De Dolle Extra Export Stout

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

So dark that when I hold it to the light, no light comes through. The head was huge and rocky, it settled down into a nice even layer of thin foam. Cappucino, chocolate, and that wonderful belgian fruit dominated the aroma. The aroma was so good I swear it lingered. It tempted me to taste it, and boy was I glad I did. Lots of carbonation that makes this beer creamy in my mouth. It just barely sweet and has a very different dryness at the end. Chocolate, cherry, and a bit of coffee. There is a slight hint of alcohol at the end, the only thing I can dock points for. I’m trying very hard to find a fault in this beer, but I just can’t. I love this beer, and the brewers.

draft. deep brown/black. chocalete hints in flavor. strong, but drinkable. foamy head, little lacing.

33cl bottle No BBD Pours opaque black with generous tan head. Palate is velvet lusciousness. Cherries, raisins, & plums against a background of coffee beans & carmel must. Finishes bitter & tight. Funk is placed right along the coffee, roasty, liquorice of an Imperial Stout. Freakishly, fiendishly delicious. A dream come true. A Belgian Imperial Stout.

Big nutty chocolate aroma. Great head retention. Mouthfeel coats and blossoms. Quite dry. Full of complex flavors nutmeg, chocolate, figs, and slight dark fruits. Outstanding.

Amen! This is sex in a bottle—engaging and sultry in every plush, warm sensory offering it makes. Beer pours a nearly opaque, very dark reddish-brown color with a large, frothy, tan mostly diminishing head. The aroma is amazing: malty with heavy notes of roasted grain, moderate notes of chocolate, caramel and coffee; Hoppy with a light note of resin/pine; Yeasty with heavy notes of damp basement and light bread dough and plastic/band-aid; miscellaneous debris includes light notes of raisin and moderate notes of top soil and wonderfully colorful spicy alcohol. The ABV is well tucked away, though. The flavor is heavily sweet, moderately bitter with a long, tummy-warming, moderately bittersweet finish. The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.

Bottle from Chevy Chase, purchased in ’05. The years have been very kind to this gem. Pours a barely-red-tinged black, big bubbles but mild lacing. Aroma has started developing more of that traditional De Dolle acidity that mingles with the caramel, figs, and some roast. Alcohol is there too, but only a mild spicy backnote. Body is full, luscious, like drinking milk chocolate. Big strong dark fruit up front, carbonation helping it from being too heavy. Flavor coasts through the range of malty complexity, stopping at chocolate, a bit of sherry, and finishing with a bittersweet, toasty, booze-laced finish. A world-class beer. Just fantastic.

Damn did i really love this beer. Sort of a cross between a stout and a sour belgian ale, with wonderful results. Poured black with a small head that disappeared quickly. Aroma is of coffee, port, raisin and smoke. Flavor is wonderful, woody notes, sourness, raisin, and some chocolate and coffee. Excellent pleasing mouthfeel. One of my new favorites

HUGE head, had to let it settle several times before I could pour the whole bottle. Very dark with frothy chocolate head. Aroma is of strong chocolate and coffee malts. Flavor starts sweet with lots of chocolate and tones of coffee. Gives way to a strong berry/cherry flavor and turns lightly bitter with a lasting chocolate/cherry finish. Very very good beer, very complex and lots of flavor with an excellent creamy mouthfeel.