De Dolle Stille Nacht

Brewed by De Dolle Brouwers
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Diksmuide, Belgium

2007 Stille Nacht 12% ABV. Tap Capital Ale House Innsbrook 08/27/2008. Slight alchohol and Belgian yeast character in aroma. Cloudy orange amber with small white head. Spicey Belgian yeast character with carmelized malts and candi sugar. 12 % ABV and alchohol is undetectable. Bit of graininess. Full body with creamy mouthfeel. Sweet finish with residual hop/yeast spice.

Vintage 1984 @ Kulminator, part of a vertical. Deep reddish brown with nice lasting head leaving nice laces. Heavy vinous malty aroma of port wine, over ripe berries, wood and spices. Very sweet, long sweet finish with warming alcohol and some dryness.

Tap at the Blind Tiger. Poured a red amber with a thin white head.Light fruit nose. This tasted like a barely wine. Strong alcohol bite with it. Very sweet and fruity with a syrupy quality to it. Aging seems like a good idea with this.

Bottle. Aroma of raw meat, dark dried fruits, apples, yeast, caramel, spice, and dust. Large off-white head that diminished and left little lace. Murky orange brown hue with lots of small particles. Flavor is spicy, sweet, a little cloying, and a little bitter. Palate is lively and medium-full bodied. Typical crappy Belgian.

bottle into wine glass for lack of tulip/snifter/trappist glass. Very active carbonation... the first pour was 75 percent head. It has a clear nut brown copper color with a big barely off-white head (some descent lace) and lots of little carbonation bubbles rushing to the top. Aroma of Belgian candi sugar, wheat, yeast, coriander, delicate alcohol, and pale malt. Lots going on in the flavor, and not in an overly flavorful/sweet syrupy or confused way - candi sugar, yeast, hops, plums, cherries, pale malt and more. There is a definite alcohol presence, but it is complex and delicious and warm, not biting and nauseating. I am not a huge fan of many belgians because I am not into super carbonated brews, but with a swirl or two this gy offers enough to tickle the tongue yet go down silky smooth with a medium to heavy body. Overall: one of the most enjoyable Belgians I have had to date, and I am sure it only gets better with age. A great brew (and a cool label too!).

Bottle 2006 edition. Thanks for sharing fonefan. Poured hazy amber with a medium head. Malty aroma with lots of spices and fruit. Heavily fruity flavour with spices like cinnamon. Bit sour with a good alcohol marker. Smooth palate that explodes in my mouth.

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.