Delirium Noël

Draught at Café Delirium, Göteborg, Sweden. Clear reddish brown with a small off-white head. Sweet, alcoholic, and spicy. Not my favourite belgian.

Small bottle. Pours a hazy light chesnut brown with not much head. Aroma of alcohol and spices. Tastes very sweet, with rich fruit cake flavours. The mouthfeel is coating but not cloying and pretty light given the strength. I was rather underwhelmed to be frank - perhaps a bigger bottle and a couple of years aging would make a big difference.

Flaske. Udemærket Belgisk ale, mørk ravfarvet med et lille skum hoved, sød og en anelse krydret. Alkoholen er mærkbar men ikke særlig varm. Udemærket øl og så er det vidst sagt.

75 cl bottle. Dark caramel colored. Small but persistant off white head. Big sweet smell of dark raisons, caramel and alcohol. Massive flavors of plums, raisons, and burnt caramel. Decent mouthfeel. Nice finish with a warming alcohol on the breath. My only detraction here is that the relatively light body of the brew doesn’t mesh very well with the huge flavors and big alcohol. Otherwise a great strong dark. 2002

Copper apricot color, small lingering head with sideburns. Half way thru this bottle are big amber chunks...major fishies!! Aroma varies with time opened, glass used, and age of brew...since 1654...I’ve been drinking fresh and aged Delerium beers for years, and I love this Noel. The glass rocks also, one of my favorites out of the hundreds I own...ayieeee!! Flavors of rich malts, powder sugar, honey, amber malt, bready, minerals, persimmon, raisins, slight funky fruit rind but really a smooth and rich brew IMHO. Faults could include a very slight bandaid and bitter fruit rind, but this bottle that I’m guessing is two or three years old, is really good. I’ve been drinking this for over 10 years and always look forward to it fresh, and better, a couple of years old. Smokin!!!

A medium looking brownish rusty red orangle color. Not much of the white head is visible in my slow pour. Sweet alcohol, fruity nut aroma. Sweet tasting with pepper, notes of some fruits, maybe plum or grapefruit (like in wine). Very warming, with a alc’y bitter sweet dry finish. Good, only problem for this one is there are so many great Belgian Ales!

12 oz shared w/ dpjuart. Pours amber-orange with a small head. Really potent nose of sour cherries, yeast, and vanilla with just a hint of alcohol. Has a VERY strong sour cherry flavor with some caramel maltiness that didn’t really cut the sour. A little yeast too. Not really any bitterness, and the alcohol is remarkably well-hidden. Had a decent body. This was unrecognizable from when I tried it on tap.

Bottle, 33 cl. (3.1.’08 @ home, bought Decaigny) Hazy red-brown color, with off-white creamy head. Aroma fruity, caramel malts, and high-alcohol. Medium body. Taste sweet, fruits, bit sour, caramel malts, alcoholic. Bitter dry finish. Good.