Delirium Tremens

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

On tap. Sharp, airy hop aroma. Lemony citrus hops, some fruity tones. Grapey alcoholic finish. Mild maltiness. Hides the alcohol fairly well. Not as contentious as I expected.

Today marks the one year anniversary from when I first logged into this website, so I thought I’d do somethin a little special. I have at hand a Delirium Tremens and a Delirum Nocturnum to help me celebrate. About 10-12 years ago, after I first got into "real" beer after drinking godawful cheap lagers for so long, DT was one of the first beers to hit me over the head with its quality and flavor. The fact that I haven’t ranked it yet is a mystery. As for Nocturnum, I was never as impressed with it as I was the original, but always considered it a quality brew. So first we have the original DT. 750 ml corked and caged bottle, vintage 2010, poured into a Trappist glass. Aroma is Belgian yeast, clove and pepper. Pours a hazy gold with a nice long-retaining head that leaves some creamy lace. Taste is sweet and sour with no bitterness. Yeasty. Peppery. Delicious. Carbonation is medium and so is the body. Some booze comes out in the aftertaste. I have that book where Stuart Kallen called this the greatest beer in the world. Although I think there are better beers out there, I can see where he was coming from. I hope this doesn’t sound pretentious, but this beer is liquid excellence, pure art. When you hear of wine snobs scoff at beer, pour them a glass of this stuff and watch their eyes bug out of their heads.

Poured from a bottle into a dimpled mug. Looks like nectar of the gods because it very likely could be. I can think of nothing negative to say about this Belgian ale other than I wish the bottle was bigger. This beer so smooth that even a sipper like myself found it disappearing at a pretty rapid pace.

A good friend recently bought me this for my birthday when Googling "fancy beers". This is actually the first beer I ever drank. It was 12/31/1999 and I thought the world was going to end, and I didn’t want to be sober during it, so I drank for the first time. A friend at the time’s brother said that this was the best beer out there, so I figured might as well go with the best for first. Without a proper beer palate, I thought this stuff was hard to choke down. I followed it up that night with a lethal mixture of Jack Daniel’s fruity mixtures as well as some Zima and other sugary alcoholic beverages. With the adage of "beer before liquor never sicker", let’s just say 1/1/00 wasn’t a good day. As for this beer, it’s extremely good and smooth for a Belgian strong. Aroma of clove and a slight hint of banana, along with that very pronounced Belgian yeast. This is probably the smoothest Belgian I’ve had...I can typically taste the alcohol but not so much in this one. Very smooth with a great mouthfeel and a touch of creaminess. Appearance is somewhat clear gold with a frothy head. Very good stuff, should’ve had it sooner than 10 years ago!

Pours a bit hazy light yellow with a rather high head. Aroma is wheat with a hint of banana, pretty much like Hoegaarden. The flavor is much more sweet than I expected, but in a good way. Has also some wheat and banana. Original and good.

The color of golden wheat. Smells Belgian, no doubt. Full of spices and notes of banana. Great beer.

Nice summer beer. I had not had this one yet but am glad I finally got to have it. Medium bodied. I would say very smooth not real strong at all. Nice mouth feel with a touch of carbonation that leaves the palate pretty fast. Cloudy light gold color to the beer. Not much head to speak of but seems to leave a little bit around. No real lacing on the glass to speak of. I am getting sour candied smell, candied sugar, yeast, wheat, oat, almost straw, orange peel and the very subtle malt smell. I can taste sour tart upfront but leading quickly away to a mellow malty slightly wheat like flavor. Very nice definitely recommend this one.

I really like this beer. Its smoother than most light beers attempt to be, without sacrificing flavor or aroma. .