De Dolle Boskeun

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

Bottle. Pours a cloudy amber/brown with barely any head. Aroma of apple and pear fruits. Flavor of crisp, fresh apples, pear, prunes, raisin, molasses, fig, some alcohol, Belgian yeast. A good Belgian strong ale but I’m not too crazy about it.

A litle hazy golden colored beer with a big foamy white head. Aromas of spices (clove), honey, hops and fruits. The taste is light sweet of honey, peaches with touches of banana. You taste a little alcohol. It has a dry after tasting. A great beer.

Bottle courtesy of jrob_21. I haven’t seen this one out in Seattle lately, and so I was very happy to get a chance to try it.

This is an easy 5 for appearance. Below, a rich brown-tinged straw, amply clouded, a little bit of floating matter; atop a gorgeous fluffy near-white head, filling the top half of my Guldenberg snifter and gradually melting down to a big textured fluffy mass, like the giant goose-down snowflakes improbably falling on this April 20th in Seattle. A thin layer of bubbles, small and tightly packed, lasts forever atop the surface, with a striking glow shining from within them, gold and seemingly illuminated from within. The aroma is candy -- pastel mello-cremes from Easter, distinctive house yeasts, gentle spice, a citrus-peel twist, the sweetness of a green grass-stalk between the teeth on a n early summer morning.

Glorious flavor. Tripel-like elements; golden citric flavors, sweet onset (those mello-cremes again), yeast-driven spice, a dry close with the alcohol coming up full, banana esters manifest but never overblown. Full mouthfeel, perfect carbonation, alcohol present but not hot (this has to be the 10% version; no label on the bottle but no way that this mouthfeel could come from 7%)

I just rated this thing really high even while perhaps lowballing the aroma and flavor at 8 each; the components are simply superb. The biggest criticism I can muster is that this is not necessarily a beer that is often going to match what I’m looking for. But it’s spot-on for what I’m a looing for now, a midday treat to be sipped and savored on a spring Sunday.

High points for originality for me. I have never had a beer that had this kind of flavor or aroma. I was picking up spices and easter candy and any number of other things I couldn’t identify. My first sip was definitely a "wow’ sip. Very good and literally like nothing I’ve had before.

Bottle. Sweet apricot/apple malt flavor with mild alcohol astringency. Hazy amber color with moderate head. Sweet apricot/apple flavor with moderate astringent alcohol burn. Bitter finish.

Color: Cloudy, nut brown with honey undertones. Foamy tan head and big lacing. Nose: Big chewy, raisiny and fragrant malty notes. Fresh box of Sun-Maid raisins. Milk chocolate. Palate: Sweet raisins and rich malt. A faint vegetal hoppy note. Creamy and full weight on the palate. Pleasant drying tannins on the finish and the appearance of a nice bready note.

light in color but deep in flavor.big candy sugar presence. the head is luxurant and large and releases more aroma as it settles. the nose is fuity yeast that resembles early fermentation. finish or candy and a touch of hop.

(3/2/08) Draught (I think) sample at Zythos Bier Festival 2008 in Sint Niklaas. 9% ABV according to the ZBF programme. Cloudy golden with a white head. Aroma of yeast, fruits and a bit of hops. Sweetish malty flavor at first with light caramel and fruits hints and some dry light hoppiness in the finish. Medium-bodied. Nice.