De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva

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

Major thanks to Solan at Knightly...2005 bottling. Sour aroma blasts the senses, revealing hints of what is to come. Wisps of oak and ripe berries. On the palate, a nice oakiness shines through. balancing the sourness. No hint that this beer has such an alcohol content. Wonderful brew, too bad I have no more.

thanks to the guys from Knightly....The nose is a little frighting, sour aroma mixed oak and alcohol. Pours a dark brown. Wow the flavor.....sour cherries, oak, with a hint of raspberries, although i smell a lot of alcohol, there is no sign of the 13% in the taste. Very dangerous. There is a little tingle that lingers but otherwise very clean finish. Wow.

Pours a rich maroon with light tan head. Smells of lemons and alcohol. 13% is detected in the smell. Very tannic and sour in the taste, makes the lips pucker up. i was expecting it, but for some reason wasnt ready for it, which I liked. If you dont like sour beers, stay away from this one. I get heavy heavy lemons in this one. I love me some sourness so it was quite enjoyable. Actaully, the alcohol is masked quite nicely in the taste, as is typicla with alot of sour beers I’ve tried. Very nicely done, i’ve got a few bottles left and look forward to them. i’ll let them sit for a while and see what happens.

Bottle. 2005. Chestnut color with a nice light tan head. Slight tart/oaky aroma with some malt. Tart/fruity flavor with backing malt and yeast. Medium body. Lingering oak/tartness. Can taste the wine influence. No alcohol - very well hidden. Duchess like, but smoother.

2005. murky dark brown with a small tan head. potent aroma of grapes, cherries, alcohol, wood, and red wine. flavor is moderately sour, winey, and woody with a hint of smoke in the finish. hints of chocolate.

2005 bottle. Dark brown unclear red with a fine thick lasting creamy white head. Aroma is sweet , spicy, wood, vinous & cherries. Flavor is well balanced between sweet & sour. Oak & vinegar. Well hidden alcohol. Carbonation is fizzy but not as much as the regular Oerbier. Soft mouthfeel. Fine lacings on the side of the glass. Amazingly great!

Wonderful,teasing, fruity sour aroma,big working head,tastes like a port wine with lots of lactobacillus at firstsettles into a fruity tart cherry apple sourness, with a smooth yet tingle your nose finish. Awesome. Thanks to Chris at Murrays for pointing out the last one to me

eight six nine Vertical time 2002, 2004, 2005 get low, a get low. Some interesting differences.
The 2002 still had plenty of power and ageability. The maltiness came out most with tihs one, turned very biscuity, almost an English like malt flavor emerged. The sourness was still there, very strong actually.
The 2004 had a lot of fruitiness in its sourness, also more vinegar and more tartness than any other vintage.
2005 was darker than the other two, a dark burgundy ruby red. It was the least sour, milder in all aspects acttually. Still had some sourness but lacked the acidity of the 04 and the maltiness of the 02.

Overall, I would take the 02 over the rest. The 04 was great if its sourness I strictly wanted and the 05 may need to sit a bit. Also, no alcohol presence at all, I thought this was more like 5% brew, have no idea where all that alcohol came from.