De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva

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

[2005 bottle, the culmination of some major 2007 Thanksgiving drinking] Aroma is awesome-- right off the bat. Huge malty, sugary sweetness; fruity, with some acid, earthy vinegar and smooth, potent alcohol. Murky red-brown color, with some dense lacing. Flavors are massive-- like a flemish sour, hepped up big time. Dense candy sugar and malt flavors, with an incredible yeast presence. Fruity, vinous and acidic. Apple and sour cherry pie. The barrel contributes its character nicely, providing some musty funk and plenty of tannic acidity. Round, smooth flavors, with a very dry finish and some slight alcohol warmth. Full bodied. Overall, this beer is outstanding-- after a few years of age it seems to be in excellent condition.

What can I say, this has got to be hands down my favorite beer that I can actually get access to at least annually. This beer truly blurs the line between wine and ale. The 13% is brilliantly disguised. Aroma of red wine, vinegar, cherries, candy sugar, and sweet malt. Excellent mouth feel, full bodied but far from cloying and rounded out by nice oak tannins. Taste is wonderful with dark fruits (cherries), red wine, oak, and candy. Again the tannins from the barrel and tartness from the yeast combined with the sweet malt provide an amazing combination of flavors!

Pours hazy dark red with a frothy off-white head. Excellent lacing clings to my Chimay Trappist glass. Aromas of sweat dough, prunes, plums, and dates. Chocolate, plums, raisins, and hints of citrus all play out in the flavor. Acidic and salty with lively carbonation. Alcohol becomes more apparent as it warms. Its also seems to become slightly sweeter. Medium to full bodied with a dry texture. De Dolle does it again!!!

Label says brewed ’06, cap says bottled June ’07. Pours opaque amber brown with a small tan head. Strong earthy/herbal aroma tinged with mint and basil. Notes of chocolate mingled with orange peel, lots of yeast, and just a bit of alcohol are all present as well. Flavor is fairly tart/sour, with with soft but present acidity, a bit of grapefruit, a bit of cherry, light woody notes, and some reserved yeast driven spice. Palate is medium/full and somewhat tart, with a smooth creamy mouth-feel, and a decent finish.

’06 bottle from West Lakeview Liquors, CHicago. Dark brown, almost opaque with brown tint, medium beige head. Big belgium yeast aroma, chocolate malt semi-sweet, spicy. Big yeast flavor, spice, sweet, orange, grapefruit, burned-malt, oaky, woody. Medium to light body with light carb. This beer has a lot going on in a very enjoyable way, very nice. 8 4 8 3 17 = 4 2007 Vintage. Rerate during the First Annual Chicago Sour Tasting thanks to Gerrit. Slighty cloudy red with small beige head and creamy. Aroma is slightly sour, cherry, a little alc and yeast spice. Flavor is cherry and earthy sour with a slight acidity, oaky, tannin, slight alc. Medium and light carbonation. Always good, I can’t wait to try this vintage again in a few years.

Tried from bottle(bottled JUL ’07). It pours with a reddish burgundy color and burnt white head. The nose is quite complex with sharp and sour cherry, fruit oak spice, and buttered raisins. The bordeaux cask definately leaves it mark in the aroma. The flavor is a bit too sour for me, and I attribute this to the lack of ageing. This beer needs some time to settle down, and this is the reason I gave it a sub-4 rating. After decanting, the sourness was subdued and the tart fruit from the nose emerges with good balance. Decent now, but I’d love to try some of the previous vintages NOW.

2005 bottle. This one poured a deep maroon almost brown color with a meidum sized tan head that held nicely. The aroma is very complex. It smells of dark sour fruits, oak, yeast, spices, and definitely has some funk in there. The flavor is even more pronouced than the smell. The dark sour fruits like cherries and lemons start to come through first with some malts and oak in the background. This bottle has definitely picked up some funk as well. The flavors all seem to blend together perfectly and mask the alcohol beautifully. I love all the dark sour flavors and funk this one has. This is one is full bodied and perfectly carbonated on the palate that finishes dry with a slight sour aftertaste. I am really glad I found one of these. This is one of my favorites from these guys. De Dolle never seems to disappoint.

2006. Poured dark red with good size off white head. Aroma of sour fruit (apples, cherries, and grapes) and some candy hints. Great sour fruit flavor to start with a sweeter malt/candy background. Great balance.