My wife and I came across this incredible bottle while traveling through Belgium a few summers ago. The description sounded so interesting, we had to give it a shot. DeuS is brewed in the Northern Flanders region of Belgium by Brouwerij Bosteels and marketed as a top-shelf “divine beverage” somewhere between a beer and a sparkling wine.
We had traveled through much of Flanders and then spent a few days in the Champagne region of France where we got an education about how these famous sparkling wines are made. In the caves below the Moet & Chandon House we learned about how champagnes are brewed and aged.
DeuS undergoes fermentation and a 12 month maturation in Belgium, but is then transported to the Champagne region, where sugars and yeast are added for refermentation and another long aging process.
Just like Champagne, bottles of DeuS are put into riddling racks, where they are turned daily and gradually tilted toward the ground. This continues for several weeks until eventually they are hanging vertically with the neck of the bottle facing down. This process, known as remuage, forces the sediment and yeast to slide toward the neck of the bottle. In order to get rid of this plug, the neck of the bottle is frozen. When the cap is removed, pressure in the bottle forces the yeast and sediment out. As in Champagne, a “dosage” of brewed Deus is added to refill the bottle before corking.
Deus is only sold in a 750-ml Champagne bottle with a Champagne price tag. We ordered a bottle at the Delerium Café in Brussels. It was poured into fluted champagne glasses which produced a thick fine bubbled head which lingered. The aroma was of fresh fruit, apples and pears. The first sip was a refreshing zing of carbonation that woke up my palate without biting it. The fruit came through in the taste along with that wonderful spicy Belgian yeast. Subtle notes of ginger and cloves. It finished with sweet vanilla notes. Nothing was too over pronounced. A perfect blend of the best of both worlds: beer and champagne. It was all so clean and complex that the bottle did not last long. Doreen made the vow right then and there to find this beer in the states and sell it at G & G. Now DeuS Brut is always available on our bottle menu. And for us whenever we want to have one of the best beers in the world.