Brewery: Brouwerij Bosteels, Buggenhout, Belgium

Brewery Description: “Subtlety in a bottle. Refreshing as an aperitif And just as fuli of flavour and rich in aroma as a beer from heaven. That’s DeuS. A magnificent symbiosis of brewing a beer and creating a sparkling wine. Ideal for delighting your guests sometime as an unusual choice with the before-dinner nibbles and amuse-geules. And perfect if you have got something to celebrate. DeuS - truly the sparkling divine drink based on barley.”

Brew Style: Biere de Champagne/Biere Brut, 11.5% ABV

Recommended Glassware: Flute, Chalice

The Ugly Truth: I said it in an earlier post, but I’ll reiterate it here: I paid $28 for a pint 9oz bottle of this libation and it was worth every bloody penny. First off the bottle is more akin to a champagne bottle than a beer bottle. It is insanely thick and heavy for a pint 9oz bottle, foil top with wire cap over the cork and the dimple in the bottom. The little book you see in the picture is both a miniature brewing description and history of DeuS, as well as having instructions for proper serving. I’ve never has a beer that has had such detailed instructions, and in three languages. Here’s some close ups of the book (Side One, Side Two, Close Up). Instructions for proper drinking went as follows.

Step 1: Refrigerate 12 hours or more at 4 degrees Celsius.

Step 2: Chill in either an ice water bath for 15 minutes, or place in a freezer for 10 minutes. I went with the ice water bath.

Step 3: Pour into a chilled flute glass and enjoy.

And enjoy I did. Actually, by the end I had enjoyed it a bit too much. I’ve had beers around the same ABV before, but I have never had one sneak up on my and hit me in the head like this stuff did. I think it may have been the fact that you couldn’t pour the whole bottle at once, so you had to re-cork it and place back on ice. By doing that, you ended up drinking 6 glasses of it to go through the whole bottle and it really comes up on you towards the end.

The beer itself poured an intensely gorgeous gold in color with a champagne like head on it that dissipated rapidly. The head was pure white in color and very airy, reminiscent of champagne. There was a literal geyser of carbonation bubbles rising from the bottom of the flute glass, that left ripples on the surface as they rose. This made DeuS a fantastic aromatic experience since it the character of it was constantly being exposed through the bubbles. DeuS has a very light floral aroma to it with a touch of fruit, especially apples, mixed with honey. It was probably one of the most aromatic beers I’ve ever had in its intensity. I found the taste to be absolutely astounding. It was sharp on the tongue at first, and then quickly smooths out into this light bodied taste with a evanescent mouthfeel. The flavor is a bit sweet and somewhat dry in character, with a fruit and honey undertone coming through. The finish was lingering and dynamic, almost like the beer never found its way out of your mouth and just evaporated on the palate.

I found it nearly impossible to detect that this was 11.5% ABV when I tasted it. The alcohol is incredibly subtle and masked perfectly by the character of the beer. The only time I could notice it was in the aftertaste, which just reverberated the tastes. The flavors stay on the palette enough that when you breathe in and then out the nose, you get a retro-olfaction of the flavors involved. It reminds me a little of a saison in character but that’s only an approximation as its really quite different than anything I’ve ever had. The best frame of reference example I could provide is that DeuS is the polar opposite of Arrogant Bastard Ale in both appearance and character, while still tasting as incredible and unique as AB. If you can find this, I highly highly recommend that you go pick up a bottle. Try and enjoy it with a few friends, since its really not a good idea to try and down this by yourself. In reality, doing so would be a disservice to the beer and sharing the experience with others will only make this wonderful beer experience better. My wife had some with me, and while not a big beer drinker, she thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth the money for this beer.

Verdict: No question about it, 10 out of 10 bottlecaps.

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