De Dolle Dulle Teve 10º (Mad Bitch)

Slightly-aged 750ml bottle from my own cellar, high fill level (important). Head is initially huge, frothy, rocky, white, fully lasting. Body is hazy medium yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately yeasty (cobwebs), moderately hoppy (herbs, flowers), moderately malty (cookie, toasted grain/bread), with notes of candied pineapple, honey, mango, white pepper, and alcohol. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. I’m tellin’ ya, this is a special beer, and it’s taken awhile to figure that out. But man, all it takes is a well-aged sample like this to open your eyes. This is the second one I’ve had that’s been this amazingly integrated. One or two years is all it needs (wouldn’t go much further). I’ve had low-fill bottles that were oxidized from the same batch that went down the drain, but that’s easy to see before you even open ’em. This is why I hoarded over a case of the damned things a year ago...I knew from a past experience that this thing goes from a dry, accurate, benchmark tripel to a mind-blowing ester-bomb in time. Words can’t express this beer when it’s in this shape (though it’s not really a tripel anymore), and I dare say most of my cellar is like this now...that’s an almost scary thought. A perfect beer IMHO, though certainly not every single time of course...but honestly, most of the samples I’ve had in the last year or so have been this flawless, so...fuck it. 5.0. Kris Herteleer is quite possibly the best brewer in the world IMHO.

33 cl bottle. Deep golden and slightly earthy with a thick creamy white head. Sticky lace with very spicy/yeasty aromas. Mango, papaya, lime and lemon top notes, more tropical fruit and even some pineapple. A touch of warming follows all of these bringing with it intense spices of cardamon, clove, and ginger. Creamy texture with a lovely wheaty body and spiciness up front. Fresh tropical fruit mingling with warm baking spices. Ginger, clove, black pepper mingle with a soft spearmint flavour on the back. Sweet Belgian malt bring the yeast and fruitiness together. Warming intensifies the spice and softens the fruit. Waves and waves of alternating sweet spice, tropical fruit and tart acidity just make this a world class example of the brewer’s art. Amazing beer.

750ml: Banana peach. Unfiltered. Mountainous white head sprays the glass with intricate lace. Invigoratingly estery nose with notes of dessert apples, honeycomb, doughy yeast, melon, and black pepper. Delightfully musty, as well. Carbonation expands then condenses into a soft cream. First sip is soothingly yeasty and heavily estery with peppery alcohol and herbal hops. Notably flowery, bitter, and peppery throughout the brew with long honeyed pale malt notes to balance the esters and herbal aspects. Finishes with a blend of table grapes, salt, and doughy malts with a lingering grassy character. Exuberantly ripe and balanced in every aspect. Understated, yet extraordinarily complex. A real gem of the world.

From a bomber. The only date I could find on the label was 1998, but that may have just been the date of the artwork on the bottle. Pours copper with a huge white fluffy head and some excellent lacing that sticks around. Some floaties can been seen in the glass. The first smells present reminded me of a good gueuze. Smells of straw, barnyard, cane sugar, and yogurt. Tastes of grapes, citrus and other fruits with a vegetal finish and an excellent tingly mouthfeel. This one is definitely a keeper.

Golden orange beer, slightly hazy. A huge fluffy white head. Aroma is a delight, beginning yeasty and leathery and developing sour and sweet fruity notes over the next half hour. Fruit, pear and some banana, as well as alcohol, dominate the taste, but there are notes of citric sourness, spice and nuttiness that blend imperceptibly into a bitter finish. A wonderful tripel, to be slowly sipped and savoured. Minor complaint: the hallmark De Dolle label, ugly and amateurish, but this is obviously not reflected in the rating.