Delirium Noël

Brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Melle, Belgium

12oz. Bottle: Spicy, malty aroma. Smells of coriander, yeast, malts, and spices. Poured dark amber/ruby in color with a small tan head that diminished quickly. Medium lacing. Cloudy. Full of tons of particles. Flavor is sweet and spicy. Tastes of cherry, merlot, candy sugar, coke syrup, malts, and lots of spices. Medium to full body. Average texture. Lively carbonation. Long, sweet finish.

The .75L bottle poured a beautiful deep amber beverage with, at first, an ample frothy off-white head. The head slowly settled and turned to a small creamy head that fully lasting and left great lacing on the glass. The aroma was characteristically sweet keeping with the style. There were greater notes of bubble gum and rock candy with more subtle aromas of orange and pepper mixed in. The body was medium-full with soft carbonation and a creamy smooth texture. The flavor starts out sweet and stays that way through the long finish. There is also a nice afterglow warmth at the finish that, although it’s now June, reminded me of December.

Delirium Christmas, 0,75l bottle. Bottled 2004, bb dec 2006. Fruity aroma of strawberries, peach and red grapes. Oaky. Looks orange, a bit hazy, with a long-lasting peach-coloured head. Extremely fruity, oak and portwine flavours. Nice thick foamyness and long finish.

330ml bottle used by September 2006, whoops, although a beer this strong should be able to stand the test of time. Rich yeast aroma, Vegemite-like, plenty of spice and roasted malts, liqueur-like, some citrusy fruit in there too and a tad of alcohol. Palate is very lengthy with the abv showing its full colours. Rich liqueur-like texture with flavours to match, dark chocolate, roasted and raisin-like malt flavours, balanced with a bit of Cointreau-esque bitter orange flavour, dark grape and plum fruit flavours, slight oakiness too, plenty of spice in there, cinamon comes to mind. Finish is lengthy and dry, a fair hit of lingering bitterness, alcohol makes it presence but only as a mere reminder. Definately a sipper, a winter warmer as some call it, rich and flavoursome and overall enjoyable.

Murky brown body with virtually no head. Aroma is moderately sweet, fruity (orange), bubblegum, and spicy. Taste is mildly sweet, fruity (orange and cherry), yeasty, and only slightly alcohol (less than would be expected with 10% ABV). Finishes with slight alcohol burn.

Tasted it from bottle as well on draft as Delirium Christmas. In belgium we find only the christmas version and not the Noël version so it should be Delirium Christmas. A very nice and strong christmas ale. A beer for the real strong ale lovers. Alcohol is in the taste and a full bodied beer

33cl bottle, labeled "Delirium Christmas": Slightly hazy copper brown with golden edges. Big dense caramel-cream colored head sits proudly on top. It dies down to a fingers worth but then has good staying power, creating nice lace around the glass. Black cherry, raisin, and apple reach out to your nose as you come closer. Upon further inspection you notice salt water taffy, yeast, alcohol, and spice (yeast induced). There is some floral and citrus hop aroma that disapears as soon as you swirl and rouse up some more yeast driven aromas. Let it settle and the hops come back.... or am I delirious? First thing I notice as I taste it is the alcohol in the back of my throat followed by yeast and an odd and unexpected roast, all kicked into you with somewhat high CO2. That quickly turns to carmel, mince pie, other winter fruits, and yeast with a bouquet garni. It is quite a sharp flow of flavors always being beefed up with alcohol. Ends dry enough with strong yeast and alcohol. Leaves you breathing fire for quite a while. Too off balanced and alcohol forward even for a winter warmer.

330 ml bottle. Dated March 2006. Pours a hazy copper color with full foam off white head. Aroma of yeast and spices. Taste of yeast and with a dry finish.