De Dolle Arabier

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

33 cl bottle, and a gusher at that. Hazy light amber muddy pour with thin but tenacious gauzy white head with great lacing. Some chunks floating, and I swear one of them might be green. Hm. Good thing I like funky beers. De Dolle always delivers the funk. Complex sour aroma of bananas, yeast, hops, citrus, herbs, spice, peat, even smoked Gouda. Same kind of action on the tongue, with it all dancing around in a pleasant foaminess. Nice balance of yeast, malt, sugar, sour flavors, and some earthiness. I’m a big fan of this brewery, and their labels are great to boot.

bottle. pours a clear gold amber, with a sizable off-white head that quickly fades to a film. smells like apples and pears and sourdough bread, with spices, raisins, oak, and a surprising hint of lemon. quite interesting. tastes like smoked spicy fruits, with a pretty strong woody character. kind of astringent. moderate bitter, with a surprising bit of tartness in the finish. medium to full body, with a ton of carbonation. it’s an interesting beer. i like the tartness, and it smells amazing, but the flavor doesn’t hold up for me. oh i’ll certainly drink it again if someone brings it to a party or something, but i doubt i’ll seek it out again.

This Belgian Strong Ale pours a slightly hazy orange gold color from a 33cl bottle. A frelling huge sized , long lasting white fluffy and foamy head. The aroma is yeasty, spicy and fruity. A medium bodied BSA. The malts are fruity and sweet. Lots of yeast and spice flavors. The hops are floral. It starts out sweet and finishes fairly dry. Nice beer, if you have the time for the head to subside. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet

It’s always a pleasure to taste something from De Dolle, their Arabier is no exception as it pours a slightly hazy but bright gold. The fluffy white head is a work of architecture in itself. Sudsy on top, a moat of fine bubbles sinks around the edges of the glass, producing what looks to be a medieval tower barricaded with thick lacing. Fragrant despite this large head, the nose particularly emphasizes noble hops. An almost cheesy hop component is present and pleasant, accompanied of sweet grains and honey. Herbal aspects are also apparent, denoting thyme and tarragon. This is a light and summery aroma, but don’t think it simple, it’s another Daedalian brew from De Dolle. Hints of banana, pineapple, soap and apple pull you in all different directions. The flavor evolves wildly on the palate starting surprisingly sweet with creamy white honey and a fine tingling of carbonation. Quickly it moves to ample grains and light fruity flavors of peach and hoppy grapefruit, it’s astoundingly balanced. The dry peppery finish leads to an almost smoky and cheesy aftertaste, when finally, coffee appears several seconds after the swallow. Harmonious, drinkable, excellent. I could analyze this one all day, instead I’ll simply urge you to try it for yourself. (03/06/07)

33cl bottle from World of Beer (Largo, FL). Pours a cloudy dark golden with a thick, creamy, white head that settles quickly but still laces the glass. Bouquet is floral and spicy with hints of yeast and caramel. Flavor is unique: Initially smoky and oakey with a strong citrus and floral character. Finish is slightly tangy with a hint of bitterness. Well-balanced with notes of sweet, ripe fruit throughout. Interesting ale.

I chose to pour the yeast. It is a brilliant golden cloud of a beer with solid white mixed sized bubbles that make up a huge head. Nose is a citrus hop, caramel and sourdough yeast with an alcohol cleanliness. Taste is lots of sour yeast but with lots of brilliant white fruit such as sour apple and pear. The carbonation dances on the tongue. I love this brewery.

Really nice stuff here. Just loads of fruit and yeasty spice. This is a very refreshing and clean beer on the palate, just makes your mouth happy. Lots of banana and clove, but also a virtual smorgasbord of lighter fruits, and bit of sour funkiness, great acidity and bittering hops. This is one of the most well balanced beers I have ever tried.

UPDATED: JAN 21, 2009 (Re-rate, fresh bottle at One Pint Pub, Helsinki, on 2009-01-16. An aged bottle (vintage 2003) at Pikkulintu, Helsinki, 2009-01-18) The fresh one had the most beautiful head I’ve seen so far. Hops in aroma were quite clear in fresh version, the aroma of aged version was more malty but hops were still there. The palate in fresh version was fruity with high carbonation. The aged version had dry palate with medium carbonation. The taste: fresh version was fruity, hoppy and grassy. Aged version had all of those, hoppines were a bit milder and some dried plum flavours have appeared. Both versions were really good. (Earlier rating: 8-4-8-3-15=3.8)