Stille Nacht Reserva
(has 5 batches)

The 2008 vintage in this marvellous series of barrel aged Stille Nacht editions, again courtesy of the brewer in a vertical tasting session of all the versions ever made - this one aged in Saint-Emilion barrels and limited to only 500 bottles... Medium sized, egg-white, moussy, opening head lacing in dots over a misty deep orangey amber beer. Once again, the bouquet is downright fantastic as with all other editions, this time releasing notes of marmelade, caramel, purple gooseberries, old sweet sherry oxidation in a most refined way, vanilla-like oak wood, cognac, white port, calvados, grape juice, stewed apples, honey liqueur and so much more. Sweet onset of ripe grapes and plums with a sourish passionfruit-like balance to it, softish carbonation, thick and vinous, 'moelleux' body, thick caramelly and lightly bready malt sweetness eventually blending with a highly complex, vinous, liqueurish, warming finish, lingering honeyish sweetness, calvados-like alcohol (rather than actual red wine) and a light earthy yeasty touch with mild spicy notes. I was completely blown away by the 2000 and the 2013 in this tasting session, this one is just a tiny bit less complex and distinguished in character it seems, but it remains an absolute masterpiece nonetheless, like all the others, each with their own distinct personality. What a tasting it was - never thought I'd ever get the opportunity to complete this series, and certainly not in one session... Once more: infinite thanks to Kris for wanting to share all these precious bottles, this was a day I will never forget. My esteem of this legendary brewery was already very high, but now that I spent a day in the company of so many warm and passionate people as well as passionately made masterpieces of brewing art, I can only regret not having visited this place more often in the past...

One of so far only five Special Reserva editions of Stille Nacht (with a sixth one being on its way), this one apparently made for the Kerstbierfestival of 2014, bottled in 2013. Aged for eight months on a Chateau Castigno barrel from the Languedoc and sampled in a vertical tasting of all Stille Nacht Special Reserva vintages, courtesy of Kris Herteleer, the brewer himself, to whom I owe infinite gratitude for so much generosity. Irregularly, sparsely lacing, irregularly shaped, large-bubbled but still reasonably stable, egg-white head, beautiful misty coppery amber robe. As expected and as with the others in this formidable and legendary series, the bouquet is intense, desserty and powerful, with notes of candied orange peel, honey liqueur, cognac, sundried sweet tomato somewhere, ripe melon, plum wine, gooseberry jam, stewed pear, dry white wine, very mild toast, fried pineapple slices, vanilla-ish oak and a unique note of white chocolate. Condensedly sweet, candied onset, candied pineapple, even a hint of candied cherry, marmelade, yellow raspberries and a touch of kiwi, covered in honeyish residual sweetness stretching all the way to the finish without becoming cloying. Softish carbo as befits a barleywine-like beer of this grandeur, very full, vinous, almost syrupy body, established by a thick layer of caramelly malt rotundity and sweetness. A sourish plum or gooseberry accent remains and balances out the sweetness to perfection without becoming explicitly tart; the finish is a grand finale of lingering candied fruit and caramelly malt sweetness, vanilla-ish warm oak woodiness with drying tannins (seemingly a bit more than in the much older 2000 version tasted next to it), that white chocolate accent, some spicy hop 'touches' here and there and a heartwarming, brandy-like alcohol glow. Utterly complex and utterly delicious, still as great as it must have been four years ago, with a somewhat distinguished character compared with the other ones - this is again, and frankly I did not expect anything less, a world class masterpiece. I don't think I have ever handed out so many high scores on one day... Big, big cheers to De Dolle Brouwers and Kris and Els in particular. I am enthusiastically looking forward to the next edition, which is silently maturing now but is already showing signs of greatness, based on the small sample we were honoured enough to taste in avant-première.

Well, here we are then: one of the biggest whales from Belgium, the legendary start of Dolle's Special Reserva editions and therefore the very first beer in Belgium to have been deliberately aged on wooden casks which previously contained another beverage, red Bordeaux wine in this case. The pioneering role of Dolle Brouwers cannot be underestimated, in being the first non-family-owned craft brewery in Belgium (around 1980, the same time as the beginnings of Abbaye des Rocs' brewing activities); then in 2000, this Special Reserva series, which is continued to this day and has been applied not only to Stille Nacht but also to Oerbier and on one occasion to Dulle Teve (of which a new one is in the process of preproduction now), marks the beginning, at least in Belgium, of what is now common practice among craft breweries around the world. The brewer, Kris, was generous enough to offer us a vertical tasting of all Stille Nacht Special Reserva editions yesterday and needless to say, I cannot thank him enough for his kind generosity - I did have a few Stille Nacht Special Reserva editions before, but never this legend, the ultimate one, a whale I never thought I would ever be able to taste. Carefully opened by Kris himself, the 17 year-old 75 cl bottle, with rusty crown cap and charmingly moldy and partially disintegrated label, did effectively - and contrary to my expectations - produce a minimal head upon pouring, in the form of a thin ring of eggshell-white, loosely knit bubbles, which expectedly disappeared shortly thereafter; the beer itself was of a most beautiful and intense, almost glowing orange-amber colour with a molten copper-like hue, clear initially but hazy with sediment near the finishing of the bottle. A milky cloud of dead yeast and proteins appeared only in the very end. The aroma was of an unbelievable complexity, depth and beauty - I cannot recall ever having sniffed any barleywine (because that is basically, though perhaps unintentionally, what were are talking about here) that comes close to this: gooseberry jam, candied orange peel and marmelade, beguiling vanilla-ish wet oak wood, sweet white dessert wine, honey liqueur, armagnac, matured sweet sherry, old cider, amaretto, marzipan, fresh fig juice, moist raisin bread and, as a sign of its respectable age, hints of wet cardboard and damp cellar, only adding charm, maturity and complexity. The onset was sweet, lush and almost 'praline'-like, hinting at candied figs, sugared fried apples and sweet raspberry jam, drenched in an orangey marmelade sauce with a light sourish sherry hint, that stretches towards the finish where it becomes more outspoken - though a kaleidoscopic, utterly refined and ravishingly beautiful candied sweetness remains the main flavour. Carbonation is evidently very soft (but not at all flat!), resulting in a thick, very vinous, almost syrupy mouthfeel. Thick layers of caramelly and slightly cookie-like malt sweetness with honey and marmelade sweetness on top blend with an unbelievably deep and rich finish, where sweet dessert wine flavours (rather than actual Bordeaux, strangely) are added, tannic woodiness renders a gently drying effect and very sherry-like oxidation, of the noblest kind I may ever have encountered in any vintage beer, establishes a deeply elegant and luscious maturity. Vanilla-, marmelade-, marzipan- and cognac-like impressions make this almost like a liquid crêpe Suzette - with yeasty breadiness added in the very end, soaked in brandy-like alcohol warmth. This is, along with some of the greatest lambics, the most impressive Belgian beer I ever tasted - I feel humbled by this, and not just because of its legendary status in the craft beer world. It is hard to describe, even for me, how beautiful, opulent, deep and aristocratic this beer is; this is without any doubt at the very top of what beer can do in a gastronomical sense, so I cannot but give this the perfect score - if this doesn't deserve that, then I don't know what does. What makes it all the more remarkable, is that it has remained in such mint condition after seventeen years - this only adds to the fact that this product was made and cared for with utmost knowledge, skill and experience. My deepest gratitude goes out to Kris, not only for being so immensely generous to offer this and other bottles for our tasting session, but for giving a beer as utterly beautiful as this to the world. A whole string of young craft breweries today, in Belgium but also on an international level, can and should learn from this. A day to never forget!

31.12.2017, 0,75l bottle @ home:
Nice fizzy-creamy longlasting head, slightly hazy. Aroma is slightly dry sour-ish mineraly, oak, hay, minerals, yeast, fruit stones, sour grass, light malts, dried fruits, grape peel, candi sugar, bark, alcohol, hints of butterscotch. Taste is slightly dry sour-ish, oak, sour grass, grape peel, yeast, minerals, butterscotch, hay, fruit stones, light malts, alcohol, mild vinegar, bark, citrus peel. Medium bitterness, slightly dry sour-ish mineraly mouthfeel. Nice.