Whilst the glassware on this occasion may not have helped matters, Oerbier conforms to a trend amongst De Dolle
beers in that it was an absolute ordeal to pour (see below for a comic attempt at decanting a bottle of Arabier from earlier this year). Having caught it within
seconds of gushing all over my Grandma’s mantelpiece, the above picture
captures the glass in the middle of several minutes’ worth of cautious pouring
and settling, and I was desperate for the bloody thing to calm down so I could
taste it.
 |
| Another delicious glass of De Dolle foam |
And when I finally did, guess what? Treacle and plums. Well, amongst lots of other things, but they’re there. On a similar theme, there are figs, caramel, and plenty of dried fruit, recalling the booze-soaked currants in Christmas cake. There’s also a little black tea and a strong red wine undercurrent. It’s rich but just ever-so-slightly tart, which is lovely and really lifts it out of heavy winter-warmer territory. Further ageing reportedly accentuates this quality, and although I'm unsure how old this bottle is (BBE February 2017), I'll try and hold onto future bottles for as long as possible, because it's by far the most interesting element in the beer for me.
The end is in sight. Join me tomorrow for the final beer of this run as I ring in the new year with something special.
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