De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva

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

2007 bottle at Kulminator. Its a beauty! A reddish brown beer with a creamy long lasting beige head. Aroma is pretty sour with dark fruits and cherries. Flavour is the same with caramel and some berries. Great mouthfeel.

Two bottles courtesy of fishingnet and tpd975. Pours brownish amber copper with tan head. The aroma is full with loads of wild yeast fighting it out creating tartness and sour rotting lemons, notes of wood and faint vanilla. I also get some grapes and cherries too. The taste has a quick pulse of sweetness that quickly fades away leaving behind tartness and mild sourness. It seems the sour rotting fruit grows momentarily before extreme tartness takes over. The tartness finally lets up a bit in the finish as I can get vague fruitiness around the edges. Zero sense of the ABV (was this an NA brew?).

Hazy brown pour with a small tan head. Aroma was vinegar and heavy oak. Flavor was up front cobwebs and dust, plenty of oak and vanilla and a pronounced candy flavor that really stood out and made this unique from other sour style beers. Finished with a mild to medium acidity, very complex. I really liked this one.

Bottle, 2006 vintage. Pours a cloudy brown with a small tan head. Aroma is banana, yeast, bit of molasses, hint of wood and vanilla. Taste starts a bit sour, with some dark malt in there as well, moving to a more pronounced, biting acidity and tartness on the finish, with a lingering dark vinous quality. Mouthfeel is just enough crispness to complement the acidity, while maintaining a nice creaminess. Very interesting beer from a fearlessly inventive brewery.

[’06 Bottle] Pours murky dark amber-brown with a small light tan head. Aroma is cherry, banana, yeast, vinous red wine character, wood, a bit of brown sugar and a hint of alcohol. Taste is lightly sour up front with very subdued bitterness, more red wine and barrel very present and some yeast. Not nearly as fruity as the aroma. Medium mouthfeel, smooth, with a long dry red wine finish. A very nice beer--although I am partial to wine barrel aging.

2006 version. Murky orange/ reddish beer with a dense beige head. Fruity, light tart aroma with a dusty note. Lovely fruity / tart flavor with a very nice cherry note and some yeastyness. Dry, light earthy finish.

2005 Version. Had at Delerium Cafe in Brussels on 6/22. Initially wouldn’t sell the bottle because it was off menu. Pours dark amber with a medium tan head. Aroma of wine, winter spice, dark fruits, vanilla. taste has a stong vineous quality that settles as the beer warms. Hides the alcohol extremely well, only appearing on the finish. This beer is right up my alley, complex and delicious.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber with a one finger light tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of cherrie pie, tons of funky wild yeast, oak, and a hint of vinegar. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium thin mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness and a moderate amount of acidity. The alcohol is very well hidden. Very good.