Delirium Noël

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

hazy brown with a large frothy off-white head. aroma of caramel, nuts, malt, citrus, and alcohol. lively lacing. flavors are the same as aroma with some herbal notes and flowery soap(in a good way). dubbelish.

Bottle(2005) from Whole Foods. Medium/dark amber pour. Strong slightly sweet, slightly tart vinous aroma. Some fig notes as well. Strong woody chocolate malty flavors right up front. Then goes into this sour quality almost like a flemish. Start and finish on this are like two different beers. Finish also show a bit of spice and some alcohol. Good stuff.

On tap at the Trivia Pub in Moon Twp. Pours reddish orange with a light tan head. Head settles quickly. Appears to have lots of fizz but in tasting is almost flat. Smells really beery with rotten apples. First flavor is a strong initial alcohol bitter hit. Taste of sweet whiskey bubblegum. A lingering bitter finish that fades quickly after a minute or two.

Bottle on 12/06/2008 at the James River Homebrew Club Christmas Party. Very clear copper amber body with a medium creamy off-white head. Sweet caramel, fruit, raisins and candi sugar aroma. Sweet caramel, raisins and rum-soaked fruit flavor with a bit of candi sugar. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation and a somewhat syrupy finish. 7/4/7/4/14 - 3.6 12/6/2006: 2004 on draft. Very cloudy reddish brown body with a medium creamy tan head. Sweet caramel and fruit aroma, with a candi sugar background. Sharp caramel flavor with a sweet fruity foreground, some carndy sugar and a bit of yeast. 7/4/8/3/15 - 3.7

***Rerate*** This is a great Belgian beer. After reading my previous ratings, my how a palate can change. Aroma of dill and possibly vinegar. Pour was a murky orange with a thin 1 finger off white ring for a head. Taste was very tart. So much so that I thought it may be a sour ale. Yeast and sour fruit mostly with nice carbonation and a sour aftertaste. Very good! ******* Original rating: A-6 AP-3 F-5 P-2 OI-9 Total 2.5 I typically like Belgians (the beer, of course..don’t know any personally) but I can’t put this on that list. The best way I could describe this is carbonated cough syrup. I had it on draft, though, and after seeing all the positive reviews am going to purchase a bottle. The aroma smells like sweet fruit, but the taste after the sweetness is gone goes to alcohol and sours. I will re-rate if needed after a bottle

A very transparent reddish brown appearance with a quickly disappearing white head. aroma is slightly sour. taste is on the sour end as well with a nice alcohol warming at the end. overall hides the 10% alcohol pretty well

Sampled at Broudy’s Holiday Beerfest, Jacksonville FL 12/2/2006. Orange-amber colored beer with a delightful nose. Belgian yeast and spicy aroma. Flavor was much to my liking and just right for a Christmas beer. The Belgian yeast and candy and spices came together with the high abv to make a perfect holiday warmer. Delicious.

2005 vintage. Pours a dirty orange reddish color. Particalia floating throughout (which by the way does not normally bother me). Banana/clove, but a high spice presence (cinnamon, nutmeg) makes its way to the nose. Great nose here. Nice flavors which are pretty balanced. The negative here is that the beer becomes slightly cloying. I like this better than Pawal Kwak though. Has some of the same characteristics as that beer, but the flavor is better. Kwak was a drain pour, this is drinkable. Okay beer, but I don’t plan on spending close to $10 for one of these in the future.