A recent trip with my wife to Great Lost Bear for lunch found me sipping Delirium’s excellent Nocturnum, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The regular readers of this blog will note that I’ve been enamored of Belgians lately, so when GLB put in a new set of taps devoted just to this style, I resolved to make the Bear a weekly beer destination. Good Belgian beer on tap at a reasonable price. Who can argue with that?
My Nocturnum came to me in a chalice bearing the trademark pink elephants. It had a hazy amber-brown color to it and a moderate off-white head which left some lacing. The smell was mostly dark fruit and some banana. I think there may have been a little chocolate or caramel in there too, but the buffalo chicken sandwich I was enjoying did not exactly do wonders for my palate.
The taste was a sweet bit of heaven. The fruit (raisins, and maybe prunes?) is very nicely balanced here by the roasted malts. The sweetness of the fruits gives way to a tart, dry finish that seems to be mostly yeast. The finish is pleasantly bitter. There is just a hint of banana in there too. The mouthfeel is lively, with lots of carbonation to dance on the tongue.
Some commenters on BA bemoan the sweetness of this beer, but I didn’t find it too sweet at all. The 9% ABV is pretty well hidden, though there is a tell-tale warming in the throat as it goes down. This brew belongs in my top three list of Belgians for now, though I’ll need to do another tasting not influenced by hot sauce to be sure.
My Rating:
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