Delirium Black Barrel Aged
Brouwerij Huyghe

Poured from 750 mL bottle into tulip.
A: Pours a dark ruby amber hue with 2-3 inch bubbly tan head with good retention, settling to a 1 inch rocky head.
S: Cherry, spice, dark dried fruit, sweet bourbon, oak char, vanilla, brown sugar, and a touch of bitter floral hops around the edges.
T: Cherry, sweet bourbon, dark dried fruit, spice (clove), oak, candi sugar, caramel, toasted nuttiness, and floral hops.
M: Medium body. Layers of fruit and spice notes. Mildly effervescent. Smooth feel with very mild bitterness.
D: A lovely bourbon barrel aged brew. It remains light and the barrel elements don’t overpower the base beer, but more subtly complement the main notes. Very nice holiday brew!

 

Delirium Black Barrel Aged (2022) – from The Huyghe Brewery. Acquired 06/11/23 from Spec’s #100, SAT, TX. $ 41.47 (Including tax)/25.4 fl oz cork and caged bottle, $ 1.63/fl oz. Imported by BBL, Inc. Reviewed 01/12/23 (Review 3183). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated other than “2022” on neck label. On room temperature shelf at the store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 61.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 64.4 degrees F. Loud “POP” when the cork was eased out – I expected it to foam over the bottle lip, but it didn’t.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), hazy.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same, but many tiny particles can be seen drifting. When rear-lite, ruby amber and hazy.
Head: Large (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), beige, high density, good retention, slowly dropping to a 0.5 to 0.9 cm undulating crown and a partial cap.
Lacing – Poor. Just a few tiny islands of tiny bubbles remain hanging on the sides of the glass.
Aroma – 4.25 – Weak bourbon and “dark fruit”. No hops, no yeast, no alcohol (11.5 % ABV as stated on the bottle).
Flavor – 4 – Begins slightly sweet with generic “dark fruit” – I can’t assign the flavor to specific fruit/fruits. No yeast, no hops. Unable to taste any vanilla, tannic acid, char, or any other bourbon barrel flavors. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Moderate gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Full; creamy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 While this is a tasty Belgian Dark Strong Ale, it seems a waste of bourbon barrels since they only appear in the aroma. Overall, this is as flavorful as any other authentic Belgian dark ale, sans bourbon barrels. It is definitely NOT worth the price.

On tap

Pours a dark brown with a two finger creamy off white head that has great retention and lacing. Smells of oak, barrel juice, brown sugar, caramel, cherry and fruit cake. Tastes of oak and bourbon up front, followed by coconut, brown sugar, caramel, Christmas cake and raisin. Medium body with moderate carbonation, foamy mouthfeel with a creamy finish

10 oz pour on tap at Frisco Taphouse in Gambrills, MD. Pours a medium brown color with a large off-white head. Aroma and flavor are not super bourbon-forward - much less vanilla, oak, and booze than I anticipated, with dominant characteristics of caramel malt, crème brûlée, and Belgian yeast esters. Mouthfeel is insanely smooth for the abv. Overall it's an interesting beer but not necessarily one I'd seek out again. The mash-up of styles isn't ideal IMO, but they seem to have pulled it off about as well as could be hoped for.

 

 

 

I've had it (draft) on three occasions at the ITAP in Kansas City. It's only my second barrel aged ale, but I'm really liking the style. I usually opt for barrel aged imperial stouts, but those are a bit more difficult to find on tap in late summer. It's nice to have another option that is perhaps more fitting to the hot weather. I'm not a huge fan of typical Belgians, but for me the yeast flavor is far more balanced in this style. Looks to be rather pricey in the bottle, but it's quite reasonable on tap locally. This will likely be my first round at ITAP until it's gone.

 

Appearance is dark brown with only a slight transparency towards the bottom of the pink elephants snifter. The tan head is of moderate height and retains well while leaving defined layers of thick sheeting on the glass.

Damn, that's a lot more American whiskey barrel forward than I'd have expected. While that spicy whiskey hits right up front, it is immediately resisted by dark caramels and gingerbread before some vanillin crops up, ultimately finishing with a hard root beer sort of exhale.

It reminds me a little of one of Kane's BA quads, but with a little less body, as well as more spice and dark fruit, kind of like apple butter.

 

Pours a dark muddy burgundy-brown with a heavy opaque cloudiness to the translucency. Head is three fingers of fluffy, dense off-white foam. Aroma is dark fruits, clove, and caramel with barrel, booze, and char behind. Quintessential dark fruit notes right out front, with that sweetness shaved off by sharp barrel at the half-way point. Flavor profile is dark fruits, caramel, toffee, and clove with a little barrel and char behind. Compared to the nose, the flavor profile packs in a lot more heavy Belgian sweetness. Slivers of spicy and grassy hops mingle for a little extra depth. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a fairly soft effervescence. Overall, an interesting blend of heavy Belgian quadruple notes alongside barrel and char. It works well, but is a little bit more of a sipper than it's base version.

Served in a 2023 AM membership glass from a 750mL bottle.

Growler into pint glass. Pours a medium amber with a brief tan head. Initial impression is bourbon and vanilla; fairly sweet. Mouthfeel is quite smooth. Finish fades to a pronounced vanilla sweetness. Overall, an enjoyable Belgian but a little sweet for my tastes.

Pours a dark amber color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has fruity and yeast hints
The taste follows the nose with a fruity and yeast flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A well balanced Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Pours a muddy medium amber. Aroma is bourbon, caramel and vanilla. Taste is bourbon and caramel. Upon opening, the bottle overflowed. A lot. Strong carbonation, a fist full high. Lots of strong body. Recommended.

Had to make a special trip to pick up this super limited brew. Called ahead. Was told had four, thought about buying two until I got there and the clerk pulled one from the cooler. $34.99. Nope, just one.
I like the color, like a dark tea brown.
When I poured it into a Rastal Teku glass, after a pop when I took out the cork, it formed a carbonated head. As I poured, I wondered if that's all I was gonna get. Nope. Finally.
It has a spicy nose with a scent of oak barrel.
There's almond and vanilla in the taste, which, by the way, every sip is fizzy. There's a little bit of backbite in the finish. Tones of oak and Belgian bitterness.
I do enjoy this a lot, but it would be better from a tap. I might chase it down next year because I like the style, but one overpriced bottle is enough at a time.

 

Massive carbonation remains after barrel aging this one. This is a very well done version of delirium, but adds nothing remotely special enough to justify the price increase over the base beer. I'd hope for more barrel impact, I'm not sure if this was just oak or a bourbon barrel...if bourbon I really didn't get much vanilla or caramel. Overall, a nice pour, not worth the price. I'd drink on tap for a good price, but I wouldn't buy again for half the price. Overall, this is a niche beer for someone who really loves this style and really craves even the smallest changes.

I will note, I found the level of carbonation difficult to drink. I think that's somewhat to style though I'm not sure there's a "style" per say to barrel aged belgian beer. I do suspect that a good year or two of aging in bottle might resolve that issue, but that really turned me off.

Cloudy chestnut brown body, off-white full head and lacing. Belgian yeast and dark fruit with light bourbon molasses supporting for the nose. Taste is much more expansive: adding candi sugar, booze, faint barrel, tobacco, and a kiss of earth. Yeasty and almost estery, booze is there but not in a hot way, light bodied. Booze backed dark fruit lasting impression. The wife loved it