De Dolle Dulle Teve

"This was a surprisingly pleasant little room, with a window overlooking a budding old pear tree, and a big old-fashoined country fireplace whose deep niches and sooty crannies Mr Spinks was in the habit of hiding his claret bottles. Along one wall was a mammoth oaken dresser in which was stored the households treasury of silver plate and before which the buttler now sat. He was sound asleep with his heavy brass poker across his knee, his cadaverous old skull thrown backwards, and his little mouth wide open. The pages of the Morning Chronicle lay scattered on the floor beside his stockinged feet" - A passage from the novel Jack Maggs, by Peter Carry.

I begin with this because I feel that there are certain literary passages in certain novels that simply seem to be easily recognizable as beloved to the author. That, amongst a potentially large canon, and within a thick tome, there may be passages that evoke such strong characterizations and are so lovingly and originally crafted that one can imagine the author spending nights on end trying to perfect them.

The Mad Bitch (or Dulle Teve, as it is called on the label) cries out to me in this way. De Dolle is a relatively popular Belgian brewery, and one can find its' Bos Keun pretty regularly at liquor depots, and other such places; their beers tend to be fairly complex, interesting, but often too sweet, without any good reason. But one gets the impression that Dulle Teve, with it's oddball artsy label and it's off-the-wall 10% (double fermented with white candy in the barrel - what ever does white candy mean in Belgium?) ABV has a soft spot in the brewers's heart.

In color it is a cloudy amber, as one would expect from the best tripels. Surprisingly it has a slight crispness to it and though it is very malty, it does not at any point seem thick. The head laces like marangue, and is quite salty to boot. I think it is this saltiness that really helps to kick the hops in the ass and put them in their place. And it is very hoppy. But hops done the right way - by a brewer who knows how to balance the beer around the hops to support it, rather than showcase it. There is also a moist cidery aspect to it that really pops out in the front, and notes of cinnamon that create a drying effect in the finish.

The beer reminds one of summer - though it is probably not the beer you would want to reach for during the heat of summer - for that maybe you want a 750 of Troublette to split with your friends - I'm just saying.

But again, it reminds of summer, of warm nights to come, and if beers can in any way be legitimately considered seasonal, then this is certainly, in my opinion, a superlative Spring beer. It's excellent for the transitional month - crisp, but still moist and complicated; more heavy conceptually than anything else.

For a little while, we will be carrying this at the Red Room. Snag it while you can.