De Dolle Oeral

Brewed in Belgium by De Dolle Brouwers. Imported by B. United International Inc. Oxford, CT 06478.
Canned fresh in the USA by Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores LLC., Oxford, CT 06478.
(from label)

Hoppy Belgian Pale Ale. A most unusual sessionable brew.
(from http://www.bunitedint.com/information/brands/description/827)

3.6

223 reviews

Diksmuide, Belgium

Community reviews

3.6 33cl bottle vintage 2007 courtesy of and shared with Kermis, Thanks. Thin creamy white head. Hazy blond pour. Nice fruity taste. Very interesting.

3.5 1992 vintage at Akkurat. Pours yellow orange with no head. Typical dolle spicyness, saffron, bit dry and lots of raisins.

3.8 From backlog , older bottle at Kulminator Head: bubbly, white Colour: yellow/gold, bit hazy Smell: fruity, white grapes, malts, citric Taste: quite a bitter start that gets mellowed out a bit by the malts, some refreshing notes like citric and some hops, end is dry , after is floral, good !

2.6 33cl bottle, tulip glass. Pours a cloudy orange with a thick white head. Smells of flowers, citrus, and spiced malt. Heavily carbonated, fizzy on tongue. Tastes of bitter citrus, slightly salty aftertaste.

3.5 April 2008 Bottle. Thanks Wavers! Pours a cloudy golden with a thick small bubbled head. Nose of grapes, spice, oak, quite vinous and very spritzy-champagne like. Flavor begins with some grassy bitterness, tart clementine juice, lemon. Oxidation is slightly evident. Thin and spritzy.

3.6 Shared by turdferguson. Pours a slightly cloudy straw gold with one finger of sticky eggshell white head. Very interesting nose, vinous with sherry-like notes of oxidation, a mild spice, and mildly cidery notes. Bready and kind of musty flavor, definitely some age and oxidation. Kind of thin body.

2.6 Appearance is a very murky golden color and it has a lot of floating dark sediment. It smells like citrus fruit. The taste is fruity and hoppy. It does not leave a great after taste. The texture is thin.

2.7 Bottle from Cavie. 2008 bottle. Pours like mustard with pepper stirred in. Aroma is peppery, yeasty, and tart. Taste is very fruity, tart, a little spice, kinda dry.

2.8 Bottle thanks to Cavie. Cloudy golden color with some serious sediment. Smells like banana, tastes sweet and sour. Not terrible, but not something I would drink regularly.

2.8 Bottle marked April 2008 courtesy BelgianBeerGal. Pours a cloudy golden color with slight amounts of sediment. White bubbly head. Aroma is slightly tart, light grain and loads of yeast. Some sharp notes on the nose. Flavor is tart fruit, bit of tart grain and soured notes. Finishes with a flavor of grapefruit with a fading tartness.

2.7 Brown bottle, 33 cl, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savoured on September 21 2010; eye: peach, hazy, good effervescence, nice creamy white head, good lacing; nose: yeast, light orange, slight honey; mouth: yeast, really surprising sourness, spices, Madeira, alcohol, sour finale, medium body, rather carbonated, slightly grainy texture; overall: ordinary FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 33 cl, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savourée le 21 septembre 2010; œil : pêche, voilée, bonne effervescence, belle mousse blanche crémeuse, bonne dentelle; nez : levure, léger orange, très léger miel; bouche : levure, très surprenante aigreur, épices, madère, alcool, finale aigre, corps moyen, plutôt carbonatée, texture très légèrement granuleuse; en résumé : ordinaire

4.0 Had at De Dolle in Esen. More bitter than I was expecting. Nice lower strength offering from them. Serving: Bottle

4.1 Bouteille: Je dois tout de suite annoncer qu’il y a un monde de différence entre le moment où nous avons reçu et goûté cette bière pour la première fois, en 2008 et aujourd’hui, en 2010. Étonnamment, la bière a pris une tournure pour le moins agréable. Alors qu’au départ, l’accent était mis sur la buvabilité, la tranquille amertume et la simplicité du produit, deux ans plus tard, la levure traditionnelle de De Dolle (allié au brettanomyce ?) a poussé le breuvage a développer une acidité rafraîchissante en plus d’une complexité assez remarquable (nez de foin mouillé, cuir et grange rustique, etc), qui n’est pas sans rappeler la Orval. Alors qu’elle avait selon mes souvenirs une belle robe jaune claire et mince, aujourd’hui, disons que la robe commençait à s’approcher, modérément tout de même dois-je le préciser, d’un jus de pommes pressé maison, plus brunâtre et plus huileux. Je le répète. Cette bière n’a plus rien à voir avec celle que j’avais bu en 2008 et je regrette un peu de n’en avoir pas plus profité à cette époque-là (les prix assez élevés des importations privées ont le défaut de vouloir vous faire boire vos commandes avec retenue et modération, quitte à les étaler dans le temps) mais n’en demeure pas moins être un exercice fascinant à savourer.

3.8 Much thanks to hopdog for having this one around and opening it up for us! Pours a lightly hazy goldne with floaties and a bubbly off white head. Aroma of that classic De Dolle yeast strain. A little musty, candy sugar notes, peppery, some light vegetal notes and citrus. Flavor of peppery yeast, lively carbonation, candy sugar, earthy, banana. This one really smooths out surprisingly as the carbonation releases.

3.7 Bottle Shared at Ryan & Max’s Tasting @ Pauls. Pours a hazy copper body with a white head. Earthy dry herbal body. Funky floral, earth toned, light grassy hoppiness. A bit funky with some light citrus fruit esters and a strong green earth finish. Nice.

3.8 Bottle at Paul’s tasting. Labeled with the fancy little bow tie as Matrassbiere. Pours a hazy gold with a thin white head. Nice brett funk, citrus, lemon, hay. Crazy carbonation on here. Very intense. Nice slow brett flavor, really flavorful. Crisp and dry, very refreshing.

3.7 2008 version bottle courtesy of Glouglouburp. Pours a translucent yellow with an enormous white, fluffy head that has unbelievable retention and leaves enormous puff balls of lacing. Aroma is sort of Bretty, with citrus, lemon zest, flowers, a bit funky. Taste is almost sour but very saison-like albeit not as wine-like and dry. This has a nice citrusy, tart flavor with some muted but present balancing hops. Light-bodied and refreshing. Creamy palate. Yum. Nice to not have a gusher from De Dolle for once.

3.0 Bottle. An amber coloured pour with a decent white head. Fruity aroma. Sharp hoppy taste, citrus fruit, bitter almost sour. I love De Dolle but I am not crazy about Oeral.

3.0 Hazy amber coloured beer with lots of carbonation. Spcicy herby aroma with some fruity touches. Full creamy palate. Finish is fresh yeasty ending slightly dry and bitter (hops).

2.6 gold blond coloured body with a white head a spicy fruity aroma a spicy fruity herby sweet taste with a bitter finish

4.0 Pours clear gold with a nice, sustained white head. Smells of perfume, fruit, dry malt, funky. Tastes of dry malt, perfume, funky, grassy. Some touches of pepper on the finish.

3.2 Courtesy Glouglouburp. Lightly hazy gold, modest white head. Past ripe fruits, dusty and spicy yeast, some age on it. Medium body, well carbonated, easy to drink. Would like to try a fresh bottle, still a nice golden ale with typical De Dolle elements.

3.6 Bottle @ Delirium. Pours straw yellow with voluminous white head. Aroma is big on fruit, more of a tropical nature than berries. Taste starts very fruity but the excessive carbonation in this beer interferes with the taste. Flavor turns toward yeast later on. Very yeasty and bready in the finish. Such a shame that the extreme carbonation tarnished what was otherwise a pretty good beer.

3.7 Bottle. Pours cloudy golden with a white head. Aroma is fruity, apple with some sour notes. Flavor is nice begins sweet but ends a little sour.

3.5 Bottle - 330ml. Pours a hazy golden body with average carbonation and a thin, lasting white creamy head. Well balanced malty/hoppy aroma with grapefruit, honeyish and herbal hints. Sharp hoppy taste that carries coriander and herbal/flowery notes. Ends with a long, bitter/sour finish. Enjoyable.

4.3 Bottle thanks to Glouglouburp Classic De Dolle pour: hazy gold-copper, large fluffy white head that lasts forever. Complex yet mellow nose of hop, yeast, pepper, cream. Flavor is very refreshing, slightly tart. Yeast, wheat, a little cream. The hop is awesome here, so fruity and juicy! You will not find a better palate: medium-full and lush yet completely smooth, and yet also just carbonated enough to ease the weight and keep it light and prickly. Long finish. While it’s not complex as a couple others from them, it is very integrated and reflects the consistent quality of De Dolle. Thanks so much for the rarity Dany!

3.6 Had this beer in Holland. Remember liking it. But I lost the rating. The hotel in Amsterdam was quite nice.

3.7 Bottle (Vintage 1992@Akkurat). Nice golden color. This is the smoothest beer i’ve ever tasted (maybe because of the cellering). Sour. Hoppy. Fruity. Some smoked tones.

4.2 In short: A light fluffy and very hoppy Belgian ale focussing on drinkability. Very very good How: Bottle 330ml, about 6 months old The look: A medium white head over a cloudy golden yellow body with some particles In long: Semi-wild yeast and flowers mash on the nose. Taste is more mellow that the nose lead me to believe. Body is light and fluffy, plain crackers, dried oranges, mint, some residual sugar, lots of spicy hops. Refreshing light acidic/tartness. Excellence in simplicity. I had myself a “best-of” light Belgian ales night where I drank Taras Boulba, Zinnebier and Oeral one after the other. The Oeral finished last but this is nothing to be ashamed of. And anyway what does a beer do when it is ashamed and depressed? It starts to drink? Itself?

3.3 33cl bottle at home: Cloudy orange with big bubbly fading head that settles to a creamy film. Good lacing. Green apple, orange, and mild yeasty spice make a nice combination in your nose. Some light pale malt underneath with some refined sugar and green banana skin. Floral notes floating around. CO2 is quite shocking as it first crosses your lips but as it gets to your throat it seems to have losts its power. An almost wheat character first pops up with tart green apple and mixed fruit juice bringing sweetness. Some definite hop bitterness in there but absolutely no harshness from that. Hop flavor is detectable but it is melded into the herbal and spicyness coming from what I assume to be the yeast. tart green apple and yeast finish with just a faint hint of grass on the very end. Touch of alc in that end note as well, but barely detectable. Quite nice.