deus: cuvee prestige 2006

now that the new year's dropped it seems my source of belgian beers has some new players in its lineup. among them are this flemish beer by deus. sold for the (in europe) outrageous price of 10 euro per bottle (75 cl), i expected to find the cork studded with diamonds and that it was brewed with unicorn tears, the rarest and most sumptuous of all fluid sadness. regrettably, the ingredients and cork were both standard. the cork was *really* tight and the vast amounts of carbonation ejected it with non-negligible force after i prized it out. the nose is dominated by acidic yeast artifacts as i would expect for this region. at 11.5% alcohol and fairy-light golden tone, it can only be called a tripel, and is a heavy hitter even in that category. fruit flavor is apples embedded in a symphony of alcohol. the complexity of the alcohol makeup is surely this beer's strong point, with plenty of warmth and even a little spicyness that goes well with the carbonic edge. seemed fairly acidic for a tripel but not as much as the nose indicates.
overall, it's good but not for the price. when your competition sells for a third or less you really ought to dominate in quality with extreme prejudice. since that isn't the case, don't break the bank.

note: some quick checks reveal that this beer goes for 20-30$ in the states, a typical markup i guess but still, *damn*