De Dolle Arabier - Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

emerge077

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A beer that i've had many times, just not lately. Thanks Aaron for this one!

Bright and clear orange gold, with steady plumes of rising carbonation. Long lasting head, ever present skim across the surface.

A little musty and vinous at first, the aroma becomes fruity like dried apricot soon enough.

Crisp and slightly tart, there's a strong fruity character, with some cookie sweetness underneath and a touch of herbal bitterness. Apricot, golden raisin, plum or peach pits, dusty bubblegum, honey shortbread. Effervescent and highly charged. ABV is completely hidden. A benchmark BPA, a classic to return to again and again.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 03:33:10 | More by emerge077

LinusBohman

Sweden

4.43/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served through a roomtempered bottle into a snifter.

A: At first a lush and thick head, white in colour, witch soon resides into small islands of foam and lacing on the glass.
The colour is golden and very hazy. Quite bubbly.

S: Lots of fruit out of this one! Apricot, peach and raisins at first. Then also the belgian yeast with it´s estery character. Some almost liqourice sweetness with a hint of sour in the back.

T: Oh my! This is really nice! Fruits! Peach, raisins and lime. And then sweetness with a touch of liqourice. At the and there´s some spicy hop bitterness.

M: Quite smooth and thick. Medium bodied. The carbonation is not apparent. A bit dry to the finish.

O: Really great beer! This is absolutely smashing and super drinkable. A must have!

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 10:36:27 | More by LinusBohman

beerpirates

Belgium

3.63/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

33 cl bottel poured into my lost abbey stemware glass

A - Golden yellow color with a large white head. The heads on pretty much all of De Dolle's beers I've had have been massive.

S - Yeast and mild funk with a hint of spice.

T - Yeast, pale malt, a little funk and mild tartness, slightly sweet honey, lemon, light fruits, spices, and fresh citrusy hops.

M - Fairly light on the palate with a somewhat dry finish and lively carbonation.

D - Very high. This would make an awesome summer beer in that it is complex and tasty, yet light and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 20:08:18 | More by beerpirates

Kromes

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Picked up at Bruisin' Ales in Asheville.

A: A hazy pale yellow with a thick lumpy white head that just sits on top of the beer and leaves sheets of lacing on the sides of the glass.

S: Sweet booze, earthy aromas, apple, cork and belgian spice.

T: Apple, booze, fruity esters, belgian spice, funk and the finish is sweet and a little bit dry. So delicious....

M: Light with super high carbonation. fills out the lighter feel of the beer and gives it a peppery feel.

O: Very tasty and extremely well crafted Belgian pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 20:40:55 | More by Kromes

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Large white head on top of a golden yellow beer. Good retention and good lacing.

Smell is very nice. Big smell of light fruits: strawberry, orange, mango. Almost smells like juice. Honey as well. Other than these, I don't get a lot from the scent: just the one, well-integrated very nice smell.

Taste is quite different from the nose. More bitter than expected; drier and with some spicy flavours. Fruit flavours are still there, just mingled in with everything else.

Beer is highly carbonated- a bit irritating. Medium bodied.

Overall, very nice. I really didn't pick up the bitter aspects in the nose, but they work well in the beer. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2011 01:31:26 | More by jrenihan

IPA35

Netherlands

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice golden colour, hazy with the yeast added. . Nice rocky head.

Spicey smelling, tart fruits like green apples and some citrus. Bready malts and leafy hops I think.

A fruity, tart beer with with enough herbal hoppy dry bitterness afterwards to make it quite different. Quite complex, just like their Oerbier.

Mouthfeel is medum and quite creamy. Not too much carbonation.

Overal a nice beer, complex.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2011 20:02:29 | More by IPA35

sk8man121

Maine

4.75/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

11.2 oz bottle ($5.99 @ Downeast Beverage in Portland, ME) poured into Duvel tulip.

A: Pours a mostly transparent candied orange with apricot highlights. Massive rocky off-white head with a great deal of attractive lacing. This is what a BSPA should look like; period dot.

S: Huge Belgian yeast up front; clove, sweet, round banana. Honey, mango and citrus follow. Smells very big, and very nice.

T: Hops come through where they simply were not in the nose at all. A great deal of peppery spice, with a piney, citrus-laden malty finish. Whatever sweetness comes forward quickly dries out towards the end. Palm wishes it tasted like this.

M: Carbonation is on the high side, and this creams up like nothing else. Palate coating for sure, with a lingering bitterness that is perhaps just a tad too much.

O: I really try to rate to style as often as possible. That being said, BSPA is far from a favorite style of mine, although this is without a doubt the best example I've tried. Very much worth a try, especially if you are interested in this style.

A benchmark BSPA for sure, and just another fantastic beer from De Dolle.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 22:59:21 | More by sk8man121

argock

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 33cL brown bottle into a Duvel tulip. No freshness or best by date. Purchased at Market Street Wineshop (Charlottesville, VA) for $4.49.

A: Dirty dishwater golden-peach with thick, frothy white 2-finger head with a think line of lacing at the top of the glass.

S: Honey is the first strong aroma with lavender and clove with plenty of floral aromas layered on a fruity pale malt background. A fresh aroma profile with a tinge of yeastiness.

T: The honeylike sweetness carries over into the flavor with plenty of herbal and floral hops contributions: honeysuckle, lavender, and clove. The malt sweetness is further bolstered by a biscuity component that increases with warming and works well with the plum and pear notes.

M: It walks the line of syrupy sweet and dry with just the right balance without being cloying or overly sharp. The carbonation is a bit much, yet another reason to let this brew sit and warm.

O: A really unique beer which is definitely worth revisiting every so often for its near-perfect feel and floral honeylike sweetness. De Dolle no doubt knows what they're doing.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 02:32:55 | More by argock

OutFox

New York

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

11.2oz bottle poured into a wine glass.

A - The head is the gem here. Its huge (as with just about every De Dolle beer honestly). It retains forever and laces the entire glass. JUst so much carbonation. The acutal color of the beer is a serious gold color.

S - Complex. Its smells serious yeasty but more of a champagne kind of style. There is a hop sort of smell there but it isnt at the fore front.

T - The hops take a larger presence in the taste than in the nose so its almost suprising. Really good. Once again that yeasty sort of champagne-esque quality is there which I love.

M - Light and carbonated. It has a sort of light weight feel to it. Very palate coating.

O - Just a great beer. Its all been said already. If you can find it aquire it. Totally worth it. Another fantastic beer from De Dolle.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2011 19:02:04 | More by OutFox

Crittervision

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at De Dolle on 14 August 2011. Into an Oerbier tulip. 

Transparent gold with a light and wispy white head. Average lacing. 

Smell has hints of cheddar and white wine under a muted hop presence. Some thing smells a little rotten / spoiled about it... perfumey musty mold? Hmm!!?

Taste is apple juice, tart apples, bitterness reminds me of tea leaves littered in a cup of green tea, unsweetened pineapple juice, dry grain in the finish over a pale-ale-ish base. Drinks like 4%. Bitter and floral qualities increase with warmth and envelop my mouth. 

Finishes dry with a delicate but lasting pineappley hop after taste. 

Consumes like a "session" beer. Super easy drinking. 

Serving type: on-tap

09-14-2011 12:51:39 | More by Crittervision

sfprint

Germany

3.63/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

expiration date was misprinted on the cap, only part of it made it onto the side. But compared with the other De Dolle expiration dates from bottles I bought at the same time, it should be fine.

A: Unpreventable overly massive head. Extremely creamy head. Car wash suds. Pretty cloudy, but i can make out a column of carbonation rising from the center. At the thinnest part of the glass, it's quite orange, but at the thickest, is kind of a sewage orange/brown/green.
S: Very banana-y with mild phenol yeast, orange, peach. Quite yummy. Almost peach ice cream.
T: Wow that head is creamy, phenol bitterness way stronger in the taste. far more bitter than i expected and i kept out the yeast at the bottom. The alcohol and phenol "flavors" are merged into a single tartish one.
M: Creamy, little carbonation, medium body,
O: Decent/good. A bit too bitter for me regarding the style. I like bitter beers, but the bitterness doesn't fit so well in this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2011 23:53:53 | More by sfprint

LambicKing

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle purchased at Dranken Geers and attempted to pour into my St Bernardus chalice. Holy gusher.

A: Now that I have about 1/2 of the beer in my glass and the other half on my counter, I'm going to attempt to review this beer. As others have mentioned, this is a ridiculously and hugely carbonated beer. 600 fingers of head reduce to big time surface clumping and very thick lacing. Body is a golden straw yellow and head is faintly off-white.

S: Lemony tart and malty sweetness. Some Belgian hops here, but not entirely prominent. Almost smells like a slightly hoppy Tripel Karmeliet. Maybe my sniffer's playing tricks on me. Smells very nice and excited to give this beer a go.

T: Much more in the way of hops here in the taste than in the smell. Not sure how the hops just button-hooked me here. Pleasant surprise though.

M: Nice full body, yet crisp and slightly dry to medium finish. Nicely done.

O: I really like this beer...I'll seek it out in the future. It lulled me to sleep with the aroma and then sucker punched me once it crossed my lips. I dig it for sure.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2011 21:03:15 | More by LambicKing

Fulkrum78

Tennessee

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Apparently only getting about half a beer tonight. Popped the top and beer went everywhere. Evidently some serious bottle carbonation going on here. Pours a dark brown with a nice huge head that went everywhere. Head sticking around for a decent amount of time. Nice and tasty aroma with sweetness and malt on the back end. Flavor is amlty but definitely noticeable alcohol on the end. Color is fairly cloudy. Great beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2011 06:50:50 | More by Fulkrum78

kojevergas

California

3.3/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Served on draught into 20cl stemware at the Mikkeller bar in Copenhagen. Cost was 35 DKK. Reviewed from notes.

A: Fair cream and thickness, but bad retention. Colour is a dark orange-gold.

Sm: Cream, butterscotch, caramelized malt, and barley. A mild strength aroma.

T: Caramelized malt, barley, and hops. Maybe some butterscotch. Complex enough, pretty balanced, and decently built.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Complements the flavours of the body.

Dr: Fairly high ABV with very easy drinkability. The price is rather high, but then I got it in Denmark.

Serving type: on-tap

08-27-2011 01:34:41 | More by kojevergas

illidurit

California

3.98/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

As with all De Dolle beers, this is a ridiculous gusher. Pours at about a 98-2 foam to beer ratio, and that's not an exaggeration. Doesn't matter how cold you chill it, it could be a half-frozen slush and still manage a huge mountain of suds. After a requisite waiting/re-pouring period, I am looking at a golden-orange liquid, completely opaque, with a dense, creamy off-white head. Aroma is big on spices, with coriander and clove leading the way. Yeast and light fruity hops as well. Flavor is lightly tart with some apricot, orange peel, and yeast. Solid hoppiness, floral with a light bitterness. Dry palate with a bit of peppery alcohol. Lively carbonation, obviously. A very nice strong golden ale.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 07:07:32 | More by illidurit

bskrtz

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Cold bottle emptied into St Bernardus (wide) glass beer challis

A)Hazy dull bronze with metallic sparkle. Huge lively white head. Abundant sediment and floaties

S) Freshly cut citrus fruit, coriander, banana peel. Alcohol drifts and resonates -- you know this is strong stuff

T) Excellent interpretation of Belgian Pale Ale. Fruity with pear juice and stewed apples. Sweet candy sugar and mild, suttle bitter hops.

M) Dense sea of fine carbonation that lasts and lasts. Sticky sweet but still refreshing. Yum.

O) Another excellent beer from De Dolle. This one is tougher to find, but worth the effort.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 00:26:35 | More by bskrtz

Miriamrv

California

4.85/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

appearance: golden amber hue with an undying slightly off-white head. beautiful beer, head lasts throughout.

aroma: quite complex. some light fruit notes, maybe pears and oranges? peppery, spicy phenols. sweet grainy malts underneath.

taste: more complex than the nose, rich butter-cream sweet malt and a pronounced flavor of tangy yeast. finishes somewhat dry with a nice subtle lightly spicy and dry hop profile. the warmth of the alcohol is detected but only in a pleasant, warming way. more layers of flavor develop as the beer warms and as it moves across the pallet. a bit of fruitiness (again pears and oranges maybe? difficult to place) throughout.

mouthfeel: great carbonation cuts through the buttery nature of the malts. creamy and smooth. rich and delicious.

overall: i had a little moment with this beer. it just reminded me of how very much i love beer... and why. haven't had much from de dolle, however, will try anything i can get my hands on after this brew. :) ahh. content.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2011 06:49:36 | More by Miriamrv

rvdoorn

Netherlands

4.53/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Look: the beer pours a hazy orange-yellow color, with a nice fluffy white head.
Smell: Malts, citrus, pepper, honey, ginger, grass and hops. Great smell.
Taste: Fruits (citrus, light plum and sour grapes), honey, herbal, malts ginger, pepper with a very dry and strong hoppy aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Medium-carbonation, firm bodied.
Overall: One word: beauty

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 11:24:19 | More by rvdoorn

spicelab

Australia

3.68/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle thanks to Adam@Platinum Liquor. Poured into a Duvel tulip.

Golden straw, bright and clear, with an immense puffy white head. Snail-trail lacing deposited all over the glass as it gradually falls.

Floral and sweet. Pink lady apples, apricot jam, orange rind, honey, musk and some spicy herbs which are beyond my identification powers. Very nice and refined.

Taste is unexpectedly sour and astringent - a bit like wrapping the white part of a lemon peel in radicchio and chewing on it. There's still some underlying sweet ester character, but it battles to be heard. Didn't really grow into it over the course either, as often happens when my first impressions are skeptical.

Fullish mouthfeel, with lively carbonation and good length. Finishes quite dry due to the astringency.

Normally a fan of tart and sour character, but found it too overbearing and adversely impacting on the yeast and ester profile.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 07:56:32 | More by spicelab

xylophonica

Australia

4.03/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 33cl bottle into a chalice.
Note: the bottle I have states 8% as the ABV.

A - Big frothy head bursting to get out. Has actually expanded since being poured and has now risen like a mountain-range and is towering over the glass. Dark golden colour with jet-like streams of carbonation bubbles firing up to the top of the liquid.

S - Sweet hint of wheat with some slightly phenolic overtones. Some bitey hops and herbs in there as well. Later on some pungent rose and honey present.

T - The head is quite bitter on consumption. Quite a dry sensation with the bitter hops. Sweeter and more herbal when you get down to the bier itself - very smooth. Head becoming more creamy as it's drunk but there's still a variety of darker flavours such as aniseed coming through. Much later some rose and honey flavours arriving - as with the aroma.

M - Very smooth and creamy with the exorbitant head. Otherwise surprisingly mild given the carbonation levels visible at first glance.

O - The bitterness of the enormous head here has totally overwhelmed the more subtle flavours of the bier. First time I've ever drank some water in the middle of a review to try to get a better grasp of the flavours but it still doesn't completely eliminate the bitterness. I'm sure there's a really good bier under the bitterness but it's not coming through today.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 10:43:21 | More by xylophonica

Zimbo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.88/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Super deep full sweet Duvelesque smell and pours a beautifully thick foamy head which goes the distance from first to last sip. Hazy deep yellow with some spice and a reasonably full body withour being at all heavy. Flavour seems to lack some definition but the body is fully supportive and plays well in the mouth.
No slouch here but doesn't deliver the goods as promised.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2011 20:54:32 | More by Zimbo

AgentMunky

Alabama

4.18/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 33cL bottle into a cervoise glass. From notes. Reviewed April 2011.

A: Huge head overflows the glass, filling far more than half. Very white. The beer is mildly cloudy, straw-coloured, and bubbly.

S: Yeasty, slight spice, some citrus. Tripel-y.

T: Delicious. Thick, bready, lightly spiced, grassy, tinge of wheat? Good beer, though it still reminds me more of a tripel than a BSPA. A little on the sweet side...I'd like to try one fresher and see the the hop presence makes it more balanced.

M: Heavy on the tongue. Coaxing, coating, yummy.

O: Good, but not great? Strongly recommended regarded. Will try again.

Notes: "An arabier is a pure malt beer 8°vol/alc brewed with flower Nugget-hops from Poperinge. It has the special dry-hopping taste and aroma, so appreciated by beer lovers all over the world. It is one of the two main beers from De Dolle Brouwers throughout the year. Aging time is limited due to the fact that hop bitterness is declining with the time. Store arabier cool and dark and serve cool at 10°C. "

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 19:06:07 | More by AgentMunky

rfgetz

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a darker coppery amber color, huge plume of prickly white bubbles, akin to many bottle conditioned beers, retention leaves about a half centimeter of bubbled and some nice sticky lacing. Scent is quite a blend of sour over rippened fruit, day old bread and over kiln dried grain with a faint hint of earthy must. Taste moved in quite a different direction from scent - the dominant flavor is dry stale bread, but without the yeasty kick. The background has minimal notes of sour over rippened fruit and lightly toasted grain. Only a touch of honey and butter - the lack of sweetness leads to a lingering earthy quality. Medium bodied, very dry on palate, carbonation active for most of glass. The dry breadyness of the beer did not work that well with the perceived over rippened fruit notes, leaving my palate somewhat disapointed, especially after the solid nose.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 13:25:52 | More by rfgetz

dasenebler

Maine

4.08/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

33cl, bottled November 2010, best before November 2011. Orange polka-dot bow-tie, purchased in Belgium.

Glowing and cloudy amber-orange, with a massive head like most De Dolle beers. Great retention and thick lacing.

The aroma is hoppy and orangey, with some yeasty banana notes and a touch of alcohol.

Flavor is very, very dry and bitter. Lacks some of the typical De Dolle yeasty fruitiness, though there's an earthy yeasty character. Hops are medicinal and leafy. The mouthfeel is incredibly fluffy and soft on the palate.

Though it's a completely different beer and not quite in the same league, Arabier reminds me of Orval with its dryness and drinkability. Great stuff.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 15:25:07 | More by dasenebler

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle picked up at State Line a ways back. 2010 vintage. Served in a Bruery tulip.

Pours a clear golden color that is a bit dark for the style, though not too much. Massive white head with some good lacing on the way down. The nose carries quite a bit of bread along with a very mild yeast presence. Flavor continues like this. It's simple -- which isn't necessarily a problem with the style -- but it gets the proportions wrong. The taste is too bready without any of the light stone fruit I'd like, or really much yeast character at all. The breadiness makes it too thick and chewy, and there's not as much carbonation as I'd like. With that said, it's still a well-made beer that I wouldn't complain about drinking again.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 11:01:27 | More by Thorpe429