Delirium Cafe-Rochefort 6

I had this beer at the famed Delirium Cafe in Brussels, that has thousands of beers available at any one time. Hearing this, I was very excited about getting the opportunity to go there. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to my expectations. The place was extremely crowded to the point where it took about 10 minutes to even order. On top of that, the claimed massive amount of beers on tap is only in the lower bar. To clarify, the Delirium Cafe has 3 or 4 different bars all down this alleyway, so it took a lot of searching to find the one with all the options. While my expectations may have been high, this place failed to even come close to living up to them and I would much rather go back to a good bar like Moeder Lambic again than here if return to Brussels.

This Trappist Dubbel pours a coppery color with a thin dissipating white head. The aroma is very odd. There is some cherry, a little bit of a rootbeer smell, a lot of cough syrup smell, which all combined makes this beer smell like a bad rum and coke. When taking a sip, it enters the mouth very lively with high carbonation. It is very phenolicy, a little boozy, slightly grainy, and sweetens near the end. Essentially, it ends up tasting a bit like a rum and coke too, which given some of the other Dubbels I have had the privilege of trying, disappointed me a lot. I was expecting a much better taste from a brewery as famous as this. Overall, this beer, like the bar fell short of my expectations. While others may enjoy this brew, I did not and would unlikely order it again.

Upon arriving in Brussels, we quickly learned that you can see the city pretty quickly, and as a result shouldn't spend more than a day at most here. The Grand Place is absolutely incredible and is probably the most ornate of the Belgian Squares we visited. Other than that there is lots of chocolates, frites, and waffles to satisfy your appetite for simple carbs. Another popular site is the Manneken Pis (peeing boy water fountain), but be warned, it is life size so he is very small. Given his size, you will find the tourist shops very surprising in Brussels. Practically everything is Manneken Pis. From t-shirts to key chains to corkscrews and bottle openers, you can find this little guy everywhere. Brussels is a fine place, but given the lack of things to do, you could probably squeeze both Ghent and Brussels in to the the same day.