Dieu du Ciel Corne du Diable

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Montreal, Canada

November 2007 Bottle Date; Sampled April 2008
Pours with a frothy, initially fat-two-finger thick, light tan colored head. The beer is deep amber color, but shows lightly hazy, orange-tinged, light red color when held up to the light. The aroma is a mix of dominant hop aromatics and supporting, but noticeable malt notes. Aromatic notes of grapefruit, pine, then lychee, apricot and candied citrus peel are supported by caramelized malt sugars and drier soda cracker & biscuit-like aromas. The hops provide some spice character too which seems to accent the fruit / citrus components of the aroma. The smell of this beer makes it seem like a rich, full bodied example of the style (the color might influence my expectations that direction too).

Lightly sweet tasting, but only so that it accents the dominant hop character. This is not aggressively hopped by extreme standards, but still is way hop balanced. Caramelized malt flavors play a big role here, and the beer is definitely on the chewy side though it is so thick as to keep this from being reasonably drinkable. The front of each sip is dominated by astringent, herbal, pine & menthol flavors that are sharp and biting. Just underneath these notes is a solid citrus oil component that is reminiscent of the zest from grapefruit, tangelo and some lychee flavors. This beer has a fair amount of bitterness to it & the astringent notes just add to this, having said that the chewy malt does a good job of not letting this combination get overwhelming. As it warms up the malt becomes a bit stickier and is definitely outside my personal preference for an IPA.

An interesting tasty beer, but somehow it just doesn’t do it for me. Between the sticky, slightly too heavy malt notes and the aggressive, astringent hop character this just seems a bit chaotic and unbalanced. Might be scored a bit low for me, but for some reason I expect more from this brewery.

Pours a hazy orange caramel with a medium beige head. Aroma of piney hops, mango, grapefruit and citrus. Taste of light citrus, piney hops, caramel and mango. Excellent !!

12 oz bottle. Pours a lightly hazy ruby/orange/amber with a large foamy/bubbly off white head that left a bunch of sticky lacing. Aroma of caramel, light citrus, pine, some tropical fruits noted, kind of reminded me of Stone 10th in terms of aroma. Flavor of caramel, toffee, lots of hops, some nuts, pine, floral notes a little earthy along with a bunch of citrus notes. Boy those are some hoppy burps!

Bottle. Pours hazy coppery with ruby edges and 2-fingers of uniform, off-white head and great lacing. The aroma is heavy piney hops, grapefruit, mango, caramel malt, black pepper. The taste is caramel malty, piney hoppy, with mango, grapefruit, honeydew, and a massive fresh ground black pepper flavor. Not nearly as pronounced as the route des epices, but perhaps more black peppery flavor than I have ever experienced in an IPA, and man, does it work with this one. The complexity and balance are off the charts, and this one was one of the most unique, exciting IPAs I’ve had in a long time. If everything from Dieu Du Ciel is this good, I may have to move to Canada.

Bottle. Pours hazy amber/brown with light white head. Aroma of piney hops along with some toffee malt sweetness. Taste was bitter hoppy, yet also had some definite toasty biscuit malts as well. Kind of an interesting combination that worked decently methinks. Average mouthfeel with a good bitter kick in the finish that didn’t linger much. A solid IPA.

341ml bottle from HogtownHarry! Nose of sweetness, flowery and light piney hops, and caramel; copper with a big off-white head; flavor is hop bitterness, pine, with some balancing, lightly sweet caramel. Finish is light bitterness! Pretty good IPA!

très beau produits bien houblonné avec une amertume assez forte , chapeau pour un produit du québec american pale ale , on en retrouve peu de ce genre avec autant de qualité!

Appearance: Pours a clear amber body topped by a medium-sized, white head. Smell: Honeyish, hoppy aroma with notes of passion fruit juice, flowers, and grapefruit rind. Taste: Honey candy, though with a restrained sweetness. Then, jumps to the fruity, resoundingly bitter hops. Continual hints of citrus. Slightly bitter finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Slight oiliness to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: In short: it’s good. A nice surprise.