De Dolle Boskeun

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Golden blond, effervescent; lush velvety white head. Aroma: hay, horseblanket, nectarine, some alcohol. Flavor: sweet, alcoholic, more sweet. Creamy yeasty feel to it. Bottom half is very cloudy; lots of floaties. I didn’t realize at the time that this was 10%, but that explains why I was out of it for the rest of the day. Like some other DDB beers, this is a little over the top for me.

Pours a very cloudy, glowing, golden-tangerine color. A massive, dense, foamy white head shows excellent retention, leaving thick sheets and clumps of lacing behind. The nose shows a robust blend of candy sugar, dried white fruits, coriander spice, cream, and a funky, bready yeast note. Flavors are again based in sweet candied sugar, with the coriander asserting itself a bit more. Fruity elements are dry and concentrated, yet nearly indiscernible as to particular type. I’m thinking some pear and some nectarine, but I could be off base. The mouthfeel is quite substantial and creamy smooth, but finishing on the cloying side. Spicy, dry yeast lingers in the back of the mouth for a good while. I’m not crazy about coriander spiced brews in general, but this is another winner from De Dolle. When in the proper mood, I could really crave this brew.

Bottle, Beers of Europe. Dig the label. Pours a hazy, light amber with a medium, thick white head. Sweetish malty, aroma with some fruit and spice thrown into the mix.. Smooth and with a nice body, this feels good slipping down. Sweet with lots of fruit and spice. This bunny has bags of appeal.

Bottle. Aroma of light fruits, flavor more in the dark, dried fruit range, most prevalent prune. Not getting overly verbose about this one, a solid brew but nothing that had me jumping for joy.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy amber/brown with barely any head. Aroma of apple and pear fruits. Flavor of crisp, fresh apples, pear, prunes, raisin, molasses, fig, some alcohol, Belgian yeast. A good Belgian strong ale but I’m not too crazy about it.

A litle hazy golden colored beer with a big foamy white head. Aromas of spices (clove), honey, hops and fruits. The taste is light sweet of honey, peaches with touches of banana. You taste a little alcohol. It has a dry after tasting. A great beer.

Bottle courtesy of jrob_21. I haven’t seen this one out in Seattle lately, and so I was very happy to get a chance to try it.

This is an easy 5 for appearance. Below, a rich brown-tinged straw, amply clouded, a little bit of floating matter; atop a gorgeous fluffy near-white head, filling the top half of my Guldenberg snifter and gradually melting down to a big textured fluffy mass, like the giant goose-down snowflakes improbably falling on this April 20th in Seattle. A thin layer of bubbles, small and tightly packed, lasts forever atop the surface, with a striking glow shining from within them, gold and seemingly illuminated from within. The aroma is candy -- pastel mello-cremes from Easter, distinctive house yeasts, gentle spice, a citrus-peel twist, the sweetness of a green grass-stalk between the teeth on a n early summer morning.

Glorious flavor. Tripel-like elements; golden citric flavors, sweet onset (those mello-cremes again), yeast-driven spice, a dry close with the alcohol coming up full, banana esters manifest but never overblown. Full mouthfeel, perfect carbonation, alcohol present but not hot (this has to be the 10% version; no label on the bottle but no way that this mouthfeel could come from 7%)

I just rated this thing really high even while perhaps lowballing the aroma and flavor at 8 each; the components are simply superb. The biggest criticism I can muster is that this is not necessarily a beer that is often going to match what I’m looking for. But it’s spot-on for what I’m a looing for now, a midday treat to be sipped and savored on a spring Sunday.

High points for originality for me. I have never had a beer that had this kind of flavor or aroma. I was picking up spices and easter candy and any number of other things I couldn’t identify. My first sip was definitely a "wow’ sip. Very good and literally like nothing I’ve had before.