"The small person around the glasses may be the Oerbier man, an easy creature who holds a brewers fork in the right hands, symbolizing the job and science, but searching to another side, caused by all of this, the glass of (Oer)beer."
Pending Updates Winter 2015
- Various De Dolle swag and glasses
- 80s/90s Euro bottle pictures
- Export Stout photographs
- Stille Nacht Reserva 2010/2013 details
- 1990s De Dolle Calendars
- B. U . s . Tap Handle
Certainly one of my personal favorite breweries on the planet is De Dolle Brouwers from Belgium. There's a lot of information online about the subject, but it is spread across various webforums, e-mail lists, etc. Through the years I have read a variety of it and that i made the decision to cobble it altogether that helped me to out, which help out people that are searching for more information.
I am in financial trouble to Sean Clark, Mike Wright, Kaira, and many more for delivering me old bottles, gathering info, and general encouragement.
The Yeast Change and also the Reserva Series
-- Details concerning the vary from Rodenbach Yeast in 2000 and also the origins from the Reserva series
Miscellaneous Info
-- Speciaal Brouwsels, De Dolle Stout, Iconography, and much more
The Yeast Change and also the Reserva Series
The Reserva program started in 2000, as overattunated bottles from the 2000 Stille Nacht started exploding at De Dolle. This publish around the My Brew Alias subscriber list from the B. U . s . repetition copying an e-mail from Kris explains how initially the De Dolle beers were made with yeast supplied by Rodenbach, but after Palm bought Rodenbach in 1999 they stopped that program, not directly inducing the Reserva series from De Dolle.
"Actually, for many who found the 'old' De Dolle a little too sour, I predict this beer will end up a strong favourite."
"Interesting to note that at first of Dolle brewing in 1980, the Rodenbach yeast was freely available.
In those days, Oerbier is made with Rodenbach yeast, and gave - as a result - individuals wonderful sour Rodenbach flavors. Ageing the beer wasn't any problem, as well as improved the characteristics. This is the true wonders from the Rodenbach yeast.
The Oerbier, for the reason that period, arrived at about 7. vol% only.
Following the bry. Rodenbach overtake by Palm Breweries in 1998, things considerably altered at De Dolle.
It had been Palm Breweries who made the decision not to give up the Rodenbach yeast any longer with other breweries.
The exploding bottles of Stille nacht were emptied into used wine barrels and aged for 18 several weeks, bunged with upturned Stille Nacht empties. This beer was canned because the famous Stille Nacht Reserva 2000.
John White-colored provides an abundance of info on the provenance from the wine barrels within this publish around the Burgundian Babble Belt :
"The casks. were in the Château Léoville-las-Cases, in the Saint Julien commune. The casks were really acquired via Cantillon, the famous producer of Lambics and derivatives within the The city suburb of Anderlecht, who've excellent relationships with numerous famous wine producers in Bordeaux."
"We put the beer into wine barrels and canned them as Stille Nacht Reserva 2000 after 12 several weeks. The attenuation dropped to 1000, even lower and also the taste really was something exceptional. The empty barrels were then full of Oerbier therefore we had Oerbier Special Reserva twelve months later. Using the Reserva series we'd a lot time that typically it matured for more than 2 yrs within the barrels, thinking that could only improve through the passing of your time.Inch
Unusual Redemption Label, photo by me of bottle written by michael Wright
1991-2000: USA imports through Worldwide Imports
Worldwide Imports (World war one) began through the proprietors from the Brickskellar Bar in Washington, D.C. to be able to import foreign beers for his or her bar along with a select few of other bars and stores (inside a sometimes questionable manner ). World war one received label approval in 1991 for Oerbier. Boskeun. and Stille Nacht (observe that their lab test of Stille Nacht revealed only 6.7% ABV!).
Regrettably I haven't got any import bottles considered to be from 1991-1995, and so i can't explicate the label variation there. It's known that World war one introduced in SN bottles in 1991 while using Belgian label (see label approval above -- probably having a sticker to supply USA labeling), but I don't know once the tradition of replacing the "bow-tie" having a sticker that contains redemption values started. As are visible in the photograph, some bottles having a "Worldwide Imports" front label and bowtie were introduced in, along with a custom rectangular redemption label was put on the rear. By 1996, World war one had custom labeling for Stille Nacht, however these bottles weren't being label or stamp-dated.
Euro bottles out of this period will also be difficult to find.
2001-present: USA imports through B. U . s .
B. U . s . started importing De Dolle in 2001. The first label approval I have had the ability to find was for that Speciaal Brouwsel 20 in March of 2001. Also reference articles from Cheers Magazine in This summer 2001 which claims that B. U . s . is getting in De Dolle.
When B. U . s . started importing De Dolle, they requested them to not date the bottles. Reliable date-rubber stamping of Stille Nacht didn't begin before the SPECBREW2005 batches, and subsequently using the 2006 Stille Nacht. Oerbier wasn't dated until The month of january of 2010, once the new-style stamp was initially used. This coincided using the inclusion from the 9%ABV in large letters within the upper right corner from the label, though there are several late 2009 bottles including this selection but don't have any cap stamp.
With the 2003 year, there have been no barcodes on imported De Dolle bottles, that helps in distinguishing B. U . s .-imported but unstamped bottles of Stille Nacht.
Euro bottles of Stille Nacht out of this era are usually simple to date -- they're either placed using the bottling year, or perhaps a date five years out.
The Speciaal Brouwsels
For his or her first anniversary, De Dolle made the initial Speciaal Brouwsel, that was even the first prototype of the items would later become Stille Nacht:
"I believe the beer you make reference to above may be the Speciaal Brouwsel made for his or her first anniversary. That one is amazing, being not just two decades old, but additionally an inquisitive hybrid of Oerbier and Stille Nacht - it had been their first attempt for a Stille Nacht recipe, and marked an evolution using their first beer, the Oerbier."
This more dark "hybrid" of the items we say is Oerbier and Stille Nacht these days will give method to Stille Nacht by 1986:
"The 82 Stille Nacht, and 84..individuals do range as much as 10-11% abv, based on Dirk Van Dyck. Obviously the beer was totally different from. From 82 to 84 SN would be a more dark, heavier beer, then in 85 there is a transition and also the beer was not really dark, then in 86 it's from the color it's today."
For that 20th anniversary of De Dolle, they rebrewed the recipe from the original Speciaal Brouwsel, calling it the Speciaal Brouwsel 20 and packaging it in 750ml corked and caged bottles.
The Speciaal Brouwsels
