De Dolle Dulle Teve Special Reserva

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

At Argo0’s: Really, really ,really hard to describe. A very dry, warm , alcoholic, busy beer.

Golden bronze color, perhaps a touch darker than the regular Dulle Teve. Perfect De Dolle foam, leaving excellent retention. Really rich and vibrant nose, which gives hints of both the original beer (peach, nectarine and apple) and the Calvados barrel (vanilla, apple brandy, oak.) It’s also undeniably vinous in the nose and a bit boozey as well. Nearly identical body and mouthfeel compared to the regular Dulle Teve, although the Reserva might be a bit more slick. Initially on the front palate, the flavor is very similar to the regular Dulle Teve, but the mid-palate and finish are much different. I find it pretty light and gentle overall, not jam packed with different flavors or dimensions. It’s very alcoholic, with apple brandy, red wine, caramel, cocunut, butterscotch, vanilla and various fruit flavors. Hard to finish the bottle, really. Clearly lacking the magic of the other Reservas. Gotta agree with Oakes on this one....Calvados was definately not the right choice for a beer like Dulle Teve. I’m not sure what is...Maybe a wine barrel.

Medium orange body, fluffy white head, plenty of lacing. Apples with some musty cider and a little bit caramel. The taste is nice apple with some cherry and woody notes. There is also some boozy alcohol in the finish. A decent version of the beer, but I would just as soon have the original.

Sampled at the Ohio Labor Day gathering, kindly left in the fridge by jsquire. Cloudy yellow-orange body, medium cream head. Sweet, sweet, sweet aroma- sugary, fruity (white grape, pear, apple), and alcohol-y, a new word created specifically for this review. The flavor hits first with a hot alcohol burn, cooling down to reveal layers of apple, pear, grapes, and candies. Complex in typical De Dolle fashion, but this beer wouldn’t be disserviced by settling down in the bottle for a year or two before another sampling occurs. That said, it’s De Dolle, which means that the beer is still quite good as is.

Pours a mostly clear deep straw/ very light amber with a nice head at first but it fades. Aroma is very powerful with lots of fruit- peach, apricot, apple. Also some wine like characteristics but no as much as the oerbeir reserva. Hints of alcohol and sweet light crystal malt come through as well. Flavor is moderately sweet with some acidity, with wood and wine-like flavors. Some astringency, medium-high carbonation and a light mouthfeel.

Bottle. Cloudy golden-orange in colour, large lasting rocky beige coloured head. The aroma was of oranges, lemons, peaches, yeast, a bit sour and must. The flavour was yeasty, acidic, lots of citrus (orange and lemon zest), apples and herbs. Dry mouthfeel, medium body, high carbonation. Finishes with a lingering dry sourness but no overpowering. Another extremely drinkable beer from De Dolle.

pours a cloudy golden yellow color with a decent white head and small amount of lacing. the aroma is fairly mild with hints of wood. the flavor i found to be failry mild and not quite as bitter as like for this style of beer. Hints of wood (maybe oak), hops, spices and a very slight fruit undertone. Good beer.

Bottle: Hazy yellow, just about to the point of being opaque, with medium particles visable. Medium frothy white head. The aroma is apples, slightly sour wood, sweat and socks (not in a bad way) - Tar calls it "vibrant sea air". The flavor is sour and showing a bit of an alcohol burn. Pumpkin, iced tea, charred wood, mild charcoal-chocolate flavors peak through, and cherries and stale hops also make an appearance. This is a pretty complex beer. Full bodied, very dry, medium carbonation.