Oerbier Special Reserva 2002 (Bottled 2003)
Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

Oerbier Special Reserva 2002 (Bottled 2003)Oerbier Special Reserva 2002 (Bottled 2003)
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From:
Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers
 
Belgium
Style:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV:
12%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.15 | pDev: 13.01%
Reviews:
53
Ratings:
64
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 19, 2016
Added:
Nov 13, 2003
Wants:
  13
Gots:
  10
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by DrBier:
Photo of DrBier
Rated by DrBier from Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

Jul 24, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of amano_h
Reviewed by amano_h from Oregon

4.82/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
33cl bottle at Café Kulminator (Antwerpen, Belgium)

Aggressive aged Bourgogne wine on the nose. Holy crap the oak hits you really, really hard. Lots of malt, cherry, and faint hints of citrus and stone fruits.

Sour cherries. I can taste a little oxidation at first but it goes away after letting it sit for a few minutes. Wine-like acetic characteristics take over by the end, with the malt rearing its mild head around the same time.

Surprisingly light-bodied but still with a discernible amount of carbonation. It does finish a little boozy near the end, but it's by no means unpleasant.

Overall extremely complex, unlike anything I've ever tasted before. I wish my palate was better equipped to fully express all the nuances in this amazing beer.
Feb 19, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by claaark13 from Indiana

Dec 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by JAHMUR from Connecticut

Jan 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by DLucky from Florida

Sep 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by WynnO from Florida

Aug 10, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by tom10101 from Canada (QC)

Jun 29, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by mookihouse from California

May 28, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Yabev15 from Massachusetts

Apr 09, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by bsuedekum from Missouri

Mar 28, 2013
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.66/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
330 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Been eying this one in the cellar for a while. Reviewed from notes.

Appearance - Pours a deep amber. Almost burgundy. Slight bubbles, but it's damn close to flat.

Smell - Astringent and vinous notes. Deep malt. Buttery. Some acidity coming off of this one.

Taste - Incredibly astringent. Getting sour with some oxidation. Still malty and vinous. Red wine notes. Tannic.

Mouthfeel - Dry and not boozy at all. Vinous and have I said astringent? Still a sipper.

Overall - It's interesting, but probably way too old. No way to tell if the age made it interesting or the original beer was interesting.
Sep 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by zonker17 from Texas

Feb 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by ygtbsm94 from Utah

Dec 30, 2011
Photo of Crittervision
Reviewed by Crittervision from North Carolina

4.36/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle at Kulminator on 12 August 2011. €12. Consumed after Vin de Céréale. 

Brown body with a touch of amber. Thinnest off-white cap that turns into a web and a surrounding ring. 

Smells like old orange, sweet cherry, some wood, perfume, vanilla and oak, very soft and sweet with a bit of Belgian yeast. 

In the taste is a bit of acetone, but nothing like the previous beer. Apple skin on the front that moves to unripe peaches plus grappa. The alcohol is very evident. 

Mouthfeel is tart, full, [great? — I can't read that word], and carbonation is on point. 

Quite complex. A pleasure to drink. 
Aug 28, 2011
Photo of orangesol
Reviewed by orangesol from Pennsylvania

4.17/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Big thanks to FooFaa for opening this one up at the Mad-Murren event at Al's of Hampden. Poured into a tasting glass.

A - Pours dark amber with a light film of white head leaving no lacing down the glass at all. A bit under-welming to say the least.

S - Tart cherries dominate from first sip to the last. As it begins to warm, more and more caramel malts come thru. Quite a bit of tartness but it still maintains a very nice balance.

T - Lots of tart cherries up front carry thru the entire glass. They blend very nicely with the rich caramel malt sweetness. Finish is a delicious balance of tart cherries and sweetness. A nearly flawless balance of sweet and sour. One of the best dark ale's I have ever had.

M - Medium-Heavy body and flavor with moderately low carbonation. Quite the tart cherrie feel with plenty of lingering tart/malt flavors in the finish.

D - Fairly high. I am not the biggest fan of this style but I still really liked the flavors in this one. I just can't see myself drinking more than one of these at a time as the flavors dominate
Dec 31, 2010
Photo of rtepiak
Reviewed by rtepiak from Poland

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
as a fan of prize old ale this i figure is a must. A belgian character to an old ale that runs hot down the throat because of abv and black pepper. A mahogany cherry mild cloudy with a smaller head but it did fizz up a bit when cracked. It also gave off the swell of its nose. A distinct cherry pie and wood followed by a pollen honey sweet nose. This is soon after bombarded with booze. That lingers for a few minutes. But the beer does mild. Palate is a liquid apple with a woody bitterness that is hammered into one dimensional finish of heat and bitter cognac. The beer is a tad burnt clove sweet and mineral based. This is the perfect while spiced, and mildly spicey seitan or particularly pulled pork. The heat sits on the tongue with the wood bitter cognac. The cherry is meaty and the sour apple accentuated by the smoke and aby but still not heavy handed.
Oct 23, 2010
Photo of jedwards
Reviewed by jedwards from California

4.57/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle of mine shared with friends over the holidays.

Pours very dark reddish brown with a thin but pillowy light tan head -- looks quite a bit like fresh Oerbier Reserva. Smells woody, tart, lots of stone fruit/raisin, slight citrus. Taste is phenomenal, vinous and astringent with a perfect candy/fruit sweetness and a creamy, effervescent body.

I've put a hold on drinking any fresh Oerbier Reserva from now on. I wish I had another bottle of this to check in a few years time.
Feb 16, 2010
Photo of rye726
Reviewed by rye726 from Colorado

4.75/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Thanks to rhinos00 for the tip on this one.

Pours a woody brown with a silky tan head. Light lacing as well.

Nose has caramel, ripe cherries, plums, leather, oak, vanilla, tart citrus, musty funk, manure and red wine.

Taste is equally complex. Sour cherries, wild figs, sweet caramel malts, wine, subtle whiskey, funky yeast, mold ridden wood and horse blanket.

Big, fruity body has a subtle, yet crisp and refreshing carbonation.

One of the best beers I have ever had. Huge thanks to the guys at Bull and Bush for making this available.
Jun 30, 2009
Photo of rhinos00
Reviewed by rhinos00 from Colorado

5/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Part 3 of rhinos00 vintage beer night. Poured from a 33 cl bottle into a snifter.

A- One of the best looking beers I have seen in a while. Pours a semi-clear amber/cider. Strings of CO2 bubbles rose up on all sides of the glass. Produced two fingers width of vanilla colored head. Amazing head retention and some lacing as the beer was consumed.

S- Hot damn! Reminded me of childhood sipping on a cup of apple juice. Caramelized apples, little bit of citrus, lots of sweet malts. Imagine apple juice with a tinge of sourness. Very solid indeed.

T- Flanders on steroids. What I mean by that is that it was not as sweet as a traditional flanders, but more restrained with a wild side that produced a sour profile. Vinegar with sour apples and cherries upfront. Some fruit in between with a strong sour finish. What I loved is that everything was so balanced, yet different. This tasted like a flanders, but didn't have a huge vinegar flavor and wasn't as sweet. The finish was that of a big sour, yet wasn't so sour that it caused your mouth to pucker. This beer blew my mind!

M- After 6 years this beer had tremendous carbonation. Very full, but medium bodied mouthfeel. The carbonated bubbles just seemed to explode on the palate, but not take away from the flavor.

D- Simple, yet perfect in every aspect. I could drink this one all day.

This was one of the best beers I have ever had. To tell you the truth, the only thing keeping this beer from being a perfect 5 was the lack of complexity in the taste. If you have this beer, drink it now.

EDIT: I had to go back for another one. I take back everything I said about the lack of complexity. This is one of those special beers that just tastes better and better as it warms. The flavors and mouthfeel were just ridiculous. This will be my first 5. Honestly, if you have one, drink it.
Jun 10, 2009
Photo of Douglas88
Reviewed by Douglas88 from Utah

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
2002 edition drank October 2008 with a big thanks to hopdog. I really loved the regular so I was anticipating the reserva for sure. My 800th rating. Pours a a large and thick beige head on top of a reddish-brown body. The aroma was instantly noticed as more sour than the regular version; lots of sour cherries and tons of woody notes. Some light candies and chocolates too. The taste was great; a initial smooth and mellow sour woody and tart cherry flavors. The sweet candy and ripe fruits come out later, especially as it warms. The six years in bottle plus the barrel aging has mellowed this considerably, and the alcohol is only hinted at in a pervasive warmth. A real treat for sure.
Nov 13, 2008
Oerbier Special Reserva 2002 (Bottled 2003) from Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 64 ratings