De Dolle Stille Nacht

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

11.2 oz bottle, served as an aperitif at the Free State 19th Anniversary Beer Banquet. Pour is gold-amber, slightly hazed, with not too much head. I thought it looked quite a bit like a Tripel in the glass. Aroma of strong, sweet fruit - plums, bananas, oranges. Some hops in the nose as well. Alcohol is quite present as well. Taste is a nice representation of the aroma, big sweet fruit flavors, candy sugar, with a heavy malt backbone and some nice hop spiciness towards the middle and finish. The finish also revealed the alcohol burn. Body was medium-full body. This was nice, but wouldn’t mind having it with a bit more age on it (I assume this was a pretty fresh bottle).

dark amber color, good white head, great rentention, and lacing. Aroma is full of ripe apples, and plums, and a nice yeastiness with a touch of alcohol. Mouthfeel is velvet, and super smooth. Flavour is very smooth, and silky, almost creamy, with big notes of apple, caramel, plums, and bready yeast. Wow, super nice beer, Cabonation is a little high, but otherwise outstanding.

bottle. pours a hazy honey color with tons of floating funness, and a giant gushing eggshell head that has a halflife of about 30 seconds, never completely dissipates, and leaves some pretty soapy lacing. smell is all kinds of good: very pleasant fruitiness, combined with a bready and sort of honeyed malt. lots of dried pears and apples and figs and white grapes, and what seems to me to be a floral hops smell topping it all off. a bit candied. really good stuff, if a bit more subtle than my favorite belgians. my initial impressions upon tasting: wow that’s good and wow that’s got a lot of alcohol! spicy bready malt notes hit first, followed by a deep fruit bouquet. lots of pears, white grapes, dried figs, honeydew, some flowers, all spiced up and tasting like they belong in a bread. very warm, with significant alcohol presence, though it isn’t necessarily present in the flavor. light hop bitterness, and very mild sweetness, with lingering dried fruit and oak flavors, and again very warm, though not sharp enough to call hot. tons of carbonation for a very sudsy, creamy mouthfeel, to go with a pretty full body. i had high expectations for this one, and it delivered: complex but not overwhelming, amazing smell and taste, noticeably high in alcohol, but not to the point where it has any effect on the flavor. lots of fruit without the beer being fruity. just great. i just wish the abv was lower so i could drink more.

Pours dark hazy orange with big frothy head. Aroma of yeast, honey, candied sugar, some spice, citrus hoppiness. Flavor contains citrus notes and dark fruit such as raisin and plum, an abundance of candied sugar, yeast, and some nice hops to really balance this one out. Long but dry finish. Another great one from De Dolle.

Bottle. Fizzy short lasting off-white head on top a cloudy brownish-orange body. Aroma you might expect from a beer such as this: light booze soaked fruits, candied fruits, coriander, lemon zest, yeast and light sweet malt. The flavors go right along with the aroma: boozey lightly sweetened fruits, dry pale malt, yeast, spices and citrus zest. Medium bodied, sturdy carbonation, mildly sweet and dry in the front with a dry, earthy, bitter finish. Well made brew that hides the booze well even though elements of it come through, they do it gracefully.

Bottled, not sure of the vintage year but it sure tasted quite fresh. Kick ass appearance with a HUGE frothy head and sediment swimming throughout. While there is a lot going on in the flavor - I just can’t hang with these cloyingly, cut throat sweet beers. Dripping with candi sugar and honey - just too dominated by sweetness to enjoy. Could only handle a handful of sips and that was it....bummer. A beer that I can’t finish deserves an appropriate rating. I have a feeling I need to sample this thing with several years of age.

Bottle. Clear dark amber colour with a nice big head. Aroma and flavour of sugar, hops, spice and fruit.

Very unique hazy bown/yellow look with a huge head, like every other brew from De Dolle i’ve had. Aroma is an intense of fruity esters and vinouse alchohol notes. The esters range from sweet mandarine and oranges, to darker fruits like figs and plums. The alchohol is really something for my liking aswell. Flavor is strong alchoholic in a balanced way. Makes it a sipping brew. Dry hobby finish, really enjoyable!