"Wow, what a beer!" pretty much sums up this amazing beer from Brouwerij Bosteels (brewer of house favorite Tripel Karmaliet). The first impression is how beautiful the presentation is of the beer in the 750 ml Champagne bottle. This is not simply a gimmick however, Deus undergoes it's original fermentation and aging in Belgium but then is actually shipped to the Champagne region in France where it is given a secondary bottle fermentation in the traditional "méthode champenoise."
The beer is then put into riddling racks, exactly like traditional Champagne, where the bottles are turned daily and gradually tilted toward the ground. This riddling is continued until the bottles are hanging vertically with the neck of the bottle facing down, a process which takes several weeks. This twisting and tilting forces the yeast sediment to compact into the neck of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is frozen which forms a slug containing the yeast and sediment. When the bottle closure is removed, pressure forces this slug out resulting in a crystal clear beer. Just as is done for Champagne, a "dosage" of additional Deus is added to refill the bottle before corking.
What does all this mean for the flavor of the beer? It means that this beer is absolutely the perfect union between Dom Perignon and Duvel. A brilliant spicyness and nutty flavor from the yeast with a wonderful dry flavor, surprising given the 11%+ ABV, makes this absolutely the most romatic and festive beer I have ever had.
Hell, don't take my word for it though:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/deus-brut-des-flandres/18912/
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/202/7661
