De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva 2000

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

Kudos to eyedrinkale for bringing this gem out to share. Deep golden orange beer. The aroma is awesome, rich orange peel, apple, pineapple and rich clovey/nutmeg spiciness. Peach and tangerine with a soft tartness over the sweeter estery character and apple pie spiciness. Loads and loads of yeasty complexity wrapping around a softly sweet honeyish belgian malt base. It’s got a nice basementy bit of age that is well integrated with all of the other yeasty characters. Awesome.

Man, I never in my wildest dreams expected to try this one. Unfortunately, it would seems its past its prime, though still rather nice. The aroma is deep and complex, with anise, pineapple, licorice, and a light bit of alcohol. Though the flavor is rather basic and uncomplex, it is a nice mixture of fruit, deep spices, and a touch of tartness. Very mellow and balanced all around, with a wonderful sweetness.

Most graciously shared by EDA, jez I never thought this would come around. I was as awed as the rest. I got one of the early pours from the bottle and then a little from the end to have a nice mix in the glass. Either way the first pour was still pretty murky, could not see through it but it definitely was a glowing golden color. It poured with a small head but it stuck around. Aroma is definitely aged, lots of aged malts that have turned into slightly cardboard but very sweet honey malts. And a cool yet weird moldy/sour old white grape. Lots of damp basement in the aroma as well. Taste is similar with less of the basement aspect but still plenty sweet. The ’basement’ maybe the oak. The yeastiness also really breaks through with lots of doughiness. As far as aged beer goes this is held up very well and is very nice to try, again as far as aged beer goes. So I will rate it as a good ’old beer.’ Thanks again Mike. 750mL bottle, white wine glass.

Bottle generously shared by Eyedrinkale: Rusty auburn pour with a fading off white head. Complex aroma. Vinous, muscat grapes, vanilla, toffee, cork and oak. Slick texture. Slightly sweet flavor with white grapes and toffee. Mild oak hints are there, but they fade into the smooth sweetness of butterscotch into the rich yet smooth finish. No alcohol presence. A great Ale of nice complexity, perhaps past it’s prime at the time I sampled it.

All my rating is gonna say is that this beer is still holding up. Past its prime, perhaps. But still plenty of carbonation. Fruit cocktail, cherries, grapes and the delectible De Dolle yeast I love so much. Share it now folks.

Early pour is lightly hazed and the color of honey - golden copper, soft and pleasant. A later pour with some of the yeast mixed in it’s obviously more muddy and brown in color. Sparkling sugar and candied fruit in the nose, a lot of honey scented malt and light candy sugar throughout. Flavor is big, rich, syrupy and sticky up front. Alcoholic oranges and bready malts noticed, with even some banana yeast esters present. Heavy candy sugar throughout the drink, on the sweet side but not overly sweet. Tannic, dry oak noticed with some sweet almond accents. The wood character is quite fresh and new throughout, a testament to the care taken in aging the bottle. Overall it’s exceptionally rich and delicious - sticky and sweet - prickly and exciting. Incredible.

750mL bottle, courtesy of mwsf, shared trade with acrdz and I. Goddamn. Thanks so much, Matt! Pours a lightly hazy, orange-brown color; honey-yellow edges; good amount of viscosity; solid perimeter of off-white bubbles with patchy lacing. Loads of honey in the aroma: vinous red fruits, Belgian sugar, cherries coupled with the slightest tartness; some chewy caramel from oxidation, but this doesn’t overwhelm the other, clearer notes; incredibly dense, honey-laden, vinous nose; no show of the alcohol underneath. Full mouthfeel: similar honey-like sweetness and viscosity that one would expect from the stille nacht, but coupled with lightly tannic red fruits, incredibly complex yeastiness, chewy caramel, and viscous Belgian sugars; this bottle seems to have held up beautifully (thanks to great cellaring, evidently, and large pours); there’s nothing thin about this beer, nothing close to watery or relaxed concentration; I could sip this for effectively forever, and I just might. Lengthy finish: sweet, complex honey and yeastiness, toasty breadiness, and a touch of red fruits, spicing, and dough. Just a magnificent, complex, seamless barrel-aged beer that can outlast even our desires to track down and drink every single last bottle of this.

I had this last year and was so utterly impressed that it was aging as well as it had. This is wonderful, with some woody notes present in the background lingering. Lots of dark fruit flavors, figs and plums and dates, with just a bit of sweet and sour qualities on the palate. still lots of sweet honey maltiness blended with caramel and toffee and light candi sugar. This is excellent!