It's a beer I've been intensely curious about for years, staring at me from the end of the top shelf in Redmond's every time I go in. However, it took my recent visit to Brussels for me to finally buy a bottle of DeuS, attracted by the bargain basement price of €10.The manual attached to the neck outlines the tortuous method of brewing and conditioning this "brut des Flandres". It's made and bottled in Belgium then shipped to France to mature.
Despite the champagne overtones in the presentation, this is quite a sweet and fruity honey-coloured ale. The strength is a prodigious 11.5% ABV, but it bears no resemblance to the likes of Bush or any other high-alcohol Belgian. Instead, it's a rather light, sippable affair with pronounced overtones of clove and ginger.
DeuS is, by all accounts an odd beer. I don't know if all the work that goes into it is really worthwhile, but it is certainly well-crafted and interesting.
One of these days I'm going to get around to sampling bottled Belgian Beer. Where would be a good place to start? (And don't say Belgium!)
ReplyDeleteWhat a mind-bogglingly huge question. Em. I'd go with a Westmalle Dubbel or Tripel, probably.
ReplyDeleteI did think it was a bit open ended after I'd typed it. I'd be a bit lost if someone asked me to recommend a British/English Ale too.
ReplyDeleteAt least I have a starting point to go from now so cheers for the tip. After stumbling accross those fruit beers earlier this month and really enjoying them I have decided to try and be a little more adventurous with my beer.
Wheeee! I've just discovered that Redmond's charge a whopping €25 a bottle for this. €10 is a much fairer price.
ReplyDeleteGrrr... €10! I, too, stubbornly resisted the call of this brew (€22 in Dicey's of Ballyshannon), until one day I found myself with bonus cash, and accidentally found myself in Dicey's. Interesting is probably the word for it, Beer Nut. I can't honestly say that I enjoyed it, but it wasn't terribly unpleasant, either. An interesting experiment, and worth sampling if you have money to burn (although your money could be much better spent).
ReplyDeleteIf it's any comfort, there are plenty of better things to spend a tenner on in a Brussels supermarket as well. I had to sacrifice buying lots of €1 Rochefort for this.
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