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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

De Dolle Brouwers - Oerbier Special Reserve 2008

The picture is a little hazy
and the beer needs to warm
This review is courtesy of my friend Greg V (aka GFunk720) for whom I am a Bruery Reserve Society Trustee for.  The bottle was received as a nice surprise as part of a recent trade we’d engaged in.  Oerbier Special Reserve 2008 brewed in 2008 and bottle in 2009 by De Dolle Brouwers.  The label says it is aged in oak barrels and refermented in the bottle, 13 percent alcohol, poured into my St. Feuillien glass.

Appearance: Deep brown almost sort of a mahogany color.    The surface of the beer is forming a mini volcano carbonation. No real head but when poured it formed a small quarter inch maybe less tan head.  Bubbles are nice and small with a good amount of caked yeast on the bottom of the bottle.

Aroma: Boozy vanilla goodness.  Small degree is sour notes are present on the nose. Really good oak character, it doesn't say anything about bourbon barrels but it definitely smells like it but this could just be the oak.

Mouthfeel: Twang sour not a country song, it was too sour for Bonnie which isn’t surprising. There is a slight slickness on the tongue, not unsurprising for an Oud Bruin.  It has a medium body fell with medium level of carbonation.

Taste: Ah yes, a sour beer. This is how I imagine a sour version of one of The Bruery Anniversary beers would taste like.  The sourness is very light not over powering.  It does an excellent job covering up 13 percent alcohol.  Right before the sour hits I get a sense of Shawn's quad, sort of a stone fruit flavor.   This is a great mix of oaking and souring, it’s very well done in that respect.  I don’t know where the bourbon feel comes from, it might be a false impression based on other barrel aged beers I’ve had. 

Overall:  This was a really nice surprise.  I opened the bottle I didn't really know what to expect, I figured I’d get an oak beer with some Belgian yeast/malt notes.  This is definitely nowhere close to that! The sourness was a wonderful surprise and a perfect follow up to the BeanyTink’s Farmstead Ale that proceeded it.  I'll have to send Greg a thank you note for this one, definitely a nice glass of beer to end the evening with!

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