Delirium Nocturnum

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

The bottle promised me visions of pink elephants. Or at least that’s what I thought. After opening and pouring and tasting, I get the feeling that Huyghe was trying to develop a beer that tastes like you are licking the skin of a pink elephant. Not awful in itself, but awful in that it thinks its better than it is. In other words, it’s arrogant. I hope it doesn’t corrode the pipes as the rest of this goes down the drain.

12oz. Bottle: Aroma is sweet and fruity (plums, grapes, cherries). Also a bit malty and yeasty. Aroma is a bit tart. Poured a dark brown/ruby with a hint of orange. Big, foamy, tan head lasted throughout. Very good lacing. Cloudy and almost opaque. Sparkling. Flavor is medium sweet and not bitter. Notes of cherries, dark fruits, raisins, yeast, and a lot of alcohol. Strange fruity aftertaste I can’t identify. Medium to full body. Fizzy carbonation. Short astringent finish is not pleasant. Overall, looks and smells much better than it tastes.

Vintage 2004 750ml bottle. Pours a deep brown with lots of dark amber when held to the light. Medium fluffy/bubbly tan head that left hints of lacing. Aroma of caramel, dark fruits, Belgian yeast, some toffee, grapes, sweet maltiness and hints of cork/oxidation. Flavor of caramel, dark fruits, candi sugar, Belgian yeast and hints of spiciness, some bitter chocolate and hints of hop bitterness which was surprising for the age of the beer and the style. Glad I finally got around to cracking this one open.

Hazy deep ruby body with a medium creamy light tan head. Sweet molassas, caramel, and fruit aroma. Fizzy fruity flavor with a molassas background.

750ml brown bottle made to look ceramic. Translucent dark copper-red-brown body with chunks of yeast floating in int and a couple inches of light tan head. Scent is complex, including citrus, yeast, chocolate, caramel, and nut, among other things. If the aroma were stronger, it would be perfect IMO. Tastes initially fruity and yeasty, with roasty caramel and chocolate on the finish. Slight nutty and woody qualities round out the flavor. Light-to medium bodied, very refreshing with a fair bit of carbonation. Alcohol is hardly noticeable in either the flavor or mouthfeel. Wow. This beer is superb, damn near perfect. Probably my new favorite beer.

a step up from the tremens, thats for damn sure. this one doesn’t remind you of urine so much.

This one poured a dark brown with no head. Much more carbonated than I remembered with a mild malt sweetness and some yest hints.

I enjoyed this beer a little more than the tremens. I don’t usually drink belgian beers, but with this beer as well as the tremens I might have to rethink this stance