X27 - Dugges Kals Stout

Having tasted a lot of Belgian beers lately, I had the craving for a Swedish stout! And this one is from one of my favourite brewerys in Sweden - Dugges. But sorry to say, this one didn´t meet their usual standard.
The nose is dark and very smoky with notes of muscovado sugar, tar and freshly roasted coffee. And it starts of nicely but it becomes thinner and thinner on the nose as it sits in the glas. Too bad.
The taste is the same - it starts of nicely with dark, sweet fruit and some smoky, nice notes but the finish is medium long and ends rather thin. When drunk fast, a nice beer, but for those long evenings of sipping, it doesn´t fill its shoes.

80p   (tasted from bottle - 2010/12)

No 63 - Gulden Draak

Aaaaaah - a deep, powerful, lovely nose with lots and lots of dark, sweet fruit hits my nose when I put it in the glas. Waves of dark bread, raisins, candied orange peels and rasberrys oozes up from the glas. Very deep, sweet and good!

The taste is big, broad and beautiful with dark fruit, a fine sweetness and a long, satisfying finish. A very nice flavour of sweet oranges. Lots of character. Very, very good.

93p   (tasted from bottle - 2010/12)

No 62 - Duchesse De Bourgogne

This beauty opens up with a pungent nose of asparagus, sour cherrys, balsamic notes and a touch of english candy - a very expressive, interesting and stunning nose. It has a very distinct feeling. But I like it!
The taste is deep, elegant and fine with beautiful notes of red cherrys, some strawberrys and a fine balsamic note. Very long and full of finesse. This is a great beer! Not for everyone, but I´m glad I have tasted it. And a beautiful label on the bottle!

94p   (tasted from bottle - 2010/12)

No 61 - St Bernardus Grottenbier

A deep, big nose with lots of raisins, dark plums, chocolate and a fine creamy note. Some christmasy notes. Deep and fine but not that exciting. Good though.
The taste is medium big with sweet black fruits, smoky notes and a nice bitterness in the finish, which is rather long and tasty. A solid built beer that is very good, but I had expected more from this brewery, since the other beers from here - the Abt 12 and especially the Triple - really have been my cup of tea!

89p   (tasted from bottle - 2010/12)