De Dolle Dulle Teve Special Reserva

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

Pours with a golden body topped by a medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s slightly sweet and slighlty fruity with a peppery hop note and a nice flowery note. Medium to full bodied, dry and slightly numbing.

Hazy yellow, moderately loose head. Floral, fruity aroma, lots of alcohol there, effervescent. Parching dry with lots of alcohol and cheddar cheese, layered and subdued edges of time in the wood--having had this right after the Frimas ice cider, the dryness was especially marked. Good, drinkable, but struggling to balance the alcohol, though that did add to the layers of mouthfeel, which was both frothy and tingling.

Sunny copper. Brilliant-white froth cakes the glass with lace. Vibrant sea air, peppery phenols, floral hops, and caramelized apples in the aroma. Impeccably conditioned with dense but weightless carbonation. Slickly layered with ample green raisin flavors and a burst of juicy apples. Forceful sting of alcohol heats the face and is exaggerated by the tannins, but quickly succumbs to the array of subtleties. Succulent in the mouth, but deceptively dry, as well, due to the alcohol and snug tannic embrace. Calvados remains artfully complementary, rather than imparting too much sweetness. And what little is present, is significantly outweighed by the wood and tannins. Finespun display of vanillin and peppered honeydew accentuate the ensuing floral hop bitterness. Finishes fluffily dry with salty tannins, pepper, and apple skins splashed with doughy yeast, which quells the remaining alcohol burn. Vibrant yet rustic. All this needs is some serious cellar time.

Clear golden with a bubbly white head. Aroma of wood, light alcohol and some lemon. Flavor has notes of sweet malt, citrus/lemon, light pepper and oak. A little harsh due to the spike of alcohol and bitterness which seems to hit all at once. Dry finish. Medium bodied with a nice, bubbly (but not at all prickly) level of carbonation.

Bottle, light orangey gold pour. Very fruity aroma - apples, raisins, and some dates and even something fig-ish. Also something bready. Fruity malty flavors, and a fair amount of alcohol. More of the apple raisiny flavors, a fair bit of spicy peppery flavors, and some other earthy type notes. I enjoyed this very much.

I love this brewery. This offering pours a clear amber body with a dense, fizzy white head. The aroma has strong sweet cherry scents, a bready, sweet malt, vanilla, and a bouquet of Summer flowers. It’s light bodied and bubbly in the mouth. The flavor is a light butterscotch, cherries, plums, alcohol, and a variety of unidentifiable (by me) spices, some hot and peppery. The finish is sweet with a hit of bitterness (the source, I don’t know) with a mild alcohol afterburn. But the total ABV doesn’t make itself known until it works its way into your blood. Fine, fine ale.

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The mad bitch. Looks like orange juice, with an orange nose; taste like moldy apricots or uncooked cookie dough before the sugar has been added. Worst of the batch at the Middle of No where Labor Day party--but to its defense there was huge competition.

Bottle provided by JSquire at the Labor Day gathering:

Hazed medium amber hue with a small frothy head abd outstanding lace. The aroma has notes of mint (I was the only one who got that), apple, apricot, bready malt, and funky yeast esters. Some cardamom and saffron as well. The taste starts with a sweet fruit overtone supported by heather and malts, quite flowery and herbal. Additional notes of vanilla, tannin, and sage. It almost like a big Saison mixed with a strong abbey beer. The feel is lush and smooth, liquid gold. I found the warming pleasant and not over powering as did other raters. This beer is beer geek worthy IMO.