De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 20

Formerly brewed at De Dolle Brouwers
Style: Sour Ale
Diksmuide, Belgium

Thanks to jcalabre. Cloudy orange-amber, large head. Smells sweet but musty. Heavy with fruit, shocks the buds by contrasting with a sour acrid complex, then somehow pulls it out and finishes well. Would not seek this style out, but glad I was able to sample it.

Appearance: This pours a cloudy orange color with a frothy white head. Aroma: The schnauzola is musty, definitely something to get used to Flavor: The taste is sour (surprise!) but finishes cleanly and leaves a pleasant taste in your mouth

Rerate courtesy of MrFacto 12/17/05: it seems like nothing has changed in the 2.5 years since I originally tried this. If anything, it got better. Just an unbelievable, perfect balance of sweetness, sourness, and a touch of oak, with lots of complexity and no sign of the 8% abv. By far the best Flemish sour I’ve had the privilege of trying. So flavorful, yet incredibly drinkable.

Original rating 7/18/2003: Pours a bronze orange with a dense rocky off-white head that clings to the sides of the glass. Luckily no projectile cork, but plenty of carbonation. Initial taste of head is somewhat metallic. Tart cherry, oak and vinegar aromas abound. Body is lightly syrupy, with an almost foamy texture from the CO2. Good sweet and sour balance of flavors includes some cherry acidity and warming alcohol toward the finish. Overall very smooth, incredibly drinkable, and one if not the best Flemish sour ale I’ve had.

Seriously I came close to removing an eye...I had just unwrapped the metal twist for the cork guard and the whole thing fly up to the ceiling. Lots of foam from then on to say the least. Toasty amber in color, this beer has a sour, acidic nose. Not as sour as others I've tasted, but very enjoyable and complex. Such a great style of beer.

Explosive cork removal. Jskendzel almost put his eye out, the second the wire was untwisted the cork shot out. Slightly off white head. Rocky. Yeasty sweet aroma with some tartness. Hazy color. Iced-tea-like. Quite bitter/sour. Not as well rounded as NB La Folie, but definitely very good. As it warms it mellows nicely.

A hazy dark orange liquor with a huge creamy uneven off-white head. Crisp spring fresh wild apples, musty attics, untamed spices, and a hint of raspberries. A clean sourness that livens the mouth. As much head as this beer produces the carbonation is low. Sourness is throughout, taste of oak, must, aasparagus, and green tobacco. Dry cobweb aftertaste. Wonderful, thankfully I have one bottle left.

Sampled in 2000. Nose of apples, lemons. Amber/red color, cloudy, with a huge head (and one neat label on the bottle). A complex explosion of flavor blend into a pleasing whole--medium sweet, touch of Worcestershire sauce, apples, bitter lemons, smoky, beefy, with raisins. Leaves a ton of lace on the glass and a strong impression on the palate.

Foxy-amber, first clear, really flunky at the end. Slight gushing to thick cream-coloured head, lacey. Nose is a bit cheesy, woody too. Very faint madeirisation, candi-sugar. Bitter-dry with lactic background. Sweet woodflavour - nothing like liquorice, however. There is a less-pleasing stickyness in the mouthfeel. Lots of alcohol, harsher than most DDB beers. In the pub where I drank it, I was warned explicitly about the discrepancy nos - taste. it's there allright, but not disturbing.It is still an obvious accident following the Palm Rodenbach-yeastban.