the other two main characteristics. Body is good. Finish is like flavor, fairly long and has a little booziness. Good drinking beer.
Jun 05, 2012
Photo of daledeee
Reviewed by daledeee from Iowa

3.31/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
New beer. Nice label. Belgian beer. Let's try it.

Pours nicely with dark cloudy body and extreme off white head and good lacing.

Nose is dark fruit and very faint chocolate.

I really tried to be optimistic, but this is way overcarbonated without depth of flavor. Club soda and alka seltzer comes to mind. After that there is plenty of hops some prunes or plums and some malt. I am having trouble enjoying the flavor due to the club soda. Not a keeper.
Apr 28, 2012
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

3.98/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a deep ruby red amber. Massive off-white to tan three finger head. Active carbonation kept the head in place. When the head did dissipate, it left massive lacing. Aromatic fruit and sweet malt aroma. Taste is light and dark fruit, sweet, dark and a bit of toasted malt, a bit of cola. Finish is slightly dry with a hop kick. A very nice drinkable example of a Belgian dark ale. I enjoyed watching it and drinking it.
Mar 06, 2012
Photo of mrfrancis
Reviewed by mrfrancis from Kentucky

3.48/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A: Pours a dark brown with a bubbly beige head.

S: Aromas of toffee, chocolate, anise, and bready yeast are apparent on the nose.

T: Notes of dark bread, anise, chocolate, toffee, vanilla bean, leather, and earthy, herbal hops gently wash across the palate. The finish is clipped and mildly spicy with a combination of chocolate, vanilla, leather, and hop flavors that is quite pleasant.

M: Medium bodied and very dry with prickly carbonation. This one has a bubbly, energetic character that needs to be reigned in a bit.

O: This is a decent Belgian dark ale that could be quite good with further improvement. If the carbonation were toned down and the body were a bit thicker, the flavors of this ale would come into better focus. This ale has quite a bit of potential, but at the moment, it's nothing to write home about.
Dec 15, 2011
Photo of lacqueredmouse
Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

2.62/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Awesome label. Mine was stuck upside-down as well, which I feel adds some character.

Unfortunately, this absolutely gushes on uncapping. Obscenely overcarbonated, I'm left with about a third of a bottle once it has settled enough to do a pour. Pale brownish in colour, with an ironically minimal head after the gushing carbonation has worn itself out. Light-bodied with a fair amount of cloudy sedimentation. Eh.

Nose is mild, with a slight Belgian-yeast roundness to it, and a touch of cinnamon spice. It also has the slight twang of acidity, and a thin watery character that gives the faint suggestion of pretty generic homebrew.

Taste is battered by the carbonation, which is still present with a vengeance. Bubbling through the palate, I'm left with strained taste buds by the time the flavours actually come through. There's actually a pleasant roasty bitterness to this which comes through late and adds a touch of sophistication. But this sits above that insane seltzer water character and the thin spicy character from the yeast. There's little else to recommend it.

Wow. I can't tell you how disappointed I am with this. Any Belgian should be better than this: you guys have such a long and wonderful brewing tradition to draw upon. This is very amateurish, verging on genuinely unpleasant. And the carbonation is a joke.
Oct 15, 2011
Hofdraak from 't Hofbrouwerijke
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 25 ratings