beerhunter111 (50581) reviewed Donker from Brouwerij Aerts 4 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
33cl bottle. A clear orange brown beer with a beige head. Aroma of sweetish caramelized malt, metallic hops. Taste of dark malts, spicy and metallic bitter hops, raisins and nuts.
mike_77 (15875) reviewed Donker from Brouwerij Aerts 4 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Brown colour with thin head. Aroma and flavour have some malt sweetness. Brown bread. Liquorice.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Donker from Brouwerij Aerts 5 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
One of the first two beers by Brouwerij Aerts, launched in 2020 but actually referring back to a local brewery in Geel which closed its doors back in 1909. This Brouwerij Aerts is a joint effort by Het Nest and Pirlot, two trusted 'Kempense' breweries who have recently already joined forces and are now determined to expand; the Aerts brewery as a company is brand new, erected in December (about a month ago at the time I'm writing this), but the building - and brewery - itself was already physically there: it is simply the new name of Geels Brouwhuis, founded in 2018 by the previous owners (a company called Den Bierhemel). Pirlot and Het Nest taking over a brewery which in itself only existed for two years: things are again moving very rapidly in brewing Belgium, it seems... As for this dark Aerts: the label mentions that it is brewed at Pirlot, but I assume it will soon come out of the kettles of the brewery in Geel itself once everything is again operational there. Thick and frothy, yellowish pale beige, membrane-lacing, bit irregularly bubbled but stable head on a misty deep chestnut-bronze coloured beer with warm amber hue and lively sparkling throughout, turning cloudy when the sediment is added. Aroma of hard caramel and caramel candy, fried red apple, clear iron (as in: actual iron shavings), ground hazelnuts, sugared tea, dried apricot, white candi sugar, candied figs, damp autumn leaves. Cleanly fruity onset, crisp with very fizzy and minerally carbonation, overruling hints of cooked apple, fig and some banana; rounded, bit resinous caramelly malt core with some candi-sugary sweetness on top but not too much so, vague metallic edge and softly toasty-bitterish tail. Some spicy notes (clove, nutmeg, even very faint cinnamon) show up in the end, while the toasty bitter accent is joined by a brief leafy hop bitter touch. The whole nevertheless remains gentle in terms of bitterness, while at the same time avoiding overt sweetness; a balancing act I can certainly appreciate in this style, even if the alcohol eventually does appear just a bit too openly and should have been better hidden, and even if that iron effect in the nose is less flattering (and could put some people off a bit, I'm afraid). Decent enough, in all, but who knows how this beer will change when it will actually be brewed in Geel itself...
Bart Cuypers (2) reviewed Donker from Brouwerij Aerts 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
Brown colored beer. Nutty aroma and flavor. Very mild. Nothing extreme, just a good brown beer.
Bart Cuypers (2) reviewed Tripel from Brouwerij Aerts 5 years ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9
Full bodied hoppy blond beer. Fruity, hoppy aroma and taste. A very good example of the Belgian tripel style