DeuS (pronounced DAY-oos) is something special. Whenever someone asks us about a celebration beer, this is the first thing we think of at the Firkins.
Despite the packaging and presentation, make no mistake, this is a beer. DeuS is brewed with barley and hops in its homeland of Belgium, then Champagne yeast is pitched and it's shipped over the border to France for the final maturation in bottles in the caves of Champagne. This is the only beer allowed in the caves sacred to sparkling wine lovers.
In France, DeuS undergoes the riddling process for an entire year. This is when the bottles are rotated daily and aged upside-down and at an angle to settle the yeast in the neck. After a year, the yeast plug is frozen at the top of the neck and expunged, just like Champagne wine. Every 12th bottle is then sacrificed to top up the previous eleven.
This would be for nothing if DeuS wasn't so divine. It is dry and effervescent like Champagne, but you'll get a much more interesting palette of aromas and flavors than wine because it is brewed with barley and hops. Mint, anise, ginger, almond, and a delicate peach are some of the flavors I pick up.
Drink it in a flute and drink it cold, chilled in ice. Unlike other Belgian beers this does taste better with a chill.
We have stocked heavily on DeuS ready for the big day. Last year we sold over twenty cases before we sold out. This year we learned our lesson and purchased quite a bit more. It is here now. When you pop the cork on this one you'll have a very cool story to tell your friends and I bet they'll be blown away when they try some.
A bonus: this year we have the 2010 and 2011 vintages. The 2011 just started to arrive last week. Try them side by side and see what an additional year can do!
Don't bring Champagne to your New Years Eve party. Be bold, be different, bring beer, bring DeuS!
