De Dolle Arabier

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

total gusher: What was left poured a hazy deep orange colour with a medium off white head. Fruity smelling, slightly pear like alc. Caramel sweetness in the malt underneath. Flavour is grassy-floral hop bitterness. Dried apricot fruitiness with a biscuity-caramel maltiness. I would have loved to get a full glass of this!

Wonderful caramely malt aromas, brown sugar, orange peel, some dried fruit. Deep golden color with frothy abundant head. Flavors are haylike and sweetish. Floral notes, dried fruit, light bitter roasty finish and duration. Palate is mild but good.

Bottle: Pour was dark golden with a light tan head. Aroma was sweet, floral, and had a bit of herb/vegetable aroma. Flavor was a bit more subdued from the vegies with sweet malt, mucho fruit and citrus characters, and yeasty notes. Another fine yet complex brew from Chris at De Dolle.

From PP CBad Bottle Shop. Pours an opaque dirty orange hue with huge white foam that bursts out of the bottle. Nose is light fruits, citrus, hay, spices, and light hops. Taste is lemon juice, hay/grassy hops, a touch of raisins and spices/herbs in the middle, finishes astringent with subtle alcohol warming. Watery texture with high carbonation. A bit of a letdown, lack of balance with the fruits and hops mostly, strange acidic and drying texture, mostly flat in terms of enduring flavors.

33 cl, 2008 vintage. Hazy, bubbly orange-amber with 3/4 inch of lasting foam depositing frosting all over the glass. Orange zest and bread in the aroma. Initial flavor is orange zest and toffee, turning sharply to the dry hop flavors that are similar to a menthol-eucalyptus cough drop on the finish. Light body is nearly too fizzy and finishes alcohol-wine dry.

Ci ha messo un po’ De Dolle a conquistarmi, ma alla fine ci è riuscito, con questa fantastica Arabier, dall’aroma delicatamente floreale e complesso, dal fantastico sapore in equilibrio fra sentori di frutta tropicale e una nota di amaro elegante, tutto supportato da un calore che però qui non si trasforma nella cascata di pepe della Stille Nacht. Eccezionale.

Bottle poured into a tumbler. DDA pours very murky and the color of tarnished brass. The head is huge and creamy. This beer smells like sweet melons but has an acidic hay smell as well. The hay is present in the taste as well. This is a unique-tasting beer. I like it but it is quite different than what I anticipated.

Bottle, at least a year old. Aroma very malty with melons, dark fruits, citrus fruits, musty, light fruit syrup/light citrus-fruit juice. Flavor rather astringent with lots of alcohol, very reminiscent to me of fresh Stille Nacht. Fresh, aged, De Dolle continues to be a miss for me.