Light funk, chocolate, caramel, butter aroma. Yeasty sample - did not look too great. Chocolate, dust, caramel, fruit, a bit cheese. Very complex. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel.

Bottle @ Kulminator, Antwerp, December 2004. Pours a golden amber color with a small off-white head. Aroma is vinous with some hints of dark fruits and some spicy hints. Flavor of dark fruits, raisins. Very vinous with hints of wood. Smooth mouthfeel with a warming vinous finish. Very nice.

I shared a bottle with jerohen, skortila and jbrus (and probably many others). Hazy orange color, short off-white head. Aroma is strong alcoholic, wine, grapes, yeast, caramel malt, very complex. Same goes for the taste, very complex. I’m really glad we could get one of the last bottles at the Kulminator.

Bottle at the 4/17/2005 Montreal tasting, shared with Rastacouere, Muzzlehatch, Tiggmtl, MartinT, Beerbuzzmontreal, Olivier and Simon. Sipped while cooincidentally listening to the Beatles’ "I want you". Aroma bursts forth from the bottle a full, intense and divine creation of sensory stimulants. So good, the bottle was passed around and people waited in line to get "seconds" of smelling the bottle. I described the aroma as "just pure goodness" but I will try to elaborate on that. Fully rounded, never sharp notes of soft oak woodiness, red berries, soft grapes, caramel, toffee, sweet cherries, marzipan, maple, vanilla, subtle yet strong Belgian yeast, touches of light dough/honey and a bit of drying tannins for balance. Wow. Appearance is a thick-looking vibrant auburn-copper-amber color, with lacing as the small white head quickly recedes (no doubt 5 years in the cellar, oak aging, and a high alcohol). Can the flavor live up to the aroma? It’s possible, I dare to think. And to some extent, it does. The flavor of a beer, in my mind, is a much more difficult beast to control and perfect, having to meld balance, mouthfeel and actual taste altogether perfectly. Perhaps I am just an easier judge of aroma, but it seems easier to imagine a perfect aroma than a perfect flavor. That being said, there was a little less intensity to the flavor than the aroma, some very light oxidation, a touch of dryness where it dosent belong and maybe a slight receding of firm, thick maltiness. But this is criticism the beer brings upon itself. I think near-perfect beers are easier to find faults with, being so close to perfect. It is easy to hold them to a higher level, created by their sheer magnificence. The malt is nonetheless, thick, rich, creamy and filling. Candied apples, soft notes of smoked cinnamon, vanilla, syrupy cherry liqueur of the finest variety. Bits of dry barley, light maple, playful Bordeaux wine fruitiness and light oak, never overdone, on the finish. Distinct Belgian nuances from the yeast, light raisins, dates, plums and delicate brown sugar. Perfect mouthfeel, full and not thin ever, but yet so easily drinkable for me. Alcohol gives some warmth as it goes down, but does not show anywhere near 12%. A most treasured experience, drinking this beer, and hopefully, with some luck, one I will have again. Score is very difficult to give on this as far as flavor and overall, I could easily justify a perfect score, especially taking in to account the graceful way this has aged. But I will discount the flavor a point, and see what I think next time I have it.

I couldn’t come up with a better nightcap than this beer! Provided by JCW, shared with Brodie and BelgianGirl. Slightly hazy orange-red body, medium/thick light cream head. Sweet brown sugar aroma with caramel, oak, and alcohol. Very sweet body (much like the regular Stille Nacht in that regard), with plenty of caramel and residual sugars playing off a variety of sweet fruits, including plum, figs, a touch of cherry, pear, apple, and persistent vinous white grapes. The alcohol provided a touch of heat, but this component was cut by the sweet sugary malts. Everything I expected and more. This beer cements De Dolle as my favorite Belgian brewer. Incredible.

Corked bottle, bought at Kulminator, Anvers
Hazy amber color. Porto like, a bit woody, raisins... (aroma and flavors). Excellent!

[I had this one at the Kulminator in March 2004] The aroma is fantastic - dominated by sweet fruit notes; berries, cloves, and alcohol. The color is a slightly hazy amber with a small disappearing beige head. The flavor is very much like the aroma but combined with the alcohol prickling the tongue. This is truly a fantastic beer.

Foxy-orange. Very slight, white head. Vineous nose, complex, like very old sherry, acetic acid, fruit. Taste is vineous again, esterish. Dried apricots and nuts. Some Brettanomyces too, 't would seem. After some time, a lactic component. Slick, oily mouthfeel. Dry. Alcohol- and acidburn. A bit nutty aftertaste, that and the esters keep flavour going for a long time. Complex is too shallow a word. Very old fortified wine procures similar flavours, similar impressions. Truly superb realisation.