In all honesty, to some extent, I am affected by the presentation of a bottle of a beer as I walk through the beer aisle. I don’t base my judgment of the flavor and quality of the contents on such superficialities, but a nicely dressed bottle is eye catching. That being said, there is something about the outfit that Delirium Noel (and all the other Delirium brews that screams from the shelf, “Try me.” Since the other two Delirium beers–Nocturnum and Tremens–from Brouwerij Huyghe fared well in under my scrutinizing sensory nerves, Noel stood a fair chance.
The Pour:
After pouring Delirium Noel into my tulip glass, I was astonished to see two Christmas bulbs, some green garland, and a donkey from the nativity scene in my glass! Just kidding; but, the beer did pour a deep mahogany color with striking ruby red highlights that reminded me of the metallic red foil that had ensconced the rubber (surprised that real ‘cork’ material was not used) stopper. The beer was crystal clear…not a hint of sediment or suspended protein. A luscious white head left sticky lacing.
The Nose:
The aroma was moderately complex. Typical for the style, notes of banana, clove, and nutmeg were present. There was a sugary aroma that reminded me of dark spiced rum. As far as fruit notes, strong un-fermented grape (as in grape juice, not wine) aromas over shadowed all else. All together, the aroma was candy like.
The Taste:
Delirium Noel pulled a fast one on me. As it touched my lips, my mind was expecting a Belgian Strong ale, which it was…BUT there was a strong malty backbone that had the flavor of a Weizenbock, like Aventinus. Perhaps it was the strong grape and Plum flavors that instantly took hold of my senses, or maybe it was the noticeable caramel flavor. Either way, the beer was different. At times, the beer was a bit too sweet. In your face Belgian candy sugar flavors were, in my mind a bit out of balance. The astringent flavor of alcohol was decently hidden, but at moments, in between sips, I did feel like I was swallowing down sips of rum. As the beer finished, the bitter flavoring hops make their appearance, but at the same time don’t let you forget how sweet this brew is.
Overall Thoughts:
I enjoyed Delirium Noel and would buy it again, but it wasn’t as great as I was expecting, and was my least favorite when compared to Delirium Tremens, and my favorite of the the three, Delirium Nocturnum. For the price ($9) I was hoping for more. If you picked it up, what did you think?
Nate’s Rating:
Overall Satisfaction: 
Among other Belgian Strong Ales: 
Rating:
I liked it. I tasted a lot of apple and I liked how sweet it was. Drinking it in a tulip glass made it that much better!
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@Sandra…I forgot to mention that, we did discuss the apple flavor!
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I picked this up just this week to try. If I ever kick this cold, I’ll look for the points you mentioned. I’d agree, they do make some very noticeable bottles. This will be my first from these guys so its good to know it gets better after this one!
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Cool scoot! i’ll look for the review on TBC!
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My least fave of the Delirium family. Too thin in the mouthfeel dept. for my tastes. Tremens and Nocturnum are my #1 and #1a… unfortunately the Noel just doesn’t do it for me.
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Brad,
I’m curious to know why the mouth-feel is a little weak. In my opinion, the one I got was way under-carbonated. I think that is a major part of the mouth-feel perception, especially in Belgians.
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Nate,
I certainly caught a burnt caramel. I also wonder if carbonation issues increased the viscosity and sweetness perception. Did anyone else have a carbonation issue?
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@beer_scientist: I think your observation is dead on. I didn’t really discuss carboantion in the review…to be honest I was rushed when I wrote it. While it wasn’t flat, I made a mental note when opened my bottle that it didn’t open with a “pop” like most Belgians (or the Tremens), which is part of the reason I thought it much like Weizenbock.
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I hadn’t yet tried this year’s batch, but last year’s seemed to have the same carbonation (or lack thereof) issue.
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So this is a rubber cork huh? Had you not mentioned that, I wouldn’t have noticed.
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