Delirium Noël

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

2007 version 330ml bottle. Pours orange . copper with a small dirty tan head. The aroma has bread, toffee, cream cheese, light spice, meringue, banana and light cotton candy. Medium body with semi-sharp carbonation. The flavor starts with some caramel, Belgium yeast, mustiness, raisins, spices and richness. The finish is lightly metallic and astringent. I like this a lot better than last year’s version, but remember this as being much better in the past. On sampling some vintages I’ll hopefully be able to add to the notes and bump up the score as well.

This is a hazy orange beer that comes out of the bottle with a rich, but quickly diappearing head. Strong raisin and alcohol in the nose which turns spicy as the beer warms. A slightly watery, cold brandy. It needs to hide it's alcohol better to suit me.

Bottle: Pored an amberish brown with a off white head. Spicy fruit aroma with a melow ton of hops. Bitter at first but developed into a burnt spicy after taste.

750ml bottle - Pours brown with a big tan head. The yeast gives the aroma a nice fruit character and the malt comes in with some caramel accents. The flavor is sweet, nutty, and enhanced by dark fruit notes. It’s medium bodied and that 10% abv makes for some guaranteed winter warmth. Nice beer.

2004 vintage, 750ml bottle. Huge, sweet, fruity, spicy aroma, plenty of brown sugar and toasty malt with lighter notes of cinnamon, allspice, apple, berry, raisin, doughy yeast and wafts of peppery alcohol. Deep garnet in color, some hazy particles drifting about with a lasting, creamy, ivory head and patchwork lacing. Flavor profile is substantially malty and sweet, plenty of brown sugar throughout. Finish is long and lightly acidic with a burst of yeast esters and spice. Mouthfeel is lightly syrupy and thick, some creamy effervescence, body is undoubtedly quite full. Nice. Better than the Tremens or Nocturnum, and for some reason just really made for a pleasant experience tonight. Satisfying, as it were.

I am afraid I am one of those people who just "don’t get" this brewer. I have not been very impressed with any of the Delirium line. I had not tried this one so I ordered it. Sampled on draft at the Sharp Edge in Pittsburgh this beer poured a caramel color with a small white head. The aroma was sweet, fruity and somewhat flowery. The flavor was sweet, fruity and flowery - almost perfume like. Perhaps rose petal. The perfume like element I have found in all of the Delirium beers - and is perhaps why I am not so fond of them. I liked this one better than the others though.

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.

Christmas morning 2001,what a gift to myself.7/5/8/4/17 Rerated 12/27/03 light amber in color with amedium white head.Yeast,spicy aroma.Malty/bready/yeasty flavor with a touch of spice.Warming alcohol mouthfeel.