De Dolle Arabier

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

8/1/06: Bottle.
Golden orange body with a powdered snow head which is explosive and rocky. Lace clings. Aroma is of barnyard and musty with yeast. Flavor is full of wheat with sour notes and spicy (allspice, nutmeg, clove). Finish is nicely crisp.

Bottle from The Market Basket in Rockport, Maine. Bottle Fough thoamed up, and poars a big pillowy head, smells fresh even hough I bet that that this beer has been in the bottle for a long time. Tastes a little bitter and not as good as other De Dolle that I’ve had. Worth a try, I’d like to try it again. Feels fantastic on the palate and the frangrance is more striking then the flavor

Bottle from Super Saver. Slight hazy and deep goldish yellow pour with a giant fluffy head that has a really odd shape and reappears with every repour. The aroma is spicy and floral, with hop and citrus notes, some funky yeasty notes, plus slight apricot and peppery notes. The flavor starts out on the dry side, with yeasty funk and spice, hopcitrus and some florals and subdued fruit notes, but this one gets a bit sweeter and fruitier as it warms. Complex palate. Toward the end, it was all I could do not to chug the last 4 ounces or so. A delicious beer!

33cL bottle. Just took a peek under the cap, and it started gushing. After that, I figured it would be a long drawn out pour, but to my surprise, the head dissipated quickly, but left a good lace. It was more clear than I had expected. Pretty good aroma, mostly yeast, banana, citrus and hops. Mouthfeel was rather dry. Almost like the Houblon, but not as hoppy. Alcohol was present, but not overly. There was also the requisite Belgian blonde aspects: banana, yeast, citrus and candi sugar ... in that order. Pretty good, although it’s tough when De Dolle sets the bar as high as they do.

33 cl. Bottle. Pours a hazy golden color with a white head and great lacing. Earth and sweet malt in the nose. Sweet malt, spicy, bready, and woodsy with a earthy bitterness at the end. Good beer.

Bouteille de 330 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur de caramel et de fruité. Apparence: La couleur est blonde avec une moyenne densité de bulle. Présence d’un énorme col mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’épices et d’agrumes. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture minérale. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de céréales en en arrière goût. (Rating #541)

Poured a slightly hazy pale straw color with a huge rocky head that lasted the length of the beer. Has many of the same aromas and tastes of a saison but with hops being the lead role. Very herbal and woodsy, the hop character stands out both in the beginning and in the finish. A light to medium bodied malty palate could be a little heavier to balance to hop bitterness. I like hoppy beers, though this one just seemed rough.

Pours deep-golden with a light haze (foggy late), steady carbonation and a large, white head that settles rocky. Yeasty aroma with banana, tart cherry, sweaty old gym shoes and a touch of candi. Fluffy mouthfeel, dry and slightly metallic with some syrupy sweetness to finish after dominant fruity, yeasty flavors throughout. Flavors greatly improve as it rises above cellar temp.

<font size=-4>Single bottle purchase from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/chicag Wine & Spirits, Chicago, IL 60614<font size=-1>