Gulden Draak

Sadly, American style IPAs have not caught on in the Netherlands (and, I would guess, Europe in general). There are British IPAs, which I loathe, and Belgian IPAs, which (based on my one taste) are much more similar to British IPAs than American IPAs.

On the bright side, I'm pretty close to Belgium, which produces some of the world's best beers. And, as one might expect, they're quite a bit less expensive than in the U.S. I got this 11.2oz Gulden Draak for 1.60 euros; it's listed as $4.69 at BevMo. I also got a 11.2oz Chimay Blue for 1.50 euros; it's listed as $5.59 on BevMo.

So, Gulden Draak (golden dragon in Dutch). It's a 10.5% ABV dark tripple ale. Wikipedia tells me that it was crowned "best beer in the world" by ChefsBest in 1998. I'd believe it. I accidentally served it too cold, and I initially missed out on a lot of the flavor. It really opened up once it warmed up, though. I caught some hints of apple brandy. Wikipedia tells me that it hints of sour cherries. I'll trust them.