De Dolle Arabier

Brewed by De Dolle Brouwers
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Diksmuide, Belgium

Bottle. Hazy, pale orange / golden color with big white head. Lots of fruity aromas. Lemon, banana, green apples and dried apricot. Taste is very complex and well balanced. Sweet malts and honey. Sweet and sour fruits. Fresh and flowery hops. Smooth mouthfeel.

In short: Crazy blonde Belgian Ale. Cannot summarize…
How: Many bottles of various age and on tap at Brewery (poured by brewer!!!)
The look: Cloudy dark blonde body with a long lasting large white head. Most bottles give so much head that the pour is usually problematic
In long: Very yeasty, very sweeet and very hoppy beer. With the Arabier you crank everything to 11. Honeyed caramel, bready, biscuit malts, light but complex fruity notes. Top-notch mouthfeel. Something wild in there, this is not a funky beer by any means but there’s something lively in the beer, the feeling I get from my favourite Saisons. By Belgian standards the hops are over-the-top. A ton of them and they also come with a rather spicy (pepper mainly) flavour. Very sharp and bitter finish. These days the only thing as bitter as a Belgian Arabier is a Lebanon Arab.

Fragrant and floral nose balanced with a dry hop character that continues in abundance into the first sips. Pours medium cloudy pale gold with a persistant, pillowy head. At once rich, fresh, sharp, and bitter with a lot of citrus fruit and some vinousness. Killed a little by the carbonation, which is a shame, but this is bound to vary from bottle to bottle and I will certainly try it again.

Bottle. Honey colored body with tons of bubbles and an out of control, rocky white head. Sweet and mild aroma, slightly acidic and tart. Bready and a bit yeasty, faintly metallic. Slightly bitter flavor, tart and acidic again, faint hops/resin, dry finish. Good mouthfeel... fresh, bubbly, dry. This is a nice beer, but not the de dolle flagship beer for sure.

Bottle from Utobeer. A cloudy golden orange with a huge white tower of head. Sweet honey and orange aroma. Hoppy with orange also apparent in the taste. Quite bitter which, unfortunately, brings it down a peg or two for me personally. Has a good body and a long finish as the alcohol warms the belly. A quality beer from one of my favorite brewers, just not my style.

Bottle. Huge rocky white head upon a hazy, pale orange/golden body. Lots of fruity aromas. Lemon, banana, green apples and dried apricot. Taste is very complex and well balanced. Sweet malts and honey. Sweet and sour fruits. Fresh and flowery hops. Smooth mouthfeel. A very nice and drinkable Belgian.

Bottle at Trollekelder, Gent. Golden colour with a huge head. Yeasty and complex fruity and grassy hop aroma. A hint of spices as well. Quite bitter throughout, yet fruity and well-balanced. Leaving the mouth dry and wanting more. Warming alcohol. Well-carbonated. A great summer beer.

Another excellent ale from the unmitigated geniuses at De Dolle. Not quite as complex as Oerbier for me, but still rich and full of flavour. Slightly sweet, but competently so. Lovely.