De Dolle Extra Export Stout

Brewed by De Dolle Brouwers
Style: Foreign Stout
Diksmuide, Belgium

Bottle. Aroma pretty sweet, black/candied cherry prevaling, like a gourmet candy, nutty notes. Flavor very much like a dark rum cake, cherry and berry flavors, coffee at the finish just like the description says, some chocolate sneaking in. Absolutely luscious combination. I felt this was the most unique brew I’ve ever had, by far, and in my book, that just bumps up the ratings. Not a stout, not a belgian strong, not like anything I’ve ever tasted. This was a meal and a dessert all in one, and I want more. Now.8-4-10-4-18/4.4

Rerate 8/11/08. Bottle. Wow, either my tastes have changed or I got a starkly different bottle this time around, maybe much younger or something. I actually think both. Aroma was rather weak, sweet semi-roasted notes and somewhat out of place light fruit notes. Flavor was stronger, with more gently roasted character and a good deal of nuttiness. Rather bitter though, I think from a lot of charred malt that really started to build up with me over time. We’ll see what happens when my path next crosses with this beer...

July 2006 - WARNING: DO NOT DRINK THIS BEER COLD. Okay, it had to be said. Pour was huge fluffy head that took forever just for me to get all of it into my Duvel glass. At the pour the aroma was nondescript, the flavor was metal ash and thin. Truly horrible. I contemplated pouring it out, but it was so freaking expensive, I just couldn’t. Well, as it sat and I got up the nerve to attempt to finish it, a wonderful thing happened. It got better. The burnt metal taste gave was to an odd smokey oak flavor, roasted malt and a touch of chocolate...non of which I could discern at all in the beginning...along with a sour finish that I’m not sure I liked. The mouthfeel went from an acrid mess, to a smooth silky palate pleasing sensation. Not sure I’d go there again, but I enjoyed the last two thirds of this.

Black colored pour with large tan head. Sweet aroma of roasted malts, chocolate and a little coffee. Malty, caramel, chocolate coffee flavor.

bottle at O’Donnell’s in Ft Wayne - Pours black with a huge tan head. It smells of dark roast malt and Belgian yeast. The flavor is of course more dark roast malt, some mild chocolate and coffee notes, and some yeast. It’s very bubbly for a stout. This one might be the first Belgian stout I’ve had and it’s certainly different than the stouts I’ve previously had. The body is medium to full and it ends fairly dry. Very good, but I wouldn’t call it super...

bottle. pours opaque black with a bit of mahogany at the edges, with a monstrous ever-present tan head that leaves a nice sheet of lacing. big spicy fruity smell. there are lots of dark roasty malts there, but they seem to take a back seat to the esters and spice. notes of raisin, coriander, coffee, chocolate, molasses, grapes, and black cherries. tastes almost like a black forest cake: huge dark malt flavors up front, with chocolate coffee notes dominating, backed up a by an assertive black cherry taste, as well as a bit more spice. big sweet palate, but not cloyingly so, with what seems like a bit of a sour tingle, light bitterness. creamy silky mouthfeel, and a pretty fully body, and definitely a lot of carbonation. the smell reminds me of a malt-heavy trappist ale, but the taste is definitely reminiscent of black forest cake. quite complex, and very tasty. great for dessert, which is what it is for me right now.

I love this beer! My favorite Belgian stout, this guy slams up against a wall of alcohol-dryness which really controls - even eliminates - any sweetness. The blend of coffee and chocolate is incredible and insistent - so much so that it tastes like a hybrid bean. If you let it air out and have served in a snifter, the last drinks taste unmistakably of baker’s chocolate. A very fine specemin.

Pours a deep brown with ruby edges and a massive, rocky, immediately forming, dense tan head that just won’t die, leaving globs of foam on the sides and bottom of the glass. The nose is fruity and roasty with raisins, candied dark fruits, chocolate, cherry and star anise. The flavour is just as advertised. The espresso and hazlenut flavours really pop in the finish with a roasty bitter lingering. The fruity flavours explode initially on the front of the tongue, with fig, raisin rich caramel and tart, vibrant cherry. The finish is completely different from the mid-palate profile, making this an extremely complex and interesting brew. The mouthfeel is loaded with sharp, lively carbonation and a medium, airy body that finshes dry.

33 cl. Opaque black, with a huge head that spews from the bottle and lasts forever. Roasted coffee, cocoa, and alcohol aroma. Tingly bitterish-roasty malt entry turns to cocoa, then charred wood and herby-malt finish. Body begins smooth, but flares up with carbonation in the mouth; finishes chalky-roast and dry.