De Dolle Boskeun

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

3 June 2005 - (De Yserpoort cafe - Diksmuide) - Some sweet malt and hop aroma, but the aroma is low. Make sure the temperature is high enough. Light brown colour with a bit too much cloudy sediment for me, with good head and good lacing. Complex fruit flavour and full of hops. Bitter tangy finish and thick mouthfeel.

Bottle. An orange coloured beer with a beautiful large long-lasting white head and good lacing. The aroma is spicy and peppery with good hop qualities. The taste is lovely; spices. pepper, hops, candy sugar, alcohol. A truly lovely beer and a relief as I was a bit disappointed with the Oeral last week.

bottle, pours a deep peach color. with a thick rocky white head. leaves some nice lace. i havent seen that for a while. aroma of spice and malt. a little dusty. taste is malt up front then spice and apricot. slight warming from the alcohol. mouthfeel is smooth, carbonated and dry. lightly bitter. excellent beer.

Bottle: Dirty hazy yellow, quite cloudy with loads of chunks floating about, large white rocky head, decent lacing, light carbonation.   Sweet spicy aroma, candyish, pale fruit.   Quite yeasty on the tongue, slight spiciness, a bit dry.   Decent body, moderate mouthfeel.   Finishes quite bready/yeasty, with a slight spiciness to it.   Enjoyable, albeit rather ordinary.

Couleur jaune luminescente aux reflets marron, apparence opaque sous une énorme mousse blanche et persistante. La mousse adhère parfaitement sur toute la paroi du verre. Fruits exotiques, ananas et caramel en arômes. Complexe en bouche, levuré, pleinement houblonnée, palpable touche fruitée rappelant les pêches et les abricots, épaisse base de malt blond, partiellement sucré aux réminiscences de miel et de sucre candi. Texture laiteuse, faible carbonatation, finale se dirigeant vers l’anis et exposant une faible part d’alcool. Très rafraîchissante! En fût à la brasserie, Voyage Europe 2005

Poured an effervescent amber with a small creamy white head. Strong sweet aroma of spicy nutmeg, fruits, and alcohol. Taste is complex honey, apricots, dark fruits, molasses, and a very strong alcohol burn. My throat and stomach felt on fire from this one. I’m trying to figure out how this beer can actually taste stronger than Stille Nacht. Average body. Good flavor, but not nearly drinkable enough.

Bottle from Beers of Europe. Golden orange. Persistant head. Aroma of curacao, pepper, peach, coriander, honey and yeast. Good mouthfeel with dry bitter finish. Very enjoyable.

Original rating in spring 2004 = 3.9: Cloudy golden body, bottle-conditioned with plenty of yeast particules. Superbly laced huge foamy head, rocky and leaving a trace on the glass at each sip. Aroma is mostly yeasty-sweet with light herbal hops noticeable in the shape of clover. There’s a good green apple character matching the honeyish malt and the yeast provides a mild farmhouse character. In mouth, the texture is silky and creamy. The taste is in line with the aroma, adding a balancing bitter finish, a bit like a Saison. This is overall an extremely well balanced beer with enough originality to be interesting throughout, but still eminently drinkable.

Necessary update: Never dying head atop the tropical juice colored hue. Let this one breathe my friends and get ready for the showdown. Enormous barleywine-ish honey nose. Highly floral noble hops (goldings?) bring on earthy and musty notes. Soft soft carbonation takes you aback, this is a stunningly easy 5 for the palate, expanding, intrusive mouthfeel. The De Dolle yeast procures more spice hints than you can count and they’re just intertwined one with another in a maze that strikes right through your ecstasy never points. This has it all, the rustic aspects of the best Ardennes yeasts, the punch of something truly special and unique, the sweetness of the best desserts, the round and velvety palate fit for kings and the underlying camouflaged alcohol. An incantation from another world and a superior brew, even from this brewer.