De Dolle Lichtervelds Blond

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

Pours a blonde hue with a frothy white head. Aromas of spice, wheat an a light alcohol burn. Flavors of spice honey, a light bitterness and a nice floral finish.

Pours with a cloudy golden body topped by a medium thick to thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s slightly sweet and citrusy with a slight yeastiness and some underlying spice. Medium bodied, slightly dry and warming.

So smooth it doesn’t make a sound when poured. Hazy amber body, huge white head that slowly recedes leaving a beautiful, regular lace on the glass. Intriguing aroma, sweet yet fresh, with traces of herbs, straw, fruit (apple, banana, pear), hops. Taste is malty and yeasty with notes of leather, wood, spices (nutmeg?). FInish is hoppy and bitter. Body is full, creamy, almost chewy, but the beer is as drinkable as a hefeweizen. In my opinion, this is a(nother) masterpiece from the guys at De Dolle. Drinkers beware: this baby can be very dangerous, as the 9% ABV is extremely well hidden...

Couleur ambrée vers l’oranger sous une belle et dense mousse blanche qui refusant d’adhérer sur la paroi du verre. Arômes très levurés et dont la signature, très authentique Belge, est typique de DeDolle. Ensuite très herbal, laissant échapper des notes fruitées d’ananas et de fruits exotiques et de gomme baloune. Le haut taux d’alcool n’est à aucun moment apparent quoique celle ci semble faire son travail en termes d’alléger l’esprit. Corps de densité moyenne, presque épaisse, texture crémeuse issue d’une carbonatation très vive. Finale très sèche nous quittant sur des notes épicées de poivre blanc. Un autre chef-d’œuvre offert par ces brasseurs fous.

Complex and exciting fruity aroma contains notes of pear, peaches, yeast, leather, shoe-polish, crayon wax, bubblegum and oranges. Hazy golden coloured body is topped by a dense, bright white, fine-bubbled head that recedes slowly with some light lacing. Bubblegum and leather notes to the fruity flavour with some leafy, herbal hop flavours and strong finishing bitterness. Cake-like yeast is pervasive throughout. Medium body is very crisp and dry with moderate carbonation that is fairly effervescent. Bottle enjoyed with MartinT, Olivier_MTL and Rastacouere.

The Lure:
Strisselspalt-y hoppiness shoots through the pears and a stick of hockey card bubblegum holds a pyramid of yeast.

The Festivities:
Fluffy carbonation propels the bitter piney hops to near saltiness. A dry yeast tornado blows through once in a while and could be perceived as bothersome by non-Belgian beer lovers.

Transcendence:
The wild, ruffled hair of an experimental chemist.

Bottle-conditioned, typical large foamy white head, surprisingly diminishing to a bare white cover after a minute. Body is pure golden in which bathe a vast amount of floaties. Incredibly dry, doughy yeast aroma. Emblematic De Dolle yeats overload signature. Prominent banana esters marry with pineapple, apples and fresh bread. Very delicate aroma overall with a 9% ABV nowhere to be smelled. Woah! This is immensely dry, contemplative I’d say. An explosion of esters come back through the nose when you swallow. Champaigny, floral and yet not very bitter at all. Masked alcohol presence, delicious notes of hay, apple skin, banana and white grapes would gain a lot from a not necessarily more subtle, but definitely softer and less obstructing yeast presence. Malleable maltiness procures a well rounded mouthfeel, medium bodied with rather high carbonation. Looooong dry hop/yeast aftertaste. Most charming example, but I didn’t find it to have the grace of the top De Dolle brews. It didn’t leave the same triumphant impression. Merci Olivier!

Bottled (BB 07/2006)
Golden color with huge white head. Typical DDB sweet yeasty aroma is strong, already when you open a bottle, you can recognize the brewery. Otherwise only slight hops in the nose. Medium-bodied, strong acidy, citrusy hopping, a bit Orval-like. Hay and pepper also in the flavor. Long bitter aftertaste.