De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva

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

Bottle (330ml - 2004 vintage). Deep brownish ruby with a large, lasting, fluffy-creamy slightly off-white head. Aroma is very much like a good Flemish sour, extra-strong alcohol - tart/sour - almost green - red currant, cherry, other berryfruit - yeast, wood resin and lemon zest; mildly vinous. Taste is similar - reminds me oddly of Goudenband, heck, even Orval - spicy/yeasty, alcohol, sour fruit, dry citrus, even a hint of vinegar - I totally see jehoey’s mentioning of a dry Spanish champagne. The body is .. I guess a little light, hard to tell, it’s so continually fizzy and lively - medium acidity - I don’t know what I was expecting, but this surprised me. It grew on me a lot by the bottom of the bottle, very tart and funky.

33cl bottle that was brewed in 2002: an interesting and very complex beer. aroma of merlot wine, bourbon, and alcohol. pours a murky dark brown much like Rochfort 8. Has a small head that disipates quickly into a thin film. Flavor is much like the aroma. nots of plum, blackberry (very merlot like), but at the same time it tastes like a dry spainish champagne, and has the elements of a belgian ale, again like Rochfort 8. The mouth feel is slightly syrupy and not very full or active. not exactly what I expected in that regard, but this was still an awesome beer.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours brown with a beige head. Aroma of wood, citrus, and fruit. Flavor is wood, fruit, citurs, and a touch of caramel. 12% version. Great beer.

[Bottle] Brownish colour. Sourish cherry nose with cheese notes. Fresh aroma. Kriek-like with berries most prominent and little almond paste. Dry-ish. Light body. Alcohol barely noticable.

(Sampled from bottle, thanks Marsiblursi) Red to brown color. Tan to brown head. Fruity a bit smoked Belgian ale scent. Sour cherry scent as well. Sour taste and aftertaste. The dominance of the kriek sour taste is almost overwhelming. Low to no bitterness. Spritzy mouthfeel. No alcohol taste, but a bit in the scent.

(Bottle) Pours brown/red with a sandy coloured head. Aroma is kriekish with unripe cherries. Sour and woody. Green apples. Metal. Some cheese. Flavour of unripe green apples. A bit dry. No alcohol taste.

2004 Vintage.   Pours a murky, sepia/golden with obvious sediment hovering about. Upon swirling, a creamy, khaki head merges with sticky legs to slither gently back into the body like the ebb of a frothy tide. Fruity aroma with overwhelming alcohol precedes wine, then malts, then cheese... complex and attractive yet overpowered by esters. Tart flavor with a tingle and burn, vinous with funky yeastiness. Somewhat light bodied with a dry finish while the 13% hits like a hammer in the aftertaste. Definitely eyebrow-raising.

<font size=-4>Purchased some time ago from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/chicag Wine & Spirits, Chicago, IL 60614<font size=-1>

bottle. red amber color. sweet and sour fruity aroma. malty. sweet and sour. spicy. carpy and yeasty.