 Rastacouere (5283), Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Feb 14, 2005 Updated: Dec 3, 2006
Terrific appearance. An attracting hazy golden with a gigantic white head displaying splendid lacing. The head leaves a trace after every sip and just stays there, mountainous, rocky, all over the glass. Sediments move at the bottom of the glass. Appealing yeasty sweet aroma. Honeyish malt is the base on which dances an above average hop character for a belgian beer, citrusy, lemony, sprucey. Notes of bread, farmhouse, apple and pepper+cloves. I expected this to be the least interesting De Dolle, but how wrong I was, this one is fabulous, complex, yeasty, balanced, refreshing and almost a session beer. Palate is dry up front, hoppy with a generous bitter finish, but all kinds of things happening in between. There’s a subdued fruitiness in the likes of grapefruit, apple, orange or apricot and complex complementing spices. Refreshing mild tart profile. Great creamy and velvety mouthfeel with above average carbonation. I just played a few hours of tennis and this is a superb "sunny day welcome". The complex toasty almost pilsnerish malt just seduces me. All the ingredients in this beer makes themselves heard and known. Oh plentiful harvest, how I want to live to drink your offerings again... Thank you for enlighting me Sham.
Resample: I see the light now. It’s a real crime to have this rated so low. There are only a handful of comparable beers in this style and there are no other style than a hoppy golden belgian to give me that much pleasure. This is a better balanced and more stable Orval. Every bottle is world-class, so is every sip. Medicinal, floral, gracious, elegant hoppiness, funky yeast. A session belgian strong.
nearbeer (1237), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Sep 5, 2008 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.
Lord_Corkscrew (560), Ronco Scrivia (GE), Italy
Sep 5, 2008 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.
MrRain (305), O’Fallon, Illinois, USA
Aug 31, 2008 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.
fredandboboflo (508), East Setauket, New York, USA
Aug 28, 2008 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.
LilBeerDoctor (509), East Setauket, New York, USA
Aug 28, 2008 Bottle. I don’t know how old this bottle is, but it had been sitting at my local bottle shop for at least 2 years, so that’s how old I’m going to estimate that it is. Pours a cloudy brown with no head, just some bubbles. Aroma is quite pungent, lots of raisin and alcohol. Flavor is not as pungent as the aroma, sort of a mellowed combination of the above. Kind of one dimensional and bland and too strong. Not a fan.
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