De Dolle Arabier

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

Gee whiz,I have had numerous bottles of this and never rated it. So I get one to rate and it seemed a little off so I will go by past impressions. Always seemed to be a bit spicey,doughy and a touch of fruit. My least enjoyable of the de dolle brews. Way,way to carbonated for me as it always seems to be hard to taste when the bubbles are taking the flavor off my tongue.

Bottle: Pours hazy golden with a huge, white head. The aroma is of yeast, light malt and citrus fruit. The flavour is sweet and slightly malty with notes of yeast, apricot, corriander and other spices. Creamy texture. Medium bodied. The finish is dry with some hop bitterness.

Bottle. Had one or two other belgian strongs from De Dolle and its never left a good impression with me. Maybe it’s just because my palate has not developed enough to appreciate them. Anyway, I enjoyed this one much more. Pour is clear golden-orange with large, retaining, white head. A beautiful looking belgian. Aroma is dry, with yeast and slight malt notes. Flavor is spicy at first, then turns more sour and tart (one of the reasons i really like this) and a little bit hoppy. While the aroma kind of turns me off, the flavor/palate has much to offer. A nice surprise.

(33 cl bottle at The Rover in Gothenburg) Clear golden color, huge white head. High CO2-level. Sour Belgian ale scent. Rather bitter taste, Belgian after taste. Full mouth feel and medium high bitterness.

Bottle. Insane head. Hazy orange. Nose is primarily yeast, perhaps some spice/herb (probably from hops). Alcohol is quite noticeable, hop bitterness very present. Would drink again.

Bottle purchased and sampled summer ’06.

The beer rushes into my glass in an explosion of thick white foam that dwarfs the golden liquid beneath. The aroma is somewhat sour with aspects of a dry, fruity white wine, hints of mushroom and pear and pineapple sorbet. The flavor is intensely spicy, pepper and coriander and peppermint atop soft apple fruitiness that turns a corner early on into a bitter hop finish steeped in rich wood. Along the way, we get the citrus bitterness of grapefruit pith, glorious yeast flavors unfolding like a medicinal herb garden on a dusty summer afternoon, and as bitter the hop finish fades, an apricot nectar sweetness settles over the tongue leaving its final impression.

This spicy, hoppy golden Belgian style was not the easiest for me to appreciate, but this beer is wonderful and it gets better with every sip. I completely understand how this one gets 4.5+ ratings from many of the most developed palates on the site.The mouthfeel is vibrant and lively on the tongue without being prickly, neither too thin nor too sticky, just right on the mark. Wow. I’d like to try this one with a few years of age on it.

Insanely large white head covers a slighly hazy golden body. (I poured into a glass that holds a pint and had one finger of beer, the rest of foamy head... after a while I got a bit more in.) Aromas are fruity and floral. Coriander and cloves cover the spicy aspect of things. Yeast and bread are lurking in the background. If you fight your way through all of the foam, in addition to the frothy-looking mustache you now support on your upper lip there is a notably alcoholic warmth and a sweet/sour balance that covers the fruit and malt and spice. Nicely balanced, although there is a bit more alcoholic burn than I expected from 7%. There is also an earthy/wood (oak?)flavoring that helps the beer finish.

Hazy colour with a very fluffy head. Fruitly aroma and with sour and bitter flavour in the end.