De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 20

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

A few bottles of this showed up at our local bottle market, glad i found one. Pours very clear copper with a tall fizzy white head, after a few glass the floaties started showing then mulitiplied very quickly. This beer was amazing, very mildy sour, much to my liking, with a strong acidity and very complex flavor. Very corkish character to this beer, tastes nice and aged. Starts with a nice sweetness with kinda a herbal/perfume character, stale fruit, and citrus, and finishes very dry and fizzy. The light sourness in the finish kept it very thirst quenching and tasteful.

Magnifique couleur orangée tirant vers le brun pale, apparence pleinement trouble et opaque. Énorme mousse crémeuse aux très fines bulles, celle-ci adhère complètement et uniformément à la paroi du verre et est d’une persistance rare. Arômes très herbals, sauvage, levuré, de vieille cave humide / cellier et de bois moisi. Saveurs immensément boisées, poussiéreuses et sauvages, rempli d’esther conférant ainsi un caractère de fruits exotiques demeurant toujours en arrière-plan. La signature des levures de Rodenbach semble aussi claire et apparente. Doucement tartrique en bouche, grandissant rapidement au fil des gorgées. Carbonatation intense et ne s’affaissant jamais. Tellement pleine de goût qu’elle fit paraître la bière suivante (La Folie) comme presque banale…ce qui n’est pas peu dire. Une véritable source de bonheur dans une bouteille. Merci semble un très faible mot, Rastacouere.

Original rating, july 2004:The easiest 5 for appearance. The orange hue just capts the light and begs to be contemplated for its grandiloquent carbonation. It looks like its alive and a good friend of mine. Take my flesh! Gigantic sized off-white head wears a ton of desiments. Big bubbles keep going up and climbing the glass rather than diminishing. It just stays there, admirative and sticks to the glass like crazy glue with a lacing that can’t be matched. The nose is complex and character loaded. Very oaky, smooth like a diplomat. Nice brett suggestions, mild champaign notes. Leafy hops, basement and cobwebs reminiscent yeast. Cork and cask wood notes... just so many elements I adore in belgians. Mouth presence is much more intense than the aroma. It has this gentle tartness that is just so refreshing in the flanders sour ales and a bit of brett to capt anyone’s attention. Bready yeast, farmy hay, barnyardy, sawdust, cedar spruce, wood... will this ever end? I hope not. Complex fruity undertones (apples, intense riped cherry skin, white grapes). Eternal dry finish follows a funky light bitterness. The mouthfeel to carry this plethora of flavors is of course extremely carbonated, but I’ll be damned if this doesn’t work. Smooth like a night by a campfire and spritzy like a night where you fight the fire. 2 thumbs up to De Dolle for this beauty that has held its stick to the fantastic opponent that is time since this is now 4 yr old. It’s truly a shame that the aroma just doesn’t come out a bit more expressive as this would have been my first 5, I still consider it as my favorite beer up to now though. I’m astonished by the pure elegance displayed by this fine specimen that somehow manages to also count among the most rustic beers I’ve ever sampled. Incredible.
Necessary Re-rate, from 4.9 to 5.0 Wondrous aromas with levels of flavours beyond imagination. Smells of just about everything I love in this world: Joris Pattyn’s cellar(which I never visited, but I know.. I just know), rodenbach’s yeast, De Dolle’s miracles, a fruit rainbow, a 1cm layer of mushroomy and cobwebby dust over an ancient manuscript full of outworldly secrets, the oak.. pure and strong as a lawyer for nature and the life out there.. everything… thrown together in a thick bottle so packed with glory that it can’t help but explode its geyser of grace and elegance upon the world as soon as the screw cage is out of the way. It’s probably the last time I live the dream of savoring this, but whatever happens to me in the future, no one will ever get that memory out. Kris is the best, I don’t really believe in god, but I believe his concept is useful when it comes to describing this beer, this could be what flows in god’s veins.. and he drinks vervifontaine blonde. Okay, I’m in my world, but to me, Speciaal Brouwsel = Perfection.

(Bottle: 75 cl) Very orange beer with visible impurities. Head is extremely thick, almost like whipped cream. First impression of the flavor is sour (like a gueuze) but underneath I definitely sense the added candi-sugar. Furhermore it has a distinct, dry bitterness. This beer has this musty, foxed way about it, which is quite typical for the small Belgians. 091102

It had a sweet and a sour flavor to it. It was a tasty beer. Nice golden color with creamy white. Sour aroma combined with some sweet, fruity smell.

Two turns on the cage and this sucker popped off and hit the ceiling. Quickly got the explosion over a glass and ended up with 90 percent head. It was a beautiful looking peice of foam, reminds me of Duvel. Murky dark tan bread crust color. Musty spiced apple cider aromas, with creamy yeast notes. Not as much of a palate killer as I expected, just a decent cream and spice finish with dominant flavors of overripe pears and apples.

Aroma: some yeast, some sourness, some malts
Appearance: big head-->off-white, honey/brown color, lacing
Flavor: slight sourness, some mint, some sugary-candy flavors/gummy bears, some flowers
Palate: sour and sweet, smooth finish, sweet fruity aftertaste
Overall: not too sour, quite balanced

Thanks to JCW fir sharing this rare treat. Complex aroma, grape skins, balsamic vinegar, sweet over-ripe fruit, caramel. Hazy orange amber color, decent sized off white head. Sweet and sour flavor, light fruits and caramel, earthy yeast, wonderfully balanced. Medium body. A truly outstanding sour ale.