Oerbier
Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

 

Fantastic, bottled Aug 2016

 

 

 

330ml bottle into a tulip. Bottled February 2019, so over 4 years old.

Looks splendid, dark reddish brown body with a persistent off white head leaving gobs of lacing. Musty fruit aroma. Taste is sweet and a little tart with tons of dark fruit and a winey note. Aged beautifully. Abv well hidden.

 

 

 

Foggy amber color, minimal head. Smell is sweet, with figs, honey, cranberry, oak, and orange peel. Taste is sweet and tart. Upfront caramel and toasted malt quickly becomes tart cranberry, apple, and grape, with hoppy notes and oak. There’s a bit of lingering bread on the finish as well. Feel is a bit chalky, with a nice alcohol presence. Wonderful complexity and balance.

 

 

 

 

 

11.6 ounce bottled April 2021 (13 months ago) poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 9% ABV. The beer pours opaque medium brown with light brown head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves no lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring raspberry, cherry, clove and brown sugar. The taste is semisweet burnt sugar caramel, with additional notes of raspberry and cherry before a mildly earthy, mildly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just above average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. No trace of the ABV in the aroma or taste. Overall, very good.

12oz can. No dating information found.
Murky, amber brown colored body. Light tan head. Leaves layered rings of lacing.
Aroma fills the immediate area of the glass. Roasted malts but the wafting smells are an array of dark fruits and yeast esters. Spicy, as in esters.
Taste expresses dark fruits, sweet green apple, a bit of sour wine, and a hint of chocolate. Roasted malts make a base. Goes tart then sweet. Aftertaste is a mix of fruit, spice, and caramel.
Medium mouth feel. Alcohol is quite well hidden but comes through a bit in the nose. Good carbonation.
Not what I expected, even the nose is considerably different from the flavors. There is complexity here.

BBE 7/22. 33cl bottle to wine glass.

Look: Pours a lightly reddish opaque brown with a beige fluffy head that dissipates after a while without leaving any lacing. No floaters.

Smell: Dark red fruits, especially sour cherry. Also red apple and plum. Rather acidic than sweet.

Taste: Notes of sour cherry, plum, raisins, ripe red apples, caramel and brown sugar. Fruity and malty. First tart, then sweet and somehow bitter. A bit alcoholic.

Feel: Not as full as other Belgian dark ales. Rather juicy and quite fresh. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Not the best, but easily one of the most interesting and unique Belgian beers I've had. Very complex and nicely balanced with taste notes you wouldn't expect in one and the same beer. It feels a bit like a melange of the most famous Belgian beer styles. Very good beer with an even better bottle label.

L: dark red brown. More brown than red wine, similar to a light Dr.pepper. Minimal head, tan in color.

S: Dark fruit notes. Tartness.

T: dark fruit notes again, prune, raisins, and stone fruit. A little saltiness to it, like a nut brittle. Tart sour fruit.

F: medium-full bodied. Creamy and full mouthfeel, that sour tartness around the mouth.

O: Very dark fruit forward. Decent for the category.