Beer of the Weekend #39: Delirium Nocturnum

Yes, I missed the traditional BotW Friday tasting, but I think my mid-week sampling made up for it. However, if that wasn’t enough tonight should atone for my oversight; it will truly be a beer of the weekend.

The featured beer this weekend is my cousin’s Christmas gift to me: Delirium Nocturnum brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe of Melle, Belgium.


As part of the John’s Grocery sampler he gave me for Christmas last year (on Thursday he told me, “From now on you get me a California t-shirt and I’ll get you beer”) was Brouwerij Huyghe’s other famous Delirium beer, Delirium Tremens, which was voted the world’s best beer in 1997. I don’t remember what it tasted like, but the Delirium brews are known for their high alcohol content. The ABV of Tremens is 9 percent. If it were any higher people would be pissing blood. To symbolize the high alcohol content the labels feature a pink elephant reminiscent of the hallucinations people think it causes.


Obviously, drinking a couple glasses of Nocturnum will not make you see pink elephants, but it will get you quite buzzed.

Serving type: One 25.4-ounce (750 ml) bottle.

Appearance: It poured a deep caramel color and was very effervescent. A finger of light head formed on top before dissipating quickly.

Smell: At first it reminded me of the non-alcoholic sparking cider I drank at Thanksgiving as a kid, only way more complex. It smelled like a hefeweizen, though it’s not cloudy at all. There was an aromatic apple scent and I also caught a sweeter caramel- or cocoa-like fragrance.

Taste: Just like a hefeweizen. It was very effervescent. The apple cider from the smell is prominent. There is also another fruity flavor I can’t pin down. It’s a pleasing kind of tart.

Drinkability: Very drinkable, though for $12 a bottle it may not be the ideal brew to drink nightly.

Fun facts about Delirium Nocturnum:

-Serving temperature: 45-50°F.

-Alcohol content: 8.5 percent ABV (yowza!).

-BeerAdvocate classifies Delirium Nocturnum as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

-Although what's inside is impressive, the packaging and bottle outside are equally appealing. The bottle I had featured a wire-tied cork stopper wrapped in purple tinfoil. Although pretty, it was a bitch to remove.







The bottle is also painted a “country gravy” type color — beige with black spots peppered throughout. Very unique.

The Quite Man’s grade: Nice brew, though I’m not hallucinating. B+.

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