De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 20

De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 20

The 20th anniversary ale of the renowned De Dolle Brouwery.



Not to be confused with De Dolle Speciaal Brouwsel 1-Malig Verjaardag from 1980/1982 (that you probably had at Kulminator).



http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=185780
4.1
209 reviews
Diksmuide, Belgium

Community reviews

3.8 Sampled at the RBSG14 Grand Tasting - Pours murky amber / orange with a white head. The aroma is bready, musty, dark fruits, toffee and heavy Belgian yeastiness with an earthy and abbey slant. It has a full rich body with soft carbonation. The flavor starts with heavy nectar fruits, aroma traits and heavy oxidation. The finish has lots of nectar fruit, dried fruits, cellar must and some candy. So nice to try this rarity. Thank to STLWill for sharing this one.
3.5 Offering shared at RateBeer Grand Tasting 2014 (St. Louis, MO). Pours a darker amber brown hue, some decent haziness with frothy whitish head atop, firmer layer sticks around and laces well enough, good stick around. Aromas are a bit bready, gentle oxidation with oak, gentle fruit, some vanillin and gentle red fruit. Some touches of peach, overripe fruit. Gentle cobwebs, oak, mellow earthy spice and basement. Initial is tart and fairly mellow, touches of bready malt, subtle cobwebs grow with touches of apple, gentle lemon and citrus. Some mellow oak, a bit of oxidation and bread. Decent touches of banana, pear, a bit toasty and carmelized on the backend. Well blended, a bit old with some dulled features. It still drinks well enough though and was an honor to try. A bit dusty and funky, ovverripe fruit, faint sherry. An honor to try but on it’s way out.
3.0 Bottle. Cloudy amber. Some tart notes, leather, oxidized, interesting that this brewery is so young.
3.3 Tasted at RBSG grand tasting. Hazy amber color. Thin off-white head. Dots of lace. Eh, I don’t dig the nose. Big oxidization aromas. Musty, caramel, dark fruit. Medium body. Smooth, kind of soft, lighter carbonation. More dry finish. Moderate sweet taste, light bitter, some tart. Eh.. Just Ok for me. Not a fan of these older beers.
3.5 Bottle @ RBSG Grand Tasting. Pours a murky reddish brown appearance with a light brown head. Vinegar, heavy dusty, cobweb, cherry, oaky aroma. Twangy fruity, oaky, dusty, funky, slightly acetic flavor. Downhill but fun to try.
3.8 Bottle thanks to Will, amazing to try this. Pour is clear copper with a medium white head. Aroma and flavor are funky, winey, musty, lightly tart, and earthy. Probably passed prime, but an awesome experience and a good beer. Love it.
3.5 Bottled 750ml PBFVIII Tnx lusikka. Hazy orange deep amber color, small white head. Cellary, fruity aroma. Medium-bodied. Ok, some cellary notes but besides that De Dolle yeast, fruity, alcohol, liquerish palate. Orginally a great beer and even now very good.
3.8 75 cl bottle @ PBF 2013. 2000 vintage. Thanks lusikka! Pours hazy orange color with a small head. Aroma of sour fruits, yeast, cellar, some berry notes and faint grapes. Flavor of grapes, mild apricot, caramel, yeast, some wood and goose berries. Feels and tastes very old, mildly oxidized. Quite nice still after all these years. 3244
3.7 750 ml bottle. Vintage 2000. Pours a dark copper amber colour with a white head. Aroma of cellar, mold, lingonberries, yeast and some mild caramel notes. Flavour is rather rich with some caramel notes, tart lingonberries, herbs, yeast, tart citrus and some oxidation, unfortunately. Medium bodied, dry mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Finishes dry, tart, citrusy and berryish. After 13 years this is still in a reasonable condition. Cellary notes are present, but not too much, and maybe some oxidation notes as well.
4.0 Bottled@PBF VIII (thanks lusikka). Amber colour, small white head. Aroma is quite dry wood, some acidic notes, and some sadly cardboardy oxidation. Flavour is tart wood, some herbs and earth.
3.6 750ml bottle @ PBF 2013. Thanks lusikka! Vintage 2000 - Pours murky dark orange with a smooth white head. Aroma of cellar, farmyard, sourness, tart fruity notes, hints of yeast and spices. Taste is sour, tart, sweet, sticky, yeasty, spicy and malty with hints of moldy cellar. Finish is yeasty, very sour, tart fruity, spicy and moldy cellary. Not sure if good or not.
3.6 75 cl bottle vintage 2000 @ PBF VIII. Thanks lusikka! Aroma has moldy cellar, some cardboard and caramel. Flavour is tart with malty notes, some berries, moldy cellar and hints of bread. Interesting mix of De Dolle house aroma, aromas of a beer too old and tartness. Not sure if past its present or not.
4.2 EPIC ! from bottle, 75 cl . pours amber, small white foam, smell is apple, port and sweet. taste is sweet, dusty, soft carbo, some alcohol but not much. very fruity, balanced and complex. definetly the best dolle beer yet !
4.4 Split rating from the old special brouwsel entry, had both the original and the 20 years anniversary version. Pours beautiful deep amber and with a nice offwhite head. Aroma is fruity and cherry, extremely smooth and inviting with a mild whiff of caramel malt beneath. Smooth phenolic and cherry flavoured, yet so perfectly balanced. Complex wineous smooth finish - just fantastic!
3.3 Bottle courtesy of Dell, thank you sir! Murky amber color, beige head. Aroma of oxidized prunes,mpeaches. Taste is fruity, but a bit hrash around the edges. Still, an amazing beer at an amazing tasting!
3.9 Bottle at Dunderölsprovning 2012. Hazy brown liquid with medium off-white/light brown head. Aroma of dust, light apples, light vinegar, toffee, port (maybe some cardboard), spices and a bit lacto. Taste is light sweet and light to medium sour with notes of some toffee, vinegar and port. Meidum bodied with medium carbonation. Balanced, but too old. Stille enjoyable though.
2.7 Very special thanks to Paul for opening this extremely rare tick. Never thought I’d get to try this. Pours an aged bronze in color with a half fingers worth of white head. Smells of malt, cherry, vinegar, and cardboard. Taste definitely reveals my suspicions, this beer is way over hill. Taste heavily oxidized at this point, still some cherry and light vinegar floating around past the cardboard. Moderate mouthfeel, moderate carbonation, and a lingering finish. Wish I could’ve tried this in its prime, but this is sadly way downhill. Still greatly appreciate the opportunity to try this.
3.9 Thanks after4ever! Juicy nectarine and maple syrup lie pie. Murky orange brown like mulled cider. Goodness. Leathery orange peel body, foggy and rich with nectarine. Dark chocolate orange, rich candied sweetness, desserty.
4.2 After all these years ... still delicious. A: Muddy amber colored body. Large off-white head. Good retention, spotty lacing. S: Musty, vinous notes, raisins, plums, and oak. T; Mild funk, raisins, cherries, plums, vinous notes, oak, and slight oxidation creeping in (in a pleasant sherry-like way). Soft lactic tartness in the finish. M: Medium bodied, dry funk throughout, tart lactic acidity in the finish. O: This is the perfect example of the aging potential of De Dolle’s beers. They really do continue to evolve and hold up quite well.
3.9 Tasted 8/14/11, bottle thanks to DStructo. Pours gorgeous clear caramel, ruby red, almost vinous in the light. Huge fluffy off-white head, with medium retention and copious lacing. Nose has notes of sherry, tart apple, musty wood. Mild signs of age and oxidation fade as the beer warms, and tartness becomes more evident and sweeter in nature, melding with slight alcoholic spice. Taste is initially sweet, lemon-like with caramel undertones. Evolves into a funky sherry-type profile, slightly tart, vinous, ending dry with musty malts, subtle spicy bitterness, long aftertaste of vanilla, wood on the breath. Round and balanced, but thin in the mouth. Overall glad to to have tried this treat- it still has some nice complexity, but age is definitely showing, not necessarily for the better.
3.7 Dusty sweet musty nose with light sourness. Plural hazy orange brownish. Dusty funky ciders light yeasty a touch sour. Well balanced and strong . Good.
4.1 750, corked and baled. Thanks, sprinkle! Pours a crystal clear dark golden brown. No head or lace. Big funky basement nose. Fruity and approachable and delicious. Creamy medium body with a little bit of lively carb. Big funky sharp mid palate, very basementy. Long crisp finish. Delicious.
4.2 This was randomly available at Bull & Bush for purchase, busted open with a nice pop. Poured very nice reddish with nice lasting white head. Aroma is full of toffee, caramel, dusty barnyard, some tart apple, slight vinegar and a touch of oxidative papery notes, but not detracting from the beer much. Taste is delicious, the oxidation adds to the nice caramel, toffee, but has nice notes of apple, slight acetic, lots of funky barnyard, finishing nice and dry. Complex, delicious, and, while slightly passed its prime, worth it!
3.6 Bottle at RBSG 2011 and at BCTC 2008. Ok, so I’ve had this twice at festival/gatherings and both times I didn’t take any notes because of the other beers there were overwhelming. However, even in 2008, I remember this beer being oxidized and past its prime. I can imagine how awesome this was in its prime as I’ve had many of the Oerbier reservas in their prime and they are some of the best beers I’ve ever had. So anyway. I doubt I’ll ever see another bottle of this and if so it probably isn’t in the best condition now so this rating will have to do. Thanks to Kevin and Jason for sharing these gems.
3.4 Bottle courtesy of kramer at the grand tasting at RBSG in Philly. Pours a hazed orange golden amber. Big nutty acetone, fruity and nutty. Sweet and slightly raisiny. Toast, light acid. Sweet malt and toast. A bit rough around the edges.
3.8 750mL at RBSG 2011 in Philly thanks to kramer. So many thanks to Jason for putting on RBSG this year, organizing everything, setting up a massive pub crawl/bus tour, and then bringing this to our grand tasting. My 2600th rating on this site. Speciaal Brouwsel 20 opens with a small detonation and gush. Pour is a hazy brune with a massive, tan head. Fizzy, short-live retention and suddy lace. The nose is musty caramel and rye bread with loads of cobwebs and basement. Showing signs of age and oxidation, but nothing too severe. As it opens up, the nose gains old fruit peel, mild mint, citrus tanginess. Very unusual like molding orange peel atop sort of an old ale or rich barleywine profile. Taste is odd. Up front it is sweet with lemonade then ends spicy sour and tart with oddities that remain like must, basement, caramel, and sweet rolls. Definitely has the sweet and sour thing going on. It is very nice though. Soft and complex albeit over the hill. I can’t imagine what it was like a few years ago but I am very thankful I was able to try this.
3.6 Bottle opens with light explosion. Appearance is similar to beekeeper, not as dark, more tepid, heavy yeast that’s hard to keep from the glass, heavy lacing. Metallic and green fruit rinds, heavy caramel apple, rind and old wood/must notes showing age along with singular lambic earthiness similar to White Birch Indomitus. Flavor less metallic, still green and musty, lots of apple and heavy still nacht Reserva 05 elements in the sweeter spicing, but age is all over this one. A shame as it shows some signs of having been another De Dolle treat some time ago.
4.6 750 split with sideshowe at Monk’s Cafe during the Bros visit to Philly. I never thought I would have a chance to try this one. Huge thanks to Tom Peters for busting this out. Pours a dark murky mahogany amber color with dark burnt orange hues when held to a light source and a massive frothy three finger off white head that slowly settles into a lastig ring. Sporadic chunks of soapy lacing left behind. Chunks of sediment settles at the bottom of the chalice. Earthy, musty aroma with a heavy dry Bret presence along with some vinous dark fruit and subtle funk. Subtle earthy oak and vanilla notes add complexity to things and counter the sweeter notes nicely. Hints of grape, dark cherry, raisin plum and other dark berries. Medium bodied with an amazing dry, tart funk character up front that lingers throughout over the vinous dark fruit notes and subtle malt into a nice mouthpuckering, dry finish. Hints of earthy oak and subtle vanilla notes compliment the vinous dark fruit and counter that tart funk. Hints of grape, dark cherry, plum, raisin, fif and other berries. I was expectig this beer to be at least slightly oxidized but it has age gracefully without only slight carbonation that adds to the mouthfeel and Drinkability. This beer is incredibly well balanced and delicious. Definitely lives up to the hype. Highly recommended.
4.1 750mL shared with buds Jason and Andre tonite while watching the Rockies lose (again). Pours cloudy reddish color with a ftwo finger head of foam. Has a interesting nose - slightly funky, vineous / grape skins and wood. As it warms up, starts to smell more of old oak and leather. Decent carbonation for a beer this age, with all of the rough edges off of this lambic (I can see why certain brewers love aging these - takes down the tartness in the body). Has very little fruit and more wood flavors than I expected, but I still swear there is some faint cherry and apple cider flavor hiding in here. I expected a bit more sour / tartness to jump out, but I’m sure the age has pushed it out of this beer. I could have dreamed of tasting this a decade ago and being blown away, but still glad I got the chance to try this with good friends regardless. Thanks guys....
3.7 Cloudy golden orange color, pours pretty still. Aroma is sweet and sour, some cherry pie and only hints of oxidation considering how old it is. Some noticeable wood and sherry too. Flavor is sour, slightly funky, some wood, vanilla, fruit and sweetart candy. A bit slick on the mouthfeel but still a treat to be able to try this rare brew. Pretty smooth overall.