De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 20

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

Huge thanks to Mike (EDA) for shairng this great bottle at the captain lawrence gathering. Pours a perfectly clear (one of the first pours) deep gold with a nice fluffy white head and some wierd lacing. Aroma is spicy and phenolic with a modest amount of sourness, although not as intense as expected- same with the flavor. Fruity flavor with some plasticy phenols, spices, plum and apple sweetness and a light to medium tart sour finish. Mouthfeel is prettu solid with a wierd astringent, almond and cherry pit-like tannin finish. Sour cherry and lemon acidity comes about as it warms, but overall not as sour as expected.. Still a very nice flemish sour

Rating #850. Shared by Eyedrinkale at the RateBeer gathering at the Captain Lawrence Brewery. Poured a cloudy reddish golden with a frothy white head. Aroma of bread, tart cherries, adn some funk. Taste is dry toffee and cherries. Not as tart as I thought it would be. Well balanced and easy-drinking. Light lively body. Nice.

bottle at brickskeller sampled with artusory. highly carbonated light orange hue with a big fizzy off-white head. lots of pillowy lacing here. the head lasted a near eternity. big dusty fruit nose-vinegar, sour cherries, woodsy notes, vanilla, and a touch of melons. lots of dark fruit, cherries, sourness, and metallic tones on the flavors. this has aged gracefully and i thought i would never be able to try this beer. what a find! almost like a balanced kriek. body was lush and not as carbonated as i thought it would be. really cool!

Bottle at The Brickskeller. Clear, light amber body with an enormous, gushing, rocky, off-white head. The head is lasting and leaves a very sticky lace on the glass. The aroma is vinous, cherry, vinegar, caramel, vanilla and a touch horsey. The flavor is sour pie cherries, balsamic, cider, candi sugar and caramel. Medium body with a soft and creamy texture and bright acidity on the finish.

In short: One of the best Flemish Sour ever.
How: Full 750ml bottle by myself at Beer Circus (Brussels, Belgium). And another time at the post-EBF 2009 tasting session
The look: Starts pouring cloudy copper and by the end of the bottle it’s opaque brown with plenty of sediments. Medium off-white head.
In long: Intense aroma of wood coal, toffee, cake and a shot of Grand Marnier. Aggressive initial attack and smooth finish. Alcohol feels more than 8%. Intense dark caramel wrapped around a sour oak stick. Dirty malt and dry hops, this is not a clean crisp beer. Perfect balance. Too much good stuff to list here. This is not a gentle and subtle beer. It’s very raw and rough and it excels at that. Had a full bottle at Beer Circus to accompany a so-so steak. At 25 euros a bottle (ouch!) I won’t drink it every day otherwise I’ll end-up as broke as Hitler when he got the gas bill.

Bottle from Walt. Golden brown with a thick foamy off white head. Nose-apple, caramel. Taste-medium sourness, tart apple, light brown sugar, light Flemish Sour, papery cider notes, very light soy, artificial sweetener, light malt vinegar, acetic, corky. I can see how this was at one time a magnificent beer, but it has gone past it’s prime.

1980 bottle at The Kulminator. Reddish brown with lasting beige head. Amazing vinous aroma. Some woodiness. Stunning sour vinous beer. Sour finish. Bit of raisin fruit in there too.

Bottle at Brickskeller. Huge amounts of carbonation, bubbled out of the bottle for about ten minutes - like a little decorative fountain at the center of our table. Pours an enormous, fluffy off-white head; dark, red-brown/amber appearance in the glass with excellent lacing and retention. Nose is very vinuous, showing grapes, soy sauce (some say "sweet/sour", I caught soy sauce) and honey (and a slight level of tartness) in a full, layered aroma. Plenty of carbonation on the tongue; full, viscous puckering mouthfeel showing a vinuous/winelike character like no other beer i’ve tasted before - long, sweet grape (vanilla?) and tart finish. So many great things going on with this beer after six years. The soy sauce characteristic is its only detracting point.