De Dolle Dulle Teve Special Reserva

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

Very nice hazy light amber beer with warm orange colored glow and with the typical De Dolle creamy light-beige froth. The beer has a very complex and refined aroma. It is both powerfull and elegant at the same time. It is fruity, yeasty and has some earthy notes too. It has the nose of the dough to make appelbeignets with and has a peppery accent too. The taste is most impressive, it is round, lively and has this dry spicy pepper accent. In the taste there is an well ballanced sweet touch with fruity hints of apricot, mirabelle, crumble cake with custard and apple topping. In the second fase the woody notes and the Calvados accents are comming forward. In the end the beer has an alcohol sweetness with a light bitter touch of wood and a faint metalic pepperness to end with. From an 33cl bottle, Dulle Teve lablel with white, bordeaux and yellow. Lable also says Dulle Teve, Special Reserva, aged in calvados casks 2003. 11% Alc/Vol. I was lucky to get Two bottles from my good friend Dirk and his wife Leen.

Just by chance, Kris Herteleer was working May 12th. My wife and I showed up at the brwey and we were given a personal tour. Aftrewards, he gave me a bottle of this to try. I did not even know this existed before I saw it. Fantastically exciting beer. Very strong, lots of alcohol (peppery), but with a dryish apple note. This had a tremendous amount of carbonation, a geyser of a beer. The color was slightly more darker gold than the regular Dulle Teve. He told me that the alcohol was higher than the lable stated due to it’s aging.

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.

From a 330mL Bottle. Courtesy of Dr. Bill. Perfectly transparent, blood orange-rind tinted amber color with a thick head of fizzy ivory. This aroma is incredible. Aromas of raisins, apples, and apricots integrate perfectly with a warming, brandy-like booziness. Incredible barrel character, lending fruity qualities that compliment the fruity esters of the yeast marvelously and adding a restrained layer of vanilla. Hints of brown sugar and maple syrup linger beneath, along with flecks of peppery wood. Unbelievably gorgeous nose. I can’t stop smelling it and smiling. Light bodied, heavily carbonated mouthfeel with a spritzy texture. The flavors don’t disappoint. Flavors of green raisin and apricots up front on the palate, along with some bready malt livened up by a smidge of molasses. Mid-palate, the alcohol starts to warm a bit, as the sizzling carbonation lifts the flavors off the tongue. Toward the finish, more of the oaky vanilla and pepper notes start to come through, adding plenty of the richness and complexity of a fine barleywine without the burden of the weight. Incredibly light bodied considering the ABV, but the flavors are bold and lively. My only complaint about this beer would be that it tends to get a bit warm, but everything else is superb and very near perfection. The number of beers I taste that truly excite me are getting fewer and farther between, but this one wasn’t just exciting - it blew me away. Thanks a million, Doc

07.03.05 330ml bottle. Glowing orange amber pour; tall, creamy head of light beige foam seems immortal. First whiff, yowzah! Monster aromas of tree fruits (apple, pear), pineapple, cookie, vanilla, coconut milk. Hidden brandy notes emerge with temp. Body is full, creamy, and still lively. Tingly eff compliments and subdues a big alcohol presence. Sour green apple flavors join the party, with nougat and vanilla, it’s a glass of boozy and delicious candy. Not overly done, just a great beer given time to come into it’s own. Great now, and certainly a good candidate for stashing a few in a dark corner. Thank you De Dolle!

Clear, brilliant copper in color. Audibly fizzy with white fuzzy fluff and beautiful artesian lacing. Aroma is awesome - nice juxtaposition angling for complexity, with apricots, cider, pomegranates, green grapes, pepper, lemons and cloves being most prominent. Big time flavor whomph. Taste that oak cask. Vibrant flavor overcomes the inherent smoothness imparted from the aging process. Feisty pears and apple cider placate the taste buds, along with a prevailing orange/citric alcohol current that’s subconsciously signing “Cointreau.” Spiciness is to a tee, with coriander, pepper and lavender coinciding with an aggressive herbal nature. Fizzy and palate-driven. Impeccable balance. Finish is daunting, challenging and reminiscent of orange rind, sweet malts and raw sugar. I love it.

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.

11.2 oz capped bottle (2003-2004 version, sampled 7 July 2005): Clear golden peach with an intense small, white bubbled head that grows creating large bubbles, but eventually settles into a thin (though dense), patchy foam. The yeast has a strangle hold on the deep, resiny-pumpkin and butterscotch alcohol aroma restraining it enough to allow pineapples, vanilla beans, sweet oak, peppered sourdough, tangerine/apricot marmalade and honeydew to waft through the nostrils…Complex with an absolutely incredible breadth of flavours: bitter, lightly sweet grapefruity hops with a subtle pepperiness. Sweet & juicy pears blend with airy alcohol, white grapes and herbal honeysuckles to pull me deeper into this amazing concoction. The tingly carbonation is almost an after-thought here, which is just another testament to the amazing flavours within, considering how perfectly the bubbles cling to and roll over my tongue. A true masterpiece. 9/4/9/5/18

11.2 oz capped bottle (2003-2004 version, sampled 8 May 2006): hazy apricot with the addition of a bit of the yeast, strong, short, Styrofoam like head, moving into small circular patches. The butterscotch aroma still dominates, but the alcohol has mellowed a bit with more noticeable vanilla and tannin/yeast mix. The alcohol feels/tastes a bit hot today, but opens the door to a strong hoppy, pepperiness…along with wine grapes and light honey. Great texture and carbonation on the tongue, though not quite as spectacular as the first…but is it ever? 8/4/8/5/17