St. Sebastiaan Dark
The St. Sebastiaan Dark is a dark, medium to heavy high fermented abbey beer that tastes both sweet and bitter on the tongue. This St. Sebastiaan has a strong, sweet aroma of caramel and malt and gives you a full taste in the mouth. It is re-fermented on the jug and on the bottle by the brewery. The result is a nice, clear beer with a wonderful aroma and, for those who love it, a nice touch of yeast at the bottom of the bottle.
3.4
393 reviews
Meer, Belgium
Community reviews
500ml ceramic bottle at home. Brown pour with reddish edges. Thick tan head with good retention and lacing. Caramel, dark fruit, bread, spice, yeast, mild floral hops. Lively carbonation and light body. Sweet finish. Honestly, given the packaging I was expecting a little more.
500ml ceramic bottle from the Offie, Leicester. Packaging is over the top but the beer itself is rather attractive: cola brown, slightly translucent with a loose khaki head. Light nutty aroma with some liquorice and sweet spice. Sweet taste with enough of a balance to give it character. Again there’s a nutty note in the fairly short finish. Very heavily carbonated, which works for the light body. It’s a delicious drink of a style I’m fond of, although I’ve had better.
the aroma is caramel and fruity with hints of milk chocolate, toffee, raisin, red wine and vanilla... the taste is caramel and fruity with notes of dried plum, toffee, raisin, milk chocolate, brown sugar and cherry... sweet and dry aftertaste...
Pours dark brown, ruby hints, with a small off-white cap, moderate retention. Nice spiced apple mash on the nose, some caramel, some cocoa powder, even coffee tin and some faint dark licorice and anise. The taste isn’t as intense, but starts with a mild alcoholic burn, some dark spices and thick caramel. Apple esters, some toasted malt, with some extra spices in the finish, almost a bit Christmas-y, which is nice. Aftertaste is spicy, with some lingering sweetness, but also a bit dry. Dusty. Medium to light body, medium carbonation. A nice, spicy Belgian beer, tasty and easy enough to drink.
From old tasting notes. Sharp reddish brown color. Bubbly tan head. Faint caramel malt aroma. Fruity sweet character with a hint of yeastiness. Though it’s not complex, their is an element of intrigue to this brew. Nice subtle hop finish. Long pleasant aftertaste.
Bottle shared at Cotteridge convention 05/03/2016. Thanks to Shane. A clear dark amer coloured pour with a loose white head. Aroma is dark cereal grains, papery, brown sugars, pale grains. Flavour is composed of spicy rye bread, brown sugars, little jammy fruits, papery, little oxidised. Palate is semi sweet, higjish carbonation. Not in great shape.
F: huge, beige, slowly diminishing.
C: dark brown, clear.
A: malty, dark fruits, bit of chocolate, coffee, toffee, spicy, yeasty.
T: malty, chocolate, cherries, very dry on the palate, yeasty, bit of toffee, medium body, medium to high carbonation, pretty nice, 0,5l bottle from Cora Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in Brussels.
50 cl flagon served in La Trappe chalice. Pours darkest brown, almost black, with some reddish shinings. Thick, tan head vanishes quite fast. Aroma is quite low: just blackberry and blackcurrant. Fizzy, very fresh, almost no bitterness. Low persistence. Bah.
Garrafa 50 cl, cor caramelo, sabor com notas cítricas, a caramelo e malte, cerveja muito saborosa, corpo médio e carbonatação boa.
Sampled from an 11.2 oz brown bottle this beer poured a very dark brown color with orange highlights and a large fluffy tan head that lingered forever and left great lacing. The aroma was sweet raisin, cherry, molasses, cola and a touch of citrus. The flavor was sweet with toasty malts, caramel, molasses, bread, raisin, fig and cherry. Very long finish. Moderately full bodied. Outstanding.
Bottle sourced from Toft Vin, Copenhagen, shared with the Mrs - pours dark brown with a fizzy big beige head. Sweet malty with lots of caramel and toffee notes, some dried fruit, slight yeasty character, light spices, is rather highly carbonated and has a rather harsh jarring metallic aftertaste, and looking at previous page of reviews seems like I am not the only one to experience this.
Beautiful ruby read beer with a big fluffy head and some bubbles.
Smell is warm and yeasty. Caramel, toffee mixed with curry, leather, coriander. And something that reminds me of nam pla.
Taste is surprisingly watery. Dry and nicely balanced, elegant bitterness. Spicy - black pepper, cumin, hint of smoke.
Belle robe brune presque noire, mousse abondante et crémeuse. Nez discret, pue expressif, notes d’agrumes, pas vraiment ce que l’on attende d’une double. Bouche aqueuse et manque d’ampleur et de complexité. Pourquoi dépenser tant d’argent pour une bouteille qui ne contient rien....
500ml crown-capped stoneware bottle with build-in flip-top bought at Good Stuff in Yuen Long.
Looks: Clear deep blackish brown colour with small amount of dirt like yeast sediments; Two finger head with crumpety light beige foams which lasts for 3 minutes; Fair sticky lacing and very fizzy carbonation.
Aroma: Very fragrant strong dark malt, with strong caramel, toffee, dark fruits, flaky apples, Cola, floral, brown sugar, strong dark bread, strong Bel yeast, lemon and light grass.
Taste: Mid to strong sweet dark malt, with light metallic, caramel, sticky toffee, light dark fruits, Cola, carbo, light floral, strong brown sugar, light dark bread, strong Bel yeast, light lemon, light bitter hops and thin grass.
Body: Medium body. Very slick and slightly creamy palate.
Mouth Feel: Fairly solid dark maltyness in a smooth background. Good sticky toffee, caramel are main features. nice medium sweet brown sugar brings out dark fruits, floral and Cola. Very yeasty with light lemon to round. Mellow and pretty nice!
Hoppiness: Floral, lemon and light grass in nose. Same in taste but lighter. Bitterness is very light side for an abrupt, low-fi astringent sweet malty finish.
After Taste: Slight dry. Yeasty and fairly easy to mouth.
Comments: While the St. Sebastiaan Gold tripel was nothing special, this one seems better as an Abbey Dubbel - good looks and head, good malty yeasty aroma and taste with plenty of fruity esters and nice brown sugar. Only the hoppiness is lacking. Very solid and about average, but I still think the stone bottle is an expensive fifth wheel. Worth a try!
From Alcampo. In La Trappe chalice. Watching Silicon Valley 2x06-07. Pleasant to drink but missing a little punch. Everything is a bit more soft than desiderable: the feel, the tate and the aroma
Bottle at Cotts 2, from a stone flaggon, cheers to SHartshorne 05/03/16.
Chestnut brown with a decent tan covering.
Nose is light charr, toffee, dark fruit rinds.
Taste comprises fruit cake, toffee, astringent bitterness, light yeast strokes.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close.
So so.
Fra flaske (med kork og champagnesmell!) på DØE dag 1, sammen med Steven: brunsvart med flott beige skum som varer. Røde bær, vanilje og rom i aroma og smak. Dejlig eftersmag med karmel og røde bær.
Swing-top ceramic bottle shared at Cotteridge II as St. Sebastiaan Dark, 6.9%. Many thanks to Shane. Dark brown with an orange hue, small foamy off-white head. Aroma is molasses, caramelised sugars, lightly earthy. Body is smooth with soft carbonation. Taste is raisin and caramel with a dry and floral dimension. Decent. The ceramic swing-top adds a bit of a medieval vibe to proceedings - quite superficial but I like that when drinking beers from a 365 year old brewery!
Zwart bier met mooie schuimkraag. Smaak is zoet, licht bitter met iets van rook, karamel en fris fruitig bessen en braam. Geslaagd bier.
Bottle shared at the Cotteridge Convention - 2016 edition. Cheers! Pours rich amber with a creamy, tan head. The aroma has notes of tangy fruits, bready malts. Medium sweet flavour with more bread, light toffee, mellow bitterness. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Sweet on the finish, with some toasted sugars, sugary and tangy ripe dark fruits. Pretty OK.
16oz Ceramic Swing Top (Courtesy of Headbanger) poured into a Trappist Glass at 42°. Color is a deep mahogany with good carbonation and a soft tight light tan head. Aroma is toasted nuts, dark fruit and yeast. Medium body that gives a light smooth mouth feel. Flavor is lighter than I was expecting, stating with dried fruit and toffee then a bit of yeast and spice come in with a mild bitterness. After taste is slightly sweet with a hint of caramel, as this fades the bitterness builds leaving it with a dry feel. Overall it’s a good brew with easy yet complex flavors, but like the Grand Reserve it’s missing that traditional Belgian taste.
Bottle thanks to Shane at the 2016 Cotteridge Convention. It pours cloudy deep brown with a medium off-white head. The aroma is earthy, toasted brown bread, wood, leather, dull toffee and cardboard. The taste is bitter, earthy, wood, dark fruits, fruit cake, caramel and dull spice with a dry finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. A bit chewy, but overall not bad.
Bottle at CWC II; dark chestnut brown pour with a creamy off white head, aroma has fruit action along with a hint of bread, taste has sweet caramel, dark fruits, some spice.
Cotteridge Convention II. Bottle shared thanks to s_hartshorne, cheers Shane. Dark brown beer with large head. Aroma of roast malts and some dark fruit. Taste is dark malts, a little caramel, sugar candy sand brown bread. Ok.
Small offwhite frothy creamy head. Fair lacing. Mostly diminishing. Black flat thick body. Aroma: vodka, moderate roasted malt, light coffee, dried fruits. Initial flavor: light sweet (plum, malt). Final flavor: very light bitter and light sweet;average duration. Palate: light medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation and metallic finish. Metalized mouthfeel appears as flaw. Tastes like dried fruits. Less sweet than other Dubbels. Malty backbone. Very light astringency arises with the increase of temperature, reminding of fresh plums. Very tasty, but lacks elements of the style. 110s uusd15
75 cl bottle. Pours clear, very dark, caramel brown. Small white head. Smell is bit sweet, rather simple. Taste is metallic ( very, very metallic ! ) bit sweet. some caramel tones. Tastewise, this is OK. Simple brown ale. Appart from the metallicness, that is. But again, AGAIN, this has such a big amount of carbonation, it simply repels me. I’d still drink this, after swirling this, it does turn better, but I simply do not understand why so many belgian brewers put so damn much carbo in their beer...
Bottle bought at Dranken Hinderdael in Temse. Pours dark brown to black with a medium beige head. medium to full body. Medium carbonation.
Nose: raisin, dried fruits, caramel, sugar, roasted malts, banana, vanilla and floral. Taste: starts with some notes of port and a alcoholic feeling in my throath. followed by foral and coffee notes. together with caramel, vanilla and dried fruits and a creamy feeling. Finish is medium dry bitter with some dusty notes.
Earlier Rating: 9/7/2015 Total Score: 3
Bottle bought at Schaliënhuis Prik en Tik in Temse.
Pous dark brown with a big creamy beige head. Well carbonation. Nose: caramel, roasted malts, floral perfumed. Taste: bit watery in the beginning, afterwards: roasted malts with floral touches. Finishing is bit watery with floral and coffee notes and a medium bitterness that sticks in the aftertaste. Medium bodied.
Bottle from Leamington wine, Leamington. Deep brown colour with a foMy off white head. Aroma is yeasty fruit and slight spice. Taste is well balanced bitter sweet. Nice.
Donker bruin cola achtig bier met een goede getinte schuim kraag. Ruikt zoet, mout, kruidig, hoppig. Smaakt drop, laurier, vrij dun, mout.
Chocolade bruine kleur met een volle kraag. Ruikt zoetig, mout, herfstfruit, chocolade. Smaakt vanille, herfstfruit.