De Dolle Stille Nacht

Poured into a St. Bernardus goblet. Dark goldenrod/grey poupon color with a sticky white head. Great lacing with ample legs. Completely hazy. Aromas of freshly baked bread, overripe apricot, raisins, and cinnamon. Flavor is very sweet, with banana and peach esters that melt into a brown sugar finish. Lots of yeast and spice, even a little hop bitterness towards the back of the palate. Full bodied, but even so there’s just too much carbonation. A couple of modest sips result in an appreciable belch. Chewy, caky mouthfeel, no alcohol flavors. Drinkability takes a hit from all the CO2. Very good beer.

’05 bottle on special for $2.99 at the Ann Arbor Beer Depot. Christmas in August. Murky orange amber with a fizzy head that gives way to a thin lacing around the edges. Smells of a fruit smoothie, plums and strawberries, sugar. Instant sticky sweet until the bitter alcohol emerges. Pretty spicy for a 3 year old. Nice beer for the holidays. Might go back and buy the rest of those cheap bottles.

Pours a hazy yellow with a big white head. Aroma of fruit, spice, malt, candi sugar & sour apple. Flavor is sweet at first with some caramel and dried fruit. Finish is some what tart and very drinkable. Very complex beer, I love this one.

Hey-o, this is different, even for De Dolle. No gusher on this one, which is atypical. Bright chunky amber pour with big bubbly white head that settles into a beautiful thin creamy layer. Huge chunks distributed throughout but refusing to settle. Dense! Malt, burnt brown sugar, pineapple, peach pits, and some funky cheese on the nose. Bit of an alcohol burn, but for a 12% beer, not obscenely so. Probably not my favorite De Dolle (primarily b/c of the alcohol), but wonderful like all the rest.

2006 Bottle found at Beer Paradise in Holstebro. Dark amber with good head and sentiments on the bottom, Sweet malty aroma and taste with fruity notes. Very complex and hides the alcohol content very nicely. Spicy and fruity aftertaste. Very very nice