De Dolle Stille Nacht

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

Bottle. Thanks to either Mcbackus or the Perfect 10 trade. Pours very hazy, dark orange, with a big white, long lasting head. The aroma is musty sour fruit with caramel. Flavor is lightly sweet with dates and plums, molasses and apples. There is a fair amount of complexity to this one and I had a tough time placing all the flavors, I also noted caramel but I may have been stretching since I can’t really recall that flavor now. Creamy medium mouth feel and solid carbonation. Not bad.

Holy criminy! This is a thick, rich ale that doesn’t pull any punches or try to cleverly hide it’s ABV. You get all 12% with that delicious yeasty flavor that these folks seem to have mastered. Absolutely delicious, tauntingly dangerous.

A wonderfull brew with taste evolution. I had a vertical beer tasting of 8 different years on the same day. I had 8 different tasts. Since that day this is one of my favorites

Bottle, 1996 vintage, at the Kulminator, Antwerp. Beautiful amber with a two-finger, big-bubbled white head. Huge bouquet here in the nose - very malt-centric and almost reminiscent of a barleywine, no doubt because of its age. Toffee, caramel are the main components as well as a slight spice presence in clove and maybe even some citrus. It has a sweetness that, again, reminds of good barleywines as well as a slight alcohol note. Taste is a lesson in balance - definitely a testament to the age on this one. Assertive malt is rounded off by a dark fruitiness, spiked with spice notes and a very slight alcohol. Caramel, toffee, but light and fragrant instead of cloying and overwhelming - sweet but not annoyingly so. Slight sour note in the finish, with a sweet and long lingering aftertaste. Very, very slight metallic component as it warms. The palate here is really interesting and shows the most change because of the 10+ years of age on this one. It still retains high carbonation but is very delicate and light on the tongue - the beer has definitely thinned out in the cellar, but the thinning is pleasurable and interesting instead of rendering the brew insipid or watery. This is really good - a day after the Westys, still this is nothing like I’ve ever experienced.

Saaaweeeeettt! Hazy, golden amber color. Two finger white head that took a while to dissipate. Flavored immensely by the candi sugar with a light malt, somewhat yeasty flavor. I love it. Alcohol ever so slightly present. Mmmmm Mmmmmmm good!

Very similar to Stille Nacht Special Reserva 2005; very, very similar, except the flavors were not as distinct. Cloudy amber with giant head that wilted away after about 10 minutes. Aroma of yeast, malt, grapes, and wine. Flavor was similar and very crisp. Somewhat dry on the finish this was very unique and fun to drink. The alcohol was not noticeable until after the second bottle.

Bottle. Cap says 2005. Pours hazy amber/gold with a small beige head. Aroma is potent ripe fruit, pears, cherries, raisins, wine-esque notes, a bit of hops, and sweet maltiness. Flavor is very sweet, full of raisins, and the stong fruity notes as well. Finishes very warm from the alcohol and sweet fruits linger. Very interesting beer.

Pours a rich copper with lots of particulate matter. a thin dense white head. Kind of off putting, but the nose is nice. Creamy caramel, alcohol, orange, cloves. Like a creamsickle flavored barleywine, only well done, and not as shitty as that sounds. Well balanced. On the palate this is thick and sticky. a real sipper. Some alcohol burn. A bit of that Belgian funk comes in fairly strong although it’s over a big ass alcohol, orange, and herbal front. This balances some very big sweetness, though the caramel is less so present. Some major diacetyl, but here it works. I mean, this is just a wall of fucking flavor. Maybe a hint of coriander. Deifnitely tangerine peel finish and coriander(?) with alcohol coming on strong in the triple sec aftertaste. Big hops, big malt, big alcohol. quite a brew!