De Dolle Oeral

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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(Drunk under the name Museumbier 2002) Pale yellow with orangey shine, slight haze. Abundant white head, quite tenacious. Nose gives malts, caramel - strange for a rather pale beer. Alcohol and sweet smell too. Smoked, quite obvious touch in the first taste - as if mildly smoked malt were used. Bitter background - hops, this, with a slight citrussy touch. There is some salt in this beer, after some time definitely strong soft cheese. Retronasal rhubarb. Creamy mouthfeel, even despite subdued yeast. Slight tartness, some alcohol. For being the basic blond beer, this beer is as complex as some of the top-offerings of a lot of other breweries

Bottle - GBBF 2005. A hazy blonde coloured beer with a nice white head and good lacing. The aroma is spicy peppery and yeasty. The taste is again spicy and peppery in that typical Belgian way. Slips down very nicely but has no real outstanding qualities and merely ends up a bit average.

UPDATED: JUN 24, 2008 Multiple bottles. Very lightly hazed golden straw colored body with a large white head. Spicy floral yeast nose in a purely farmhouse saison character: dusty, earthy, minerally, with an amazing softness and delicateness, while still remaining spicy and effervescent. Rich but not thick, with some banana and clove developing as the yeast becomes mixed later in the glass… that amazing De Dolle yeast, so minerally, earthy, and dusty, with a light wheat sweetness. Finish even shows some green hops, and again the dryness and yeast character round out a nearly perfect beer from De Dolle.

UPDATED: FEB 18, 2008 Any first impressions?
-A towering foam skyline inspires the muddy beige to become more enticing than it usually is.
-Pine trees, citrus fruit, and funky hoppiness fly about within the nostrils, easily reaching the desire-sparked brain.
-A touch of wild funk energizes the minty, herbal hoppiness and the wooden dryness.
-Huge yet soft bubbles enliven the crisp dryness.

What if you dig deeper?
-Herbal hops offer delicate dryness and thoughtful bitterness.
-The funky minty character recalls some Bam Biere or Vervifontaine Blonde moments.
-Citrusy fruitiness fits perfectly with the surrounding creativity, helping drinkability.
-This, like their marvelous Arabier, resides in an inspiring world where the greatest complexity doesn’t have to come from the biggest beers, but rather from the most drinkable, refreshing offerings.

Bottles, labeled as Museum Bier and Oeral.

Malted vanilla milkshake with lots of bubbly foam that lasts a long time and is a creamy yet light mouthfeel. Smells and tastes and looks vanilla. Some yeast and touch of spice and white pepper. Satisfying yeasty Belgian, 2000 painting. Expired February 2005 and has mellowed.

Hazy golden color, heavy spicy hoppy aroma and taste, medium body, light dry finish.

Pours clear gold with a nice, sustained white head. Smells of perfume, fruit, dry malt, funky. Tastes of dry malt, perfume, funky, grassy. Some touches of pepper on the finish.

One year past the BB date, this is the Museum declination from Belgian shop. Superb mountainous white head thrones over an almost milky, cloudy golden body. Wildly yeasty nose, a beautiful strain, quite farmy and leather-like and tracing the path to those pungent, hypothetically Hallertauer hops, fully floral, clean, concentrated almost. So dry in mouth, the bitterness may have went aside a bit under the age to leave more room for the yeastiness to express, but the sheer dryness is stone-like, sandy, sprucey and tree gum like. This is not done yet, its mouthfeel may be the most attractive feature, feeling totally natural, hugely herbal of an almost unrivalled sweetness for a beer with such strong carbonation, but the very active bubbles are soft on the tongue, massaging the tastebuds. Spectacular offering, how can these guys offer this as a gateway or simple basic offering is a mystery for this is a gorgeous ale beyond the reach of 99% of this planet’s brewers.

Botttle at the De Dolle brewery, Esen, Belgium, 24-06-07. This is a really nice summer beer pouring a hazy dark golden colour. I was told by Kris the brewer that it shared many of the characteristics of the Arabier without the intense dry hopping metered out to its stablemate, still it was very good, little fruity and with a less harsh bitterness.

Bottle. Hight white head. Yellow unclear body. Banana aroma. Grapefruit flavor. I am sure it is intended that this beer should be sour. Not my taste.