Oerbier Special Reserva 2004 (Bottled 2005)
Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

Look - shocking how great this looks for being 18 years old. Clear amber with a slight white head and great rimming and lacing
Smell - woody fermented cherry
Taste - fermented slight tart cherry wood
Feed - medium full body creamy very light carb and dry
Overall - shocked by how this lasted and how much taste it still has and the complexity

 

 

 

 

 

33cl Bottle
$5.99
Binny's, Orland Park

This beauty has been chilling in my cellar for the last two years. Oerbier pours silky smooth into a tulip glass. The body is the color of tanned leather with blood red highlights. When backlit the body has the tendency to glow like a blood orange with enough haziness to keep me from seeing through to the other side. A fingers worth of dirty white head sits up top and has an incredibly creamy appearance. Impressive sheet lacing gets left behind on the walls of the glass after each drink.

The nose has a lot going on but the overall aroma is weaker than I'd like it to be. When I jam my nose down far enough into the glass I'm hit with a healthy dose of cherry liqueur combined with a vinous quality that makes my mouth water uncontrollably. Mild doughy malts and a hint of cinnamon waft through the rear. Damp wood, leather, and iron round things out. There's a nice punch of cherry sweetness in this beer.

Wow! The flavor is impressive to say the least and really kicks the nose up a notch. The maltiness is very apparent across the tongue in the form of rich, brown bread. Semi-sweet Bing cherry and damp wood coat the tongue soon after and lead the way to the swallow. There's a quick flash of cider vinegar acidity before being quickly washed away by the brown maltiness. The acidity tends to stay on the tongue but the vinegar notes disappear. The mouthful becomes vinous mid-palate before easing into soft notes of worn leather and cinnamon, both of which are mild and underneath the cherry and woody tones. This has turned into a phenomenal beer.

The body has hit its stride in the most profound of ways. Somehow this 13% Oud Bruin has a body that leans toward the lighter side of medium. I'd even go as far as saying it hits "airy" at certain points. The carbonation is lively and just on the verge of prickly without ever quite reaching it. The acidity leaves a touch of tartness while the finish is semi dry. I couldn't imagine a better body for this beer.

I could drink this beer all day long. It's thirst quenching yet complex, refreshing yet strong. The alcohol is no where to be found which could prove incredibly dangerous on a brew that's this drinkable.

I thought I would like this beer but I'm absolutely blown away by every aspect. Age has worked wonders on this one and I could see it lasting more time without a problem. I'm kicking myself this second for not putting out for a case when I ran across this one. This Oud Bruin is truly a joy to drink. If you're fortunate enough to find this anywhere buy them all.

Reviewed: 4/13/09

 

 

 

Bottle shared by ygtbsm94. Thanks Brad.

The beer is completely transparent. Rusty / ruby colored with an off white head. Great retention and lacing. The aroma offers wood, sour cherries, musty basement. The flavor is noticeably different than the 2007 bottling we are enjoying alongside this. A bit lighter, softer, and sweeter on the palate with less wood character. Like the other Oerbier Special Reserva vintages I have had, the alcohol content is just masterfully hidden. While I may slightly prefer the newer vintage, these are both stellar examples of the style. Highly recommended.

33cl bottle into an Oerbier tulip. At Kulminator on 13 August 2011. €11.50. 

Served a little cold. By some natural phenomenon, it manages to warm up. 

Dense brown body, tinted orange. Beautiful pinky-width off-white blanket that falls slow and regenerates easily. Negligible lacing. 

Smells of sour cherry and mild vinegar as expected. As it warms, vinegar and acetone express them selves quite a lot. 

Taste starts off very gently acetic with light and fruity yeast flavors. Vinous. Alcohol is well-hidden but is evident from the warmth it produces. Vinegar remains soft but becomes more expressive after some time in the glass. No acetone: nice. 

It's thick and fluffy with lively carbonation. Finishes tart with a woody dryness. 

Tartness is gentle and drinkability is high. This year has fewer complexities than the 2002. Both are very well-done. What a nice beer. 

Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured hazy brown color with an average creamy head that lasted with excellent lacing. Complex spicy fruit and yeasty aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy fruity balanced flavor with a medium to heavy sweet finish of moderate to long duration with a small alcohol bite. This is a standout beer.

Purchased at the (former) Beer Circus, East Croydon some years ago; this vintage was brewed in 2004, aged in oak barrels and refermented in bottle, at a whopping 13%abv.! Consumed right after a bottle of ordinary Oerbier, I'm keen to find out how the oak-ageing and long years of hibernation in the bottle has influenced the beer base of the little cartoon man; served cool (around 10-12ﾟC) in Hapkin's tulip-shaped bowl sniffer.

A: dark crimson-red to russet in colour, coming with a fine haze of yeast-sediments and an absolutely fine and constant carbonation, topped with a moderate layer of finely-textured and ever-lasting dark beige foamy head.
S: ... outrageously delicious and heavenly on the aroma, like a top-quality Grand Reserva Rioja (Tempranillo-dominated) with an additional input of sour prunes, sour cherries, while the marvellous sweet vanilla-ish oaky aroma is manifest in every single corner, but also constantly underlined by a lambic-like musty-lactic touch as some kind of kickback/balancer. A harmony is reached after so many years of ageing, I have to say, elevating the complexity to a level really hard to imagine until one is lucky enough to have a sniff of this wine-ish ale. As the oaky aroma softens a little, the more assertive lactic sour edge of oud bruin develops in its place, along with a lingering aroma of prunes, mixed berries, and creamy brown malts. Effortlessly enchanting.
T: rather "quiet" in the initial taste, the silky-smooth swallow shows bitter-sweet malts and hops, vanilla-ish and slightly spicy touches of new and old oak-barrels, ensued by a great level of top quality Chinese smoked sour prunes, vintage Rioja, and dried dark olives with a focused spicy aroma (this bit reminds me of the ordinary Oerbier alright) that serves to prolong the overall enjoyment by stealth. In the aftertaste, a fine, nearly vanilla-chocolatey undertone comes likely as a result of oak-ageing plus semi-dark malts, also slightly like my experience of Highland Scottish single malt Whisky matured in Port casks! The finishing touch is tannic, bitter, and very very chewy, as a vivid witness to the hop level in the balance as well as a complexity greatly attributable to oak-ageing, not far from a fine Medoc red even...
M&D: 13%abv.? It certainly is not felt as such on the palate. This silky smooth, fine/mellow-textured oak-aged ale does show an old-ish woody+prune-ish character in the very end, in a similar fashion as a good-quality, well-aged fortified wine (more like lightly-sweet Sherry or medium Madeira). Also, the charming sour-ale base is never far from the heavenly oakiness, benefiting hugely from a superbly smooth palate and a lovely, contrasting undertone of "herbal-spiciness". I'm short of proper English words now... I'm just totally blown away by this ale.

Gloomy apricot with an infusion of candy apple red. Steady streams of bubbles can be seen leaping off the bottom of the snifter and zipping up to the beige colored crown. A crackliness immediately after the pour leads to an eventual creaminess. Although lace isn't abundant, it's much better than expected given the ABV. The final pour adds a blizzard of yeast that earns an appearance score increase without a second thought.

The nose was phenomenal from far away and is only slightly less so up close. It's amazing how much wood is present, along with an impressive fruitiness and an undercurrent of brandy-like booziness. This is shaping up to be special beer.

Oerbier Special Reserva 2004 doesn't much smell like a Flanders oud bruin, but it does taste like one. I had no doubt whatsover that it had survived intact over the 3-4 years since bottling. Other than a few minor mouthfeel issues, it has actually flourished... as most high-ABV Belgian beer tends to do.

Age has certainly been kind to the alcohol. This now-tamed beast drinks like no more than 8.0%. My central nervous system is a much better judge than my palate, however. The usual flavors are present, arranged in new and interesting ways. If you like barrel-aged beer, this one should be right up your alley. It's woody in a good way.

There isn't as much bruin (brown malt) as in some versions, which isn't a problem at all. The flavor profile consists of cherries soaked in Cherry Herring, raspberry vinegar, a red wine-like vinousness and a leathery earthiness. Tart is out in front, but sweet keeps pace well enough that things don't turn into puckersville.

The body/mouthfeel is where DDOSR is starting to show its age. Since beer of this style isn't known for its viscosity, it's still well above average. A short burst of carbonation on contact is mildly annoying, but fades quickly.

Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers produces nothing but good to exceptional beer. Oerbier Special Reserva 2004 easily qualifies as the latter. If you sip and savor slowly and allow the bubbles to dissipate, there's no reason why a properly cellared bottle shouldn't be outstanding for a few more years.

Split two 750ml bottles amongst the Burgundian Babble Belt group/ Bier-Mania bus trip in April 2008 at De Dolle Brouwers.

A- Pours a murky brown with red highlights, no head to speak of, lots of sediment.

S- Very acidic to the nose, some lemon and pine, sweet like a port wine, some raison/dates and alcohol.

T- Sweet, dead fruits, port, mellow, mature and very inviting.

M- Full bodied, flat, no carbonation remained, a bit syrupy but not thick.

D- This is a sipper theres no doubt. This is a pretty rare one, if you have a bottle you are in for a treat!

Three fingers of off-white foam billow and settle to a generous lacy skim atop the opaque ruddy brown liquid.

Initial aroma of red wine grapes, iron, funky yeast. As it warms, sweet cherry, oak barrel, and distinct Brett funk. Rich and dizzying purely by smell.

Sharp tartness is tapered into sour fruit, then a warming brandy finish. Tiny effervescent carbonation evaporates on the tongue, leaving a dry cherry pit aftertaste. Earthy, fruity, and tart, in a nutshell. Big sour grape with Brett funk/oak pucker. Mouthfeel very close to a red wine with low carbonation. Full, slightly tannic, dried fruit finish. Taste evolves over time revealing new facets of it's structure. Overall not as balanced as the 2005, but still excellent. Slight hint of the ABV integrates itself in the taste, but keeps the sipping slow. A sublime Flanders Oud Bruin...

Originally reviewed on January 27, 2007. 2004. 33cL bottle. Nice crisp horse blanket, pineapple and lychee aroma. Coconut juice rolls through. Brett, baby. Amber orange pour, with lacy soap of white. On the tongue, that sweet and sour Brett lactic presentation, followed by cursory sour apple skin and chestnut meat. This holds a dash of coarsely ground pink pepper. Smack rules. New fresh morphing flavors develop in the residuals that linger, some of sultry fatty-acid heft and some pineapple meat. Lots of pale grapes and their respective skins and juice, before closing with a crisp wheaty bite. This hid 13% alcohol? Incredible.

11.2oz bottle, served at cellar temperature in a Chimay chalice with a wedge of St. Albray cheese. Looking forward to this tasting.

Appearance- This beer pours a russet, almost brown color that emerges enthusiastically and quickly... it's a race to the glass as the foam rises up the neck and out of the bottle. Once in the vessel, it glows and supports a crackling, audible two-finger head. Once it subsides, it remains a thin film with a constantly replenished center. Absolutely killer lacing, especially towards the end of the session.

Smell- The initial aroma of Band-Aids goes by the wayside almost immediately... it's actually only evident in the ephemeral burst of air behind the bottle cap. Sour cherries and lactic acid come forth and tease with a sweet and sour element, fantastically balanced with its strength completely hidden. Juicy and full in the nose... this could be Rodenbach's old crusty grandfather.

Taste- Wonderfully integrated flavors of the wild yeasts combined with the Poperings hops and malt... really deep and the best of the style I've ever sampled. I love the mature, complex character that the oak barrel aging has imparted, and the smoothness is ridiculous. There is no alcohol burn or suggestion whatsoever.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- For a beer of 13%, aged for more than two years in oak, this has a remarkably stunning mouthfeel. It hasn't lost its texture; rather it has developed a smooth, creamy character that carries the most subtle effervescence and never quits. Definitely a hidden treasure in my own cellar and I'd suggest buying up whatever you find while it's drinking this good.

Ahhh, finally.

Now this is what I am talkin' about.

The beer pours a touch hazy and is the colour of red earth.

The smell is really the only area where this beer doesn't excell. I'd like to use flowery terms like 'sour cherries', but really what it smells like is cherry malt vinegar. Not terriby inviting.

Ahhh, but the taste. Now I can use terms like 'sour cherries'. Ahhh, a very nice crisp, somewhat sweet but undeniably, lip-puckeringly sour beer that puts you in your place. Oh boy. This beer is a treat. It isn't the most complex beer I've ever had, to be sure. Just sort of a quick, somewhat fruity lead-in with a quenching sour finish, but ahhh, it is the simplicity that creates the magic. When I burp while drinking this beer, all I can think of are sweet tarts.

The mouthfeel is quite pleasant. The ample carbonation helps fill out the thin-ish body, but . . . this is really a teardrop shaped beer. At first the taste is full and round, but it quickly fades into a nice finish that leaves you wanting more. Excellent.

Drinkability? You kidding me? If I could afford it, I would totally drink this as a session beer. What, 13%??!?!? I only realized that after I had finished ~75% of the beer and had started to review it. D'oh!