De Dolle Lichtervelds Blond

Brewed by De Dolle Brouwers
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Diksmuide, Belgium

Beautiful golden hue with thick, billowy head Sour in a very earthy, natural way. A mix of grass and sweat on clean skin. Soft, lemony finish hits me on the roof of my mouth and lands on my uvula, making my tongue tingle. Thyme/rosemary mingled with grass and a light breadiness...delicious transformation, loved how the flavors grew and diminished...very full and round at their peak Lovely and I wish I had more.

(33cl, bottle cap stamped Jul06) I know a beer is somewhere under all this off-white foam, and after waiting patiently, sure enough a lightly hazed apple juice body reveals itself. Dead yeast at the end darkens and clouds the body. Nice lacing. Aroma is moderately sweet, perfume, herbal, lemongrass, light pepper. Taste is moderately sweet, herbal/grassy, perfume, cantalope, some pepper, alcohol. Medium-full body, some alcohol dryness in the finish.

Golden sheen. Grabby white foam deposits a patchy ring of lace as it falls. Bright honeysuckle, baked pears, and white pepper aromas. Hint of meaty yeast. Effervescence expands before condensing into a bed of creamy softness. Peppery and invigoratingly estery upfront, brightly fused with an understatedly slick melon finesse. Spicy yeast lends hints of dough, as well. Faint piecrust sweetness exudes, but fails to overcome the chalky dryness. Sassy yeast character quells the juicy floral-hop explosion, while an imperceptible alcohol burn embraces the brisker crackery malt elements to firm things up. Lightly minerally, but not overly so, and this beautifully showcases its appetizing demeanor. Finishes dry and considerably sharp with alcohol and grassy hops, as gritty pear textures and flavors lurk beneath. The alcohol isn’t masked all that well, and the aroma possesses some unpleasant meatiness. Otherwise this is pretty sophisticated, as a whole.

Hazy dull tan colour. Lots of head. Slightly perfumey, spicy, hoppy. Fresh appley notes, hops and lots of yeast. Complex and drinkable, if a little too standard-issue example of the style.

Bottled - St Albans BF - Another stunning effort from the mad brewers. It is slightly hazy copper gold in colour with an avalanche of a white head. The aroma is oh so Belgian - spicy peppery hops a plenty. The taste is fantastically full bodied. Spicy peppery flavours again. Wonderfully hopped and delicious. For me Beer of the Day even against the top 50 offering we were soon to have.

Bottle, St Albans Beer Festival 2005. Golden beer with thick white head. Complex hop aroma. Stunning. Good dry spicey hop finish. Really rich beer that is quite intense. Another good beer from this brewery

Dark blond beer with a big head.The aroma is yeasty and hoppy but some malt and fruit is noticeable. The taste is quite alcoholic with bitter hop shining through. The aftertaste is light spicy and dry. It is good quality but I have had better Dolle beers.

Bottle. Excellent ale, something like a very hopped triple, spicy; complex - though maybe less than other Dolle’s brew.