De Dolle Dulle Teve Special Reserva

Formerly brewed at De Dolle Brouwers
Style: Abbey Tripel
Diksmuide, Belgium

2003 bottling. Medium amber, a bit of orange, lovely head. Apple aromas overflow with a hint of oak, and a bit of bacterial sourness. Beautiful soft palate. Round flavors of hay hops, apple, toffee, caramel, oak, faint salt, and yeast. All the flavors melded perfectly. Ths was just fantastic.

Much thanks to hopdog for giving me this bottle from 2004. Have really been wanting to try this one. Opened it up side by side with a 2005 "regular" Mad Bitch. Pours a hazy golden orange amber with some small floaties. This was a gusher when opened but settled out fairly quickly. Head was off white, bubbly, sustained and laced. Both versions the head was very lively even as the beer sat. Look like a bunch of random volcanos erupting on the surface of the head. Aroma of dark fruits, candi sugars, honey dew, vanilla, green apple and oak. This beer has mellowed out over the past couple years and the barrel aging has really done some wonders for the aroma. Now onto the flavor...first off this still has great lively carbonation on the tongue. Was picking up more of the yeast in the flavor, a bit dry but still more of the dark fruits, melon, vanilla, citrus and oak in the flavor. What a treat...I loved this one. Alcohol well hidden. I have a feeling this ones score is just going to keep rising and rising as more people open this one up as it’s had time to sit.

2005 bottle drunk on 4/20/06
Large white/off-white head is frothy, full and rocky on top, with massive staying power and lacing. Red clay backdrop with a ruddy orange overtone, tiny bubbles rising vigorously up through the liquid.
Aroma is vanilla and almond at first (medium-dry), with spicy cinnamon adding a deep, almost smokey-like note and finally, the sweet, liquorous apples appearing on the end, mixed in with a supple, creamy-sweetness with strong warming fumes curling about in the nose. It’s too much to take in and quite overwhelming to the senses. But allowing more breathing and continued effort at unlocking this complex, but burly aroma, the apples do slowly surge forth. A mushy-sweet ice-cider-like forcefulness, with very dry, bone dry in fact, tannins that take things too far, save for the clean, dainty Belgian yeast that is De Dolle’s. With extended breathing and warming, I am able to really lock on to the apples, which are spicy, flavorful and just juicy-sweet. Overall, the aroma is very cordial-like, but with a strong sense of alcohol warmth to keep things from getting too sweet. In fact, it tends towards dry, very dry, on end, but with enough apple and cinnamon, and light burnt cloves. A bit too aggressive yet, in aroma, but it’s got its strengths as well (yeast, true apple brandy notes, and light spiciness).
The first few sips of the flavor and I’m shaking my head and remembering having this stuff fresh off the shelves. It wasn’t even worth rating then, and though it’s still waxing towards greatness, it has mellowed out just enough to be able to discern its potential. Too much alcohol dryness and sharpness plague the flavor early, with dry, nutty tannins, hard wood sharpness and dry apples. But a sweetness that I don’t remember, much like a heavily sweet desert ice-wine, creeps in, syrupy almost, very creamy and sweet, mostly creamy caramel-like in nature, matching the brandy soaked apples in stride and bracing, albeit not yet successfully for the sharp, rasping finish. Though as it warms, the balance does improve, though alcohol is still mostly unforgiving. All that said, I still DID enjoy this glass. It forces respect and slow, careful sipping and ponderance, but I do actually believe that this stuff is going to be worldclass in another 3 or so years. So my rating is a mix of where I think it is now, with where I think it will be (hopefully even higher than a 4, we shall see).

Bottle: Dull straw, dark and cloudy, moderate to large foamy white head, fairly nice lacing, somewhat strong carbonation.   Candy sweet oaken aroma, aspects of fruity powered sugar like candy.   Almost seems like there is also a cedar aspect to it.   Oaken alcohol on the tongue, tart, semi-sweet, almost seems sugary.   Wow, as it warms I do indeed get vanilla and butterscotch aromas.   Strong Calvados aspect, at least from what I remember from the JW Lees brews.   Fairly full bodied, mouthfeel is slightly spritzy.   Warm finish, almost hot... I might prefer the original but this sure is an interesting take.   Some really bright alcoholic fruit skin lingers.   A bit peppery even.   Definitely interesting, and it certainly packs a wallop.   Good, but very different and not what I was expecting.

2003 bottle from the Foodery. Apple fizzy gold look. Snow white large head. Apple cidery pepper spice coriander aroma from afar. rum/tequila note to head flavor. cider de garde. lightly sweet , dryish palate, like chardonnay. Sake-like finish. Potent-nice-unique.

Bottle 03? This beer pours a rosey hazy orange and has an amazing looking head...soft, huge, and chaotic. Aroma is killer...soft sour yeast funk, tart grape juice, watermelon, honey, butter, drying spices, wood, lemon grass, and orchids. Flavor is great too...much different than the regular Teve and not quite a tripel. Baked sweet dough, sweet grape juice, honey, mild yeast funk, and some real malt profile...alcohol dominantes this mad bitch at higher temperatures as well...and at this point the heating alcohol and sweetness of the brew dance together. Mouthfeel is crisp and dry from the wood.

Bottled in 2003 Pours cloudy brown.Aroma suggests fruits and some vanilla.The flavor had some hints of apples and some wood.the finish was a bit crisp.

bottle 2005. Big head, heavy trappist style taste to it. orange tangy frothy bitterly sweet a little harsh a little lemon zest.