De Dolle Arabier

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

Slightly hazy golden orange pour, sunlight yellowed hues. Thick lacing left behind as a rocky head very slowly recedes. Aroma is very strong, of many fruits: pineapple, orange, banana, berries left to ripen in the sun. Also noted are incredibly peppery and acidic malts and yeast, floral tones and hops that shout out from the depths. Individualistic. Flavor is superbly acidic, cutting right through sweet malts. More fruits here, dried and musty, with notes of hay and grass aplenty. Lemon zest mingles with honey and floral notes. Hops are tingling and vibrant in a fresh sample. Finishes semi-sweet and moderately bitter, appetizing in its intracacies. Palate is heavily carbonated and oily, tannic at moments. Another treasure from a brewery that seems to never stumble.

It’s fun for a parrot keeper like me to rate a parrot beer, even if I do not keep macaws :) The beer has a nice head, that is very lasting and ends like foamy islands on the surface of this intensely golden amber beer. The aroma has notes of hops, citrus and a bit of coriander. The mouth feeling is round and pleasant, and the flavour has initially notes of coriander and fruit. It’s sweet with a citrussy bitterness, that makes the finish bitter and dry.

11.2oz bottle. pours golden with huge fluffy head. nose has really nice zesty orange and pear, coriander, and yeasty. flavor is very crisp, peppery, orange, pear, banana, and yeasty. alcohol is well hidden. mouthfeel is a tad thin and watery. a very tasty one from de dolle for sure, perfect to quench your thirst and get your belgian fix on a summer day.3.7.

6/29/08, 33cl botlte. pours hazy dull amber with foamy off white head. no so golden like i’ve had before. aroma is sweet, grassy, white grape, yeast. flavor is spicy, musty, dried fruit, yeasty. lively mouth feel, sort of a sweet alcohol finish but not boozy or hot. i still like this but I had it in my head it was going to be yeasty and hoppy golden strong ale not this. 3.6.

Cloudy gold. Fine bitterness, some sourness over a well balanced malt base. Deceivingly easy-drinking. Some yeast, but that might be the bottle. Nice.

Slightly hazy, pale body with a small, off-white head. The aroma is bread, honey and herbal. The flavor is slightly tart, lemon, bread, honey and lots of herbal hops. Medium body with biting carbonation and slightly medicinal.

on tap at richo’s. clear golden with a big fluffy white head. nice lacing. nice apple aroma with a hint of clove. tart apple cider flavor with a hint of clove and lots of dry grassy hops. dry bitter grassy hop finish. creamy medium body. nice interesting beer with a light feel.

Draft, Max’s 3rd Annual Belgian Beer Festival. Hazy, honey-golden appearance; headless. Tart, honey and candy sugar in the aroma. Light carbonation; full, viscous mouthfeel: honey, yeasty, and full of esters. Medium, chewy finish; slightly floral and citrus.

Much like the Achel 8 Blonde, a "Belgian Strong" that presents like a Tripel but with more of a floral(?) character, i.e., more bittering elements in the flavor countering the big malt character. Bit more grassy but without the crisp carbonationy mouthfeel that often goes with that. In hindsight, this would have been a better #300. I love these cloudy deep-gold-type Belgians, though they seem to more-than-seldom come at the cost of a big foam eruption upon popping the bottle cap.