Delirium Noël

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

Had this after a 3 day ski trip to Canada. So it seemed much better than it actually was. However, We had a second bottle the next day. It has a light colored head with an slight orange tinge to it. Surprisingly, the alcohol flavor is scarce. There is that spicy freshness present that I associate with Christmas beers. I noted an awful lot of particles floating about, but that was just an appearance related note. The crisp sweetness that dissolves that holiday spice makes this a wonderful beer for the holidays.

On tap City Beer. Nice amber color and great aroma, good noel spiciness level.

Pours deep ruby brown with soem chunkiness floating in the beer. Aroma is sweet and funky yeast with some roast caramel. Taste is sour raisin, alcohol, and other ripe fruits with a nice roasted finish.

Enjoyed via draft in a white wine glass. The beer pours a dark amber to medium brown color, with some lighter highlights; and a small just off-white head. The nose is a combination of the classic notes of Delirium Tremens, grain, fruit, slight acidity, and some of the darker, hardier notes of holiday beers. The palate again features a fundamental background of Delirium Tremens, followed by notes of prunes, raisons, and a subtle but pleasant Munich/Special B/CaraMunich malt character. The finish is estery, but not overly so; and is buttressed by a gentle semi-dry spicy note. Very drinkable and nicely warming on a cool afternoon.

750mL poured into a snifter. Small white head that dissipated quickly. Left minimal lacing. Aroma was great. A typical belgian strong aroma with more spices and alcohol notes. Taste was about the same. Strong alcohol taste lingers. Definite spices in the taste that are nice and warming. Good beer and definitely nice for the winter.

Re-rate, Bottled: Aroma of sweet apple and orange. Red color, beige head, good lace. Very sweet, sourness underneath, light bitter, orange, light spices. Pretty full and warming. Nicely balanced. Jan 2005, 2.7, Tap: On tap at ’t Tribunaal in Tilburg. Very spicy, malty aroma. Dark brown color, off-white head that diminishes fast, fair lace. Sweet, overwhelming spices, malty, full, little sticky, warming. Too much of it all for me. Couldn’t finish a whole glass.

Head is initially large, fizzy, off-white, fair lacing, mostly diminishing. Body is murky medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), lightly hoppy (flowers), lightly yeasty (mold/dishrag), with notes of sugar/bubblegum, peach, orange, and apricot. Flavor is heavily sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, creamy and syrupy texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Less than enticing Huyghe house character, but the aroma is fairly pleasant otherwise (fruity). Sugary sweet, but with enough tart and bitter qualities to keep it drinkable. Not bad for this brewer.