Dieu du Ciel series: Route des Épices

Number 5 of 8 of the Dieu du Ciel beers that I'm reviewing, this one, French for "Spice Route", is a rye beer brewed with black and green peppercorns... an unusual combination, for sure. We'll see if it works out!

BEER: Route des Épices (Dieu du Ciel brewery, St-Jérôme, Quebec) - Rye beer brewed with peppercorns

ABV: 5.3%

SERVED: 341mL brown bottle bought at the LCBO, poured into an Innis & Gunn slightly-curved footed glass

APPEARANCE: Very deep, dark red in colour, glowing a dark amber when held to the light. Creamy head lingered for several minutes, dissipating very slowly.

AROMA: Rye malts are very pronounced, but little to no scent of the peppercorns.

TASTE: Initial taste is very much what you'd expect of a good rye beer: fresh grains and almost a touch of caramel. You can't taste the peppercorns at all until the aftertaste, when the spicier edge kicks in. This becomes much more pronounced after a few sips, with the spiciness beginning to build on the tongue.

OVERALL: The rye flavour in this beer is quite good, and while I'm not normally a fan of overly-spicy cuisine, the spice is mild enough in this beer so as not to be a deal-breaker. I can see this pairing very well with barbequed burgers or steaks. 7/10

Dieu du Ciel series: Rosée d'Hibiscus

Continuing on with the beers from Dieu du Ciel, this is probably the most unique one of the bunch. I can't say it's every day that I try a beer brewed with actual hibiscus flowers!

BEER: Rosée d'Hibiscus (Dieu du Ciel brewery, St-Jérôme, Quebec) - Strong wheat beer brewed with spices and hibiscus flowers

ABV: 5.9%

SERVED: 341mL brown bottle bought at the LCBO, poured into an Innis & Gunn slightly-curved footed glass

APPEARANCE: Cloudy, as one would expect of a wheat beer... and yet a darker, earthy red in colour, similar to a strawberry juice. Light, red-hued head which dissipated within a minute.

AROMA: Definite flowery aroma to it, but not in that overpowering, just-walked-into-a-flower-shop sort of way. It's a very light, natural scent.

TASTE: Very light and refreshing, with the flavour of the hibiscus flowers being very prominent, lingering subtly into the aftertaste.

OVERALL: I can see a lot of ladies liking this one, or just anyone who doesn't like harsh, bitter-tasting beers. As with most wheat beers, this one's definitely a summer sipper, and would go well with light fare like salads, or fresh fruits and vegetables. 7/10

Dieu du Ciel series: Aphrodite

A bonus second review today from the Dieu du Ciel series: Aphrodite. Interestingly, the name for this beer on the French version of the label (found on Dieu du Ciel's website - http://micro.dieuduciel.com/en/beers.php) is "Aphrodesiaque" which translates obviously as "Aphrodisiac". I'm not entirely sure why they altered it for the English label to be Aphrodite.

BEER: Aphrodite (Dieu du Ciel brewery, St-Jérôme, Quebec) - Strong Stout brewed with "organic fair-trade cocoa and first-rate vanilla beans"

ABV: 6.5%

SERVED: 341mL brown bottle bought at the LCBO, poured into an Innis & Gunn slightly-curved footed glass

APPEARANCE: Deep black in colour, even darker than Guinness: when held to the light, Guinness will actually show a deep amber colour - this beer, when held to the light, is still black as night. Creamy, caramel-coloured head, which dissipated after a couple of minutes.

AROMA: You can definitely smell the vanilla they brewed this beer with. There's a faint, almost-sweetness to it as well. The smell is more akin to cookie batter than to beer!

TASTE: I expected a strong flavour, given that the alcohol content is up more around the level that you'd expect from an imperial stout, but it's actually quite mellow. The first thing you taste when you take a sip of this is the cocoa, but it doesn't taste at all artificial or overpowering... quite nice in fact, and complements the dark roasted malts of the stout quite well. The vanilla returns for the aftertaste, coming in slowly. This blend of flavours works really well together.

OVERALL: Much better than the last beer I tasted. This one is beautiful, well-balanced, and very easy-drinking, especially considering that it's a stout, and higher in alcohol as well. I think a lot of people who "don't like dark beer" could be very impressed with this one. I can just imagine a small glass of this pairing excellently with a nice dark chocolate dessert. Don't be afraid of the dark colour of this beer... if you see it on the shelves at your local LCBO, pick one up, or better yet, buy two! You won't regret it! 9.5/10

Dieu du Ciel series: Rigor Mortis

Well, I haven't exactly made my goal of reviewing a beer a day for the length of this Dieu du Ciel series, but nonetheless, here's the next entry: Rigor Mortis!

BEER: Rigor Mortis (Dieu du Ciel brewery, St-Jérôme, Quebec) - Extra Strong Abbey-Style Brown Ale

ABV: 10.5%

SERVED: 341mL brown bottle bought at the LCBO, poured into an Innis & Gunn slightly-curved glass

APPEARANCE: Deep, earthy brown colour. Nearly opaque when held to the light. Thin head which dissipates quickly.

AROMA: Surprisingly little smell... at most a very faint malty smell.

TASTE: Subtle initial malty flavour that slowly gives way to the strong taste of alcohol. The malt returns somewhat on the aftertaste, but still not entirely pleasant.

OVERALL: I can't say I'm a huge fan of this one. The alcohol is too strong, and the flavours are too weak. There are much better examples of brown ales out there, like Neustadt Brewery's 10W30. Given that I couldn't even finish one bottle, I can't give this any higher than a 4/10.