Delirium Nocturum

I tried Delirium Nocturum tonight, and it is fantastic. A Belgian brown ale. Perfectly balanced, caramel maltyness, hoppyness, and wonderful yeasties. Not overpowering yeast like chimay. Anyone tried it? Anyone have a recipe?

i tried the tremens and was not a big fan, which is weird because i love belgian ales. i have the nocturnum in the fridge right now, and am waiting for a good ime to crack it open..... maybe i'll enjoy it a little more....

Yup, I've had plenty of Nocturnum. Not my favorite Belgian by a long shot (it seems a little out of balance to me), but a good brown on most accounts, and more enjoyable than Tremens.

Heed my advice: go seek out Gouden Carolus' Grand Cru of the Emperor. That's one of my all-time favs. Then, see if you can somehow find some Westvleteren St. Sixtus, which is rare, or at least some Rochefort 10.

I don't have any recipes, but I'll tell you right now: good luck on trying to successfully clone any belgian recipe. 50% of the character in most belgians comes from their proprietary yeast strain, which you have almost zero chance of ever obtaining. I've got a generic "dubbel" fermenting right now, using Wyeast's Belgian Abbey strain, I'll let you know how it comes out...but it's not trying to clone anything in particular. Good luck with that one.

I asked the wine guy about your suggestions, he said right off he could get the Rochefort 10, and he is checking on the other two, hopefully I’ll get a sample or three.

Have you ever tried the 1388 Belgian Strong Ale Yeast? I like the fact that they say “Dry tart finish.” I do not like the intense banana and clove of some beers. I would like to hear how your dubbel turns out. I understand there is a difference between “Trappist” and “Abbey” style. Do you know how that terminology works?

Thanks for the info.

I've used the Wyeast 1388 for about six batches and am going to do another batch with it tomorrow night. I have a batch from two weeks ago I made with this strain, and its still bubbling away (about 1 bubble every 20 seconds) and had high kreusen within 12 hrs of pitching (no starter, just the smack pack). It is a great strain with excellent attenuation, but your beer will be a bit tart for at least four weeks from bottling, though its not too bad. However, if you can wait at least two months, it really mellows and is fantastic!

I've used the 1214 Abbey Ale for several batches, and its good, too. And I did a Dubbel with the Wyeast Trappist strain that turned out very well, but since the ingrediants were very different from the batches fermented with the Abbey yeast, I can't give a valid comparison in taste. However, the Trappist took noticeably longer to carbonate (over four weeks) compared to any of the batches made with the Abbey or the Strong Ale yeasts.

Evan! said:

Heed my advice: go seek out Gouden Carolus' Grand Cru of the Emperor. That's one of my all-time favs. Then, see if you can somehow find some Westvleteren St. Sixtus, which is rare, or at least some Rochefort 10.

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I got to try the Rochefort 10 the other day, and it is very good, better than the delirium, I think. Big beer, 11+% alc. and pricey. I look forward to trying the Gouden Carolus. Next week I'm told.

I'm going to have to do some reading, and try to do a belgian style, not 10%+. These beers are so much more subtle than any American beer I've tried.

I did very much enjoy the Nocturnum- I kept getting some kind of berry aroma/flavor from it. Is that an ingredient thing, or a product of their yeast?