De Dolle Extra Export Stout

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

One of my first stouts, not an easy style to find in Belgium.
Aroma is deceptively thin, there are sweet bananas buried beneath it.
Taste is something else. At first quite numbing, some rotten fruit, it then goes to coffee and small blck candy we call ’drop’ - toffee. It kind of stays there, I don’t know why people mention chocolate, I don’t feel it ever goes there.
Then it hits you, there’s a whole lot of Oerbier in this, aside from the roasted coffee flavour.
Have a hard time finishing 33cl of this, but luckily she likes it too. Want to have it again to see if I missed anything.

(bottle) Pours black with a very large tan head. Aroma is strong of cocoa, very dry, with some hint of sourness too. The taste is quite tart, almost like a tart cherry, with some chocolate and a long finish of espresso. This beer was slightly thin, and the carbonation was prettyaggressive on the tongue.

[Bottle, thanks Guerde] Pours dark brown with a huge tan head. Aroma is cocoa, roasted malt, fruit, hazelnut. Taste is almost a little sour up front, then a lot of hazelnut and what almost seems like subdued cherry. A little coffee in the finish. Had to let it sit for awhile as it was way too carbonated at first. A bit thin. Another unique Belgian stout.

Bottle from City Beer Store. Dark brown color, dark khaki head with massive bubbles--the beer looks alive. Huge pungent aroma with yeast, bananas, nuts. Tastes starts off Belgian yeast and fruits and finishes with a huge kick of smoke, nuts, very dark chocolate. One of the more complex beers I’ve ever had (if unsubtly so--the flavors hit you over the head)

jet black big caramel brown head. big dark chocolate and nutty aroma. nice roasted flavor and slightly warming with the alcohol. chocoalte flavor has a hint of bitterness in it as well as the roasted coffee finish. flavors join together really well with this and perfect for the cold nights.

dark color very volcanic, spewing tan head. nice aroma of chocolate, malt, fruit. The rich malted (chocolate, nutty) components do not come through complely in the flavor, nevertheless, this brew is not lacking in complexity sporting a huge range of notes from toasty chocolate to slightly sour fruits. a wonderful wintertime beverage.

Most of these De Dolle beers have entirely too much head! When it finally settles to a managable level, you have a huge, tan, frothy, fluffy head with good longevity and minimal lacing; body is black and opaque. Nose is nice but nothing too special; dark chocolate, dry coffee, restrained roast, burnt caramel, and faint molasses. Flavor is similar with dark chocolate, light coffee, hazlenut, molasses, and a peculiar sour note. Palate is medium, velvety, round soft to lively, and dry. Finishes dry and a bit chaulky with the sour notes vanishing and leaving a decent bitterness from expresso notes; other notes of molasses and a slight anise tinge. Actually quite nice, somewhat complex, not too dry for the style, and fairly drinkable at 9%. The sour note just didn’t mix well with the everything; I wish it would have either been more pronounced and complex or non-existant. Either way, it was still a good export.

Poured from a 11.2oz bottle and served in a tulip. This stout poured a very dark brown color with a dark tan head that showed great retention. No lace, though. The aroma of the brew was made up of dark chocolate, strong coffee, molasses, and also some funky yeast esthers. The flavor consisted of rich dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, lightly bitter hops at the finish, along with a slightly acidic, funky, sourness throughout. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with lively carbonation and some light tounge warming alcohol. Wow, this was a very interesting stout with a lot of different flavors interacting! I can’t wait to try some more brews from De Dolle!!!