De Dolle Extra Export Stout

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

Almost black with an enormous beige and rocky head that settles in an uneven fashion and leaves lots of lacings. A very interesting smell. Roasted malts are prominent but not dominating. Lots of yeast, planting soil, slightly tart fruits and a strange spicy notes. A note or iron and perhaps just a faint hint of funk. The taste is rather different for a stout. Sweet roasted malts, a note of burnt coffee and tannins, and a mild fruity tartness dominate. Notes of earth, yeast, wood, spices and sweet dark fruits. The finish is bitter with a complementing tartness, a prominent note of iron, and wood. I really like this. Medium to full body and lively carbonation. Tart stouts can be something of a hit or miss, and this one really hits the mark. It has a good balance between roasted sweetness and fruity tartness and it’s an interesting encounter from start to finish. Lots of character and a complex composition. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Bottle via trade with probstk. Nice grape aromas quite winey, some malty sweetness, light coffee, even mushrooms; very complex!. Quite winey taste, very sour for a stout, lots of grapes with a nice chocolate/espresso bitter finale. The palate is a little weak; quite water and highly carbonated. Very unique.

Pitch black with a huge, very fine, very frothy, tan head. Aroma: chocolate, dark fruit, roasted malts, caramel. On the sweet side. Like an abt but more roasty. Flavor: roasty and stout-like, wood, bitter chocolate, coffee, caramel, plus a rather Belgian fruitiness. Rather light and thin in body; heavily carbonated too. Very flavorful and quite complex. Woody, roasted finish. Good stout, though I like their Belgian styles better.

12 oz. bottle from Greens. Pours very dark and cloudy with a bubbly tan head. Almost opaque but not nearly as thick as your average American or British stout. More funk and earthiness in the nose than I’m used to in a stout. I find this pretty intriguing when complimented by some of the more traditional stout aromas: roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, even some hazelnut. The flavor and palate is an absolutely wonderful union of all these aspects. Maybe the best foreign stout I’ve had.

Pours dark inky brown, black in the glass, with a lasting three finger tan head, fine lacing. Strong grass and coffee aroma, with notes of chocolate, toast, cherry, and pine. Zesty, crisp, lightly dry, medium-bodied; I’ve had thicker porters. More floral and grassy flavors, coffee, toffee, toast, chocolate. Medium bitter finish, balances out nicely. A really nice brew with a surprising amount of delicate hop notes that really stand out -- unique for the style.

Oily black looking with a huge brown head that basically climbs out of the bottle and if youre lucky into your glass. Looks like a stout that could only come from Belgium. Aroma is sharp roasted malts with notes of coffe and dark bitter chocolate. Flavour is more complex with notes of dark dried fruits, sharp slightly acidic coffe which adds to the drinkability. Body is extremely slick and not as fizzy and lively as the head would lead you to belive. Very flavourfull, alive and intense.

250ml Bottle from the Festival Bar at the Old Hall Hotel, Buxton 21/11/2009 Big fruit aroma. Small beige head. Black roasted very strong in alcohol and fruity with a little dryness in a crisp and bitter chocolaty roast finish.

Sampled this after a De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva with mitchgt. From my notes: reddish brown pour with a massive bubbly tan head and good retention. aroma of dark malts and chocolate. tastes of roasted malts and tobacco mixed with a light sour bite. hint of alcohol warmth in the nose and taste. surprising low carbonation on the tongue given the large head.