Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Hibernus

Brewed by Microbrasserie Charlevoix / Le Saint Pub
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Baie-St-Paul, Canada

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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I cracked a 2009 version the other day. On the one hand the beer aged nicely in that the body became very rounded, malty, balanced and not very sweet. One the other hand, sarsaparilla notes totally dominated the beer. I don’t know if sarsaparilla root was put into the beer, but it tasted like unsweeted and fairly pleasant Rootbeer. Since I like Rootbeer, I rather enjoyed this beer, but totally over spiced. Perhaps drinking it fresher would be more beneficial, but given the style aging seems appropriate. With a more balanced spice profile this could be fantastic. As is, it is just OK.

750 ml, Peluso, 10%. Wow! Quelle bonne bière! Ambrée très foncée avec 2 doigts de mousse. Odeur cassonade et épices. Sirupeuse, malt très présent dans le goût, et le soupçon d'épices très bien dosé fait la différence. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Hoo, boy what a nice beer! Pours dark amber, almost orange-pekoe like. Initial foamy tan head dissipates to a nice covering and healthy ring. Some lacing (spotty). Nose sweet and spicy. Aromas show prunes, candy, almost maple syrup, dark grapes, raisins, cereal and a bit of grassy hop bite just to keep everything honest. Taste is pretty heavy sweet through most of the tasting, and a light bitterness to the finish. There is also a very tiny salty hint in there. The body is medium with a somewhat oily texture and average carbonation. This is a top notch beer, no doubt about it.

Un vrai délice hivernal, la DV Hibernus figure parmi les bières de luxe québécoises : une épaisse liqueur brune sous une mousse couleur cassonade, au nez elle présente des notes sucrées, boisées, florales et caramélisées rappelant la DV Double. En bouche, elle explose avec ses saveurs vinées, son fort sucre résiduel, ses grains maltés et un petit côté "bonbon". Une merveilleuse représentante de Charlevoix.

Des arômes de prunes et d’épices. Des saveurs de caramel, de prune, cassonade. Cette bière est brassée avec des épices. On y retrouve des notes subtiles de muscade et de coriandre. Une belle réussite.

Une bière de Noël non-avouée ou une brune forte de style belge foutrement bien épicée; dites-en ce que vous voulez, mais buvez-en tous! De l’anis en entrée avec une valse cannelle-girofle-caramel-raisins.... Il faut définitivement la laisser ce réchauffer pour l’apprécier pleinement. La Dominus Vobiscum Hibernus est un désormais parmi mes classiques.

750ml bottle pours a translucent copper brown with some creamy white head. Nose f plum, cherry, candy sugar, tropical fruit, rum, fruit cake. Flavor is malty, candy sugar, cherry, a little grape jelly, tropical fruit, kiwi, light spice, dried apples, raisins. Full, sweet finish.

Belle couleur dorée. Peu pétillant. Goût faible de conifère avec un peu d’amertume en fin de bouche. Prends du caractère lorsqu’elle est chambrée.

Bouteille de 750ml, robe rousse orangée, arôme florale de carmel et de levure, goût d’épices, excellente bière!

It took me 4 bottles through 1 1/2 year to evaluate this one. Two bottles were tremendous and two were very deceiving. So, I’ll do sort of an average between the four of them. Aroma: A lot of spices; cinnamon, clove, mixed with caramel, sugar cane and candied fruits. Most of the bottles tested had a pretty complex and defined nose except for the last one that was bought a week ago which had aroma disappearing fast and leaving unpleasant meat and earthy notes. Appearance: One of the bottles tested last spring had no head at all. The other ones had an average creamy, moderately lasting head with also average lacing.Color is dark brown with red glints. Taste is very caramel, toffee, ’’crème brulée’’ and maple with spices like pepper, nutmeg and clove. In all cases it would benefit the overall taste that the spices stick out more. Sugar notes are very dominant. In most cases body is medium, texture is oily and carbonation lively except for that bottle bought last spring that was absolutely flat. I was told at the time that there had been a bottling problem with that batch. Not recalling the batch was, to my opinion, a poor corporate decision. The conclusion of all this is that’s a very unstable beer. If you’re lucky, you’ll buy a very good bottle. If not; well, tough luck. For myself, I had 2 good ones and 2 bad ones.