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Kasteel Donker
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.
- From:
- Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.
- Belgium
- Style:
- Quadrupel (Quad)
Ranked #52 - ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 92
Ranked #5,357 - Avg:
- 4.12 | pDev: 13.59%
- Reviews:
- 425
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 02, 2024
- Added:
- Oct 14, 2001
- Wants:
- 111
- Gots:
- 190
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JerzDevl2000:
Reviewed by JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey
4.29/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Picked this up last week at Top Hops, having never tried this before. This looked it packed quite a punch and in actuality, it did. Thankfully, there was so much to like about this and for being a strong beer, I actually had to pace myself when it came time to review it. It's exceptionally tasty and smooth, since all of the flavors and the mouthfeel blended seamlessly together.
The pour to this was quite dark, with a cola-like appearance with garnet edges. The head was pretty full and topped by the lacing, which left a spider-web of remnants down the sides of my point glass as I worked my way through this. Lots of candied sugar, brown sugar, and cherry in the nose, reinforced by plum, currant, and fig in the taste. Ya like dark fruit? Look no further. This beer had it all and boy,, did they come into harmony in this bottle. Toss in some dark chocolate, booze, and mead-like sweetness and the result was this doozy of a brew that subtly hit me over the head before I could even finish it. The worst part about it? I ignored the warning signs and kept right on going, because this was so damn good.
Who cares if this wasn't a session beer? You'll want more than one in a sitting anyways. I had the 11.2 oz. bottle that didn't even expire until January but that was more than enough to get a feel for this. Not all quads are created equal and the spice and heavy mouthfeel weren't present here. What resulted was a beer that would be a dessert until itself, unassumingly shoving dinner aside in the process. A must-have for anyone who love Belgian Beers without the seriousness underneath the surface. Really fabulous take on the style!
Oct 04, 2013The pour to this was quite dark, with a cola-like appearance with garnet edges. The head was pretty full and topped by the lacing, which left a spider-web of remnants down the sides of my point glass as I worked my way through this. Lots of candied sugar, brown sugar, and cherry in the nose, reinforced by plum, currant, and fig in the taste. Ya like dark fruit? Look no further. This beer had it all and boy,, did they come into harmony in this bottle. Toss in some dark chocolate, booze, and mead-like sweetness and the result was this doozy of a brew that subtly hit me over the head before I could even finish it. The worst part about it? I ignored the warning signs and kept right on going, because this was so damn good.
Who cares if this wasn't a session beer? You'll want more than one in a sitting anyways. I had the 11.2 oz. bottle that didn't even expire until January but that was more than enough to get a feel for this. Not all quads are created equal and the spice and heavy mouthfeel weren't present here. What resulted was a beer that would be a dessert until itself, unassumingly shoving dinner aside in the process. A must-have for anyone who love Belgian Beers without the seriousness underneath the surface. Really fabulous take on the style!
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania
4.04/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Date Stamp: 45119A KADO
A - Dark raison color with soapy light caramel colored lacing.
S - Dark fruit, light plumb, raison, and a little bit of spice.
T - Malt base is sweet from start to finish with just the right amount of spice and bittering over the top with a little bit of dark fruit.
M - Big medium body that's silky smooth and slight warming in the back of the throat.
O - For a Quad, this is surprisingly sweet.
Jan 02, 2024A - Dark raison color with soapy light caramel colored lacing.
S - Dark fruit, light plumb, raison, and a little bit of spice.
T - Malt base is sweet from start to finish with just the right amount of spice and bittering over the top with a little bit of dark fruit.
M - Big medium body that's silky smooth and slight warming in the back of the throat.
O - For a Quad, this is surprisingly sweet.
Rated by EmilyJV
1.34/5 rDev -67.5%
look: 5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
1.34/5 rDev -67.5%
look: 5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
Insanely sweet. Like carbonated maple syrup with a slight breadiness.
Dec 06, 2023Reviewed by kdd230 from England
4.34/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
330ml. bottle in Vientiane, Laos. Pours a clear reddish brown with a minimal head. Aroma of malts and clearly defined alcohol. Taste of sweet malts, caramel, very rich. Less alcohol in the taste than on the nose; hides the high ABV rather well. A good beer.
May 22, 2023Reviewed by guidodewaal from Netherlands
3.33/5 rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.33/5 rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Dark with a creamy head. Smells fresh but not very strong. Tastes very sweet and a bit starchy. The sweetness doesnt feel artificial, but it is very sweet. A bit too sweet for me personally. The starchy mouthfeel is also not very great in my opinion. Still a good beer non the less.
May 01, 2023Rated by Hond from Netherlands
4.69/5 rDev +13.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.69/5 rDev +13.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Got about a pint in a special Vanhonsebrouck glass from a friendly waiter. A great way to spend a rainy afternoon in good company. Fantastic beer.
Feb 21, 2023Reviewed by Beersnake from California
4.43/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.43/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured at fridge temp. Pours very dark brown with off-white head. Nose is dark bread, toffee, figs, prunes, spice, and tons of malts. The taste is amazing. Tons of toffee, chocolate, dark malts, figs, dates, and prunes. I love this a lot. The aftertaste is sweet and malty. Mouthfeel is pretty thick and creamy. Overall, an absolute winner.
Jul 11, 2022Reviewed by misteil from Ireland
3.77/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.77/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
man i am getting lazy with the reviews these days… oh well. carnaval festivities are in full swing, haven’t exactly been drinking the finest beers over the last few days, but this one is pretty good. super milk chocolatey, really quite sweet, some dark fruit also, typical spicy belgian flavours (although somewhat subdued), could do with some heavy malt flavour to cut through the sweetness, the chocolatey flavours and thick creamy body reallt makes it seem as if you’re drinking liquid chocolate, there is some alcohol warming but the 11% is pretty well concealed, no real bitterness to report, medium carbonation, all in all for me it is a little too monotone and lacking in depth, but it’s a pleasant beer for sure.
Feb 27, 2022Reviewed by tekstr1der from New Hampshire
4.6/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.6/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Absolutely one of my all-time faves, full of dark ripe fruit flavors, sweet sugars like plums. If only it were distributed in my state which oddly carries other Kasteel brews.
Feb 12, 2022Reviewed by hank_and_als_beer_reviews
1.38/5 rDev -66.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.25
1.38/5 rDev -66.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.25
7/11/2021 11:57pm EST
Fort Myers Beach, FL
Poured from a 11.2oz bottle into a weizen glass
Look: Dark as a midwinter night; hold a torch up to reveal its true medium garnet color. SRM 40+. Some lacing and head retention.
Smell: Malt-soaked dark fruits and molasses. It's syrupy in the nose, even from a strong distance.
Taste: Intrusive sweetness saturates the experience. The only redemption here is the escape from the matiness. Black fruits drown in a lake of sweetness, likened to a dinosaur in a tarpit. Surprisingly, neither boozy nor warm--simply syrupy.
Feel: It's physical labor to get this down your throat. Heavy bodied.
Overall: Every beer needs to arrive on the shelf in a drinkable state. This beer needs another year or more to ferment and cut down the sweetness so it can start tasting like a beer.
Jul 12, 2021Fort Myers Beach, FL
Poured from a 11.2oz bottle into a weizen glass
Look: Dark as a midwinter night; hold a torch up to reveal its true medium garnet color. SRM 40+. Some lacing and head retention.
Smell: Malt-soaked dark fruits and molasses. It's syrupy in the nose, even from a strong distance.
Taste: Intrusive sweetness saturates the experience. The only redemption here is the escape from the matiness. Black fruits drown in a lake of sweetness, likened to a dinosaur in a tarpit. Surprisingly, neither boozy nor warm--simply syrupy.
Feel: It's physical labor to get this down your throat. Heavy bodied.
Overall: Every beer needs to arrive on the shelf in a drinkable state. This beer needs another year or more to ferment and cut down the sweetness so it can start tasting like a beer.
Kasteel Donker from Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.
Beer rating:
92 out of
100 with
975 ratings
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