De Dolle Arabier

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

Bottle from River’s Bend. Poured clear pale color with a huge white head that lasted with good lacing. Complex fruity citrus and sweet spice aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture. Full complex sweet flavor with solid fruity sweet finish of moderate duration. Good complex soft brew.

Nice Belgian strong. Pour was great...medium light gold with a head that went a bit overboard. Literally..it poured over the side. The aroma was decent...fruit and spices with a big yeast presence. Taste was very complex...not extremely sweet like this style tends to be. Starts off a little sour with fruits and spices in the front. Nice and fizzy mouthfeel. Aftertaste is dry as a bell and a little bitter. The sweetness comes in and out but doesn’t overpower. Nice.

definite some strong character in this beer. Mild fruity flavors, sweet malts and low hops make for a fine Belgian beer.

The aroma is like paint with plastic, yeast, sour fruit, and spices. The appearance is hazy gold orange with a HUGE head. The flavor is like the aroma. The palate is thin but smooth. Overall a bust.

Bottle (33 cl) from Ølbutikken, Copenhagen, Denmark. An enormous white head fills the glass to 95 % at the first pour. When it slowly fades away it reveals a hazy golden beer. Aroma is delicately fruity with spicy and yeasty notes. Medium bodied with soft mouthfeel. Very well balanced with a dry edge. Nothing crazy about this beer, rather very delicate and subtle.

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Stockholm, 31 Oct 2007) Golden yellow colour with huge, white head. Fruity, slightly tart nose with apricots and lots of spicy hops. Fruity taste with notes of apricots, citrus and loads of spicy hops in a long, bitter finish. Starts sweetish, turns drier towards the end. Lovely beer with impressive hop character.

$4 Bottle from Hi Time. Explosive head with an entire pint glass full of foam. It took me 10 minutes to pour the beer as I waited for the foam to settle. Small bubbles settling to microfoam, eventually dissipating completely. Does it have a Brett finish that has eaten too much sugar? Cloudy amber liquid. The aroma has corriander, and a little sour Brett aroma, and I think a little sour in the taste as well, but the beer is not dry, but leans toward the sweet side. A little bit of green apple, and black pepper spice. Pretty nice. Fairly drinkable, but best with a soft cheese. I would derate the appearance for the blossoming head, but it was quite interesting, which brings it back to average.

Courtesy to SoLan for this sample. Pours a large fizzy head with random lacing. The color is analogous with unfiltered apple juice. Huge nose of sour yeast, vanilla, and crisp green apples. Flavors continue with more sour yeast, apples, iceburg lettuce, black pepper, clove, and a slight alcohol astringentness to finish out. High carbonation/ full body. This was a little too carbonated for me, but after letting it simmer down, Arabier proved satisfying.