Gulden Draak
A dark Belgian beer named after Ghent's golden dragon.
Gulden Draak, which translates to "Golden Dragon" from Dutch, is a dark Belgian beer with an alcohol content of 10.5% ABV. It is produced by Brouwerij Van Steenberge in Ertvelde, East Flanders, and takes its name from the golden dragon perched atop the belfry of Ghent. The beer’s strong alcohol scent can make its aroma hard to pin down, but it carries powerful notes of barley, ripe plums, and cherries, with some tasters also detecting a sweet coffee fragrance. The flavor is less dominated by alcohol than the aroma, offering hints of sour cherries and brown sugar, followed by a somewhat bitter aftertaste. In 1998, the American Tasting Institute (now ChefsBest) named it the best-tasting beer in the world. The beer is dark in color with a caramel-colored foam head. Like other special beers from the same brewery, it undergoes high fermentation with a secondary fermentation using wine yeast, which takes place both in the bottle and in the barrel, allowing it to be preserved for years. Gulden Draak is sold in 33, 75, and 150 centiliter glass bottles wrapped in white plastic, as well as in 30-liter kegs. Variations include the Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple, a pale quadrupel version of the original dark brown beer, named after Ghent’s postal code (9000). It uses three different malts and the same wine yeast for secondary fermentation, and is packaged in black plastic-wrapped bottles of the same sizes, plus kegs. Another variant is Gulden Draak The Brewmasters Edition, where the standard beer is aged in used whiskey barrels. There is also a 7.5% ABV Gulden Draak Vintage.
Quick Facts
- Brewery
- Brouwerij Van Steenberge
- Style
- Dark triple ale
- Abv
- 10.5%
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Gulden Draak takes its name from the golden dragon atop the belfry of Ghent. It is a high fermentation beer with secondary fermentation, using a wine yeast for that stage. Fermentation occurs both in the bottle and in the barrel, allowing preservation for years. The beer has a strong scent of alcohol, which can make its aroma difficult to define, but notes of barley, ripe plums, and cherries are present, with some testers worldwide mentioning a sweet coffee aroma. The taste is influenced somewhat less by the alcohol than the aroma, hinting at sour cherries and brown sugar, with a somewhat bitter aftertaste.
Reader's Guide
Gulden Draak stands as a notable example of Belgian strong dark ale, recognized internationally when the American Tasting Institute (now ChefsBest) awarded it the best-tasting beer in the world in 1998. Its high alcohol content of 10.5% and use of wine yeast for secondary fermentation distinguish it from many other beers. The beer is available in several variations: the Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple, a pale quadrupel variant named after the postal code of Ghent (9000), brewed with three different kinds of malt and also using wine yeast for secondary fermentation, packaged in black plastic-enveloped bottles; Gulden Draak The Brewmasters Edition, where the regular beer is aged in a used whiskey barrel; and Gulden Draak Vintage at 7.5% abv. The beer's packaging in white plastic-enveloped bottles and its ability to be preserved for years contribute to its distinctive presence in the market.
Did You Know?
- Gulden Draak is named after the golden dragon at the top of the belfry of Ghent.
- It was awarded the best-tasting beer in the world in 1998 by the American Tasting Institute (now ChefsBest).
- The Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple is named after the postal code (9000) of Ghent, Belgium.
- Gulden Draak The Brewmasters Edition is aged in a used whiskey barrel.
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