Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Imperial Stout
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: APR 27, 2005 Bottle. First and foremost-thanks to Tchrome for sharing such a rare gem. Before I begin to tell what this beer “is”, I will describe what it is not. It is not complex or multi-layered. It is, however, simple, way, way overrated, and more one sided than a Mobius strip. This is not a beer-it is cold espresso with a shot of Vodka. For a beer to be complex, it needs to have more than one flavor profile. This one has one-coffee. The brewers were way too heavy handed with the coffee. If the coffee could have been used to compliment or accentuate the other flavors, this would be great. But, they don’t. Incredibly one sided. The most overrated beer on ratebeer. Once again, thanks to Tchrome for letting me experience this. Tad, it was interesting. :) Nose-smells like wet coffee grounds with potting soil in it. Taste-bitter coffee. Very simple.

UPDATED: APR 22, 2005 Super strong coffee everything, taste was more of burnt coffee though. Too strong at first, but some time seemed to mellow it out and give it a bit more of a nice creamy coffee feel. Not quite what I was expecting, but I still pine to have this on tap one day. rerate: Had this one alot warmer than my 1st bottle and it was definitly much better. Looked like a champ with a wonderful lumpy creamy head. Flavors were more as I had envisioned them when I first heard of this gem, and overall quite a wonderful experience.

UPDATED: DEC 8, 2005 One of my beer sources, Drew, made contact to let me know that he had just scored a shipment of the Dieu de Ciel Péché Mortel that I have wanted to get my hands on. Five bottles. Good enough for now. I placed them in my cellar, anxious to sample this alleged elixir but preferring to wait until it could be shared with a friend. The beer gods smiled and I got a call from good friend and beer buddy Gasspasser who was in town. He stopped by with his dog, Leo, and I pulled out a bottle. Marked November, 2004. Okay. Should be ready. Upon opening the cap, a fine mist escaped and soon my kitchen smelled like a Starbuck’s. Only better. A bit of mocha brown froth oozed out the opening and urged me to pour. However gently I slid the black potion down the side of the glass, the result was the same: a huge and frothy/creamy milk chocolate brown head. The black body was opaque. The lacing decorated the sides of the glass as the monster head slowly receded. No need to place one’s nose in the glass to get the aroma. Coffee. Oh, there are hints of chocolate and vanilla doing background vocals, but they are drowned out by the mega-decibels shouting COFFEE! Face first into the frothy head to sample a taste. If there is any flaw in this nectar, it is that it is just a wee, very wee bit thin. Smooth and creamy in the mouth but just ever so slightly thin. Again, excellent, but just a tad, just a miniscule bit and only relatively speaking to some more viscous potables. Otherwise the mouthfeel was wonderful. The flavor was rich, roasted coffee. Robust, intense, Kona-like coffee. Hints of bitter Belgian chocolate and some malt. An erotic taste experience. Sipping slowly with a good friend made it even better. This is an extraordinarily good stout. A feast for the taste buds. My thoughts then went to the upcoming distribution of my beloved Dark Lord in a few weeks and the prospect of blind tasting these two head-to-head. Péché Mortel. The mortal sin about this is that it is so difficult to come by. Thanks again, Drew, and thanks to Dieu de Ciel for making this treat.

Big thaks to Jimmack04. Poured a dark brown with a light brown head. Aroma surprised me. Tons of roastiness. Mostly burnt tobacco, almost like a full ash tray and a good amount of dark roast coffee. Flavor was more tame. Roasted and sweet with a good amount of coffee. Medium bodied, oily and warming. I like the taste more than the aroma on this one.

Well, first off, thanks be to Edward (Brooklynboy) for grabbing this thing before I could get my hands on it. Acutally, I have a point to make here. First, I dont really get to drink much anymore and it seems that Edward has pretty much given me a "scholarship" on fine beers recently by providing just about anything under the sun. So, when I found out that this bad boy was going to be in the Chicagoland area I quickly did everything I could to get on as many waiting lists as possible with the hopes that I would get this thing before Edward and share it with him for once. Well, It didnt really work out that way. He got to it first and was great enough to share it with me. So, thanks again. WOW.

So now onto the rating. First off there was quite a bit of carbonation in this thing but it was not noticable in the actual tasting. The bottle pretty much began to pour out onto the table before we could get it into the glass. Thick and foamy tan head. Immediately the nose was very present from quite a distance. The nose was very kinetic, much like one of the New Glarus fruit beers, and moved quickly around the room. Malts, chocolate, and oh yeah, did I mention coffee? Wow was there coffee in this thing. The body was black a night, no light got through this bad boy. THe Taste was full of coffee and wow, it really was just like a fresh espresso. Man was this stuff good. And trust me, one of the best beers I have ever had, not just for the flavour and such, but also because of the company.

UPDATED: JUN 4, 2008 The aroma...that aroma...that is one coffee aroma, like I’m swimming through the grounds of a coffee pot maker, though in that respect it is a bit rough. Pitch black with an off-white/cream head, it is very dry with immense flavors of coffee and chocolate, although it is also a bit thin in texture where I have come to appreciate (if not expect) more silky/syrupy qualities in the body. Still, this was hedonistically first-rate. I think, on balance, I only want imperial stouts to be coffee-based in the future! Thanks a ton, Tad. Original Rating from bottle: 9-4-9-3-17 (4.2) // Re-rate from tap at Dieu du Ceil in Montreal: un-fricking-believable. The moment I put it in my mouth, my tongue leaped in orgasmic joy. It is so creaming, coating, smooth...and yet, for all of its obvious strength, it is so well balanced. Incredibly drinkable. Fabulous beer--completely world-class, in my opinion.

Thanks goes out to Tchrome for this one. i am so far in his debt for the great beer he has shared over the last year that i am going to have to start going to his house on the weekends and mowing his yard and cleaning his gutters. pours black with a tan head. aroma is wet fresh coffee grounds. eye opening and inviting sweet chocolate is hidden by the dominance of the coffee. taste is coffee and bitter hop bite, but still sweet. finish is not that pleasant, sour cold coffee that has a dry semi sweet chocolate that doesn’t mix well somehow with the coffee flavor. left a less than stellar aftertaste. thanks again, tad. let me know if i need to wash your car or paint your house.

A very big beer. Very dark in color. When I opened the bottle, it foamed up and would have kept doing so had I not poured about 1/3 of it into a glass. This beer is better left to sit for about 30 minutes or so and is better close to room temp. Very good mixture of coffee, chocolate and roasted malt. Hints of vamilla, but only a hint. A very good beer, but for the price, a tad bit over-hyped.

UPDATED: MAR 29, 2005 Bottle: Dark, opaque black with a large, creamy, thick & lasting light brown head. Just after cracking open the bottle, it foamed up and out on my counter and socks (3rd time this has happened recently, god damn it). Seems to be slightly overcarbonated, but definitely not infected. Aroma is dominated by coffee and mocha. There are some subtle roasted coffee, earth, roasted malt scents, and barely discernable in the background are notes of vanilla and cream. Full bodied & creamy, with a medium amount of carbonation (surprising considering the foaming out of the bottle) in the mouthfeel. Taste is mostly coffee, mocha, and roasted malts with some notes in the background of alcohol, mild vanilla, mild pepper, mild nutmeg, freshly cut wood, and mild grassy hops. Finishes with some surprising notes of light bourbon and coffee. This beer is delicious and would make an amazing desert beer, but it’s also totally dominated by the coffee/mocha combo. Definitely somewhat over-rated. Very nice, would love to try on tap, where I think for once nitro would really fit this one.

Rating #2000 - A tale of suspense and horror.

I’m warning you now - this story is true, and it’s not for the squeamish or faint of heart

Friday, 3/25: I get an email from Brian - he’s got 6 bottles of Peche Mortel to sell. I immediately send word to my friends Rockinout John, Chris and Jeff.

Saturday, 3/26: Rockinout John calls me first - He won’t be able to join us tonight, so I tell him that I’ll try to get a bottle for him too. Chris calls soon after - we’ll go to Rozi’s together - he’s never been there and wants to see what kind of selection they have

Chris, Debbie and Jen pick me up at 2:30 for our little road trip After chatting with Brian and gawking at the selection of Belgian beers for a bit, we walk out of Rozi’s with 3 bottles - I bought 2 (one each for John and I) and Chris bought 1. We plan on tasting this after dinner tonight. I jokingly tell Chris that if the beer is as good as everyone says it is, we could keep all 3 bottles and just tell John that his bottle broke - ha ha - we think we’re very funny.

I arrive home at 4pm, set the paper bag containing 2 bottles on the kitchen table. While I was gone, Lisa and Chloe decorated easter eggs - it’s made a mess, so I start to help clean up. Suddenly, "CRASH" "POP" "BANG" - I spin around to see our cat Tucker on the kitchen table and then as my eyes drift down towards the floor, I scream "NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! <br
A big brown 44oz lake on the floor, splinters of glass all over the kitchen, brown splatters all accross the wall. I feel like I might faint. I stand there in shock for a minute - what am I going to do now? Oh my gosh - even as it sits on my linoleum, I can see that it’s a lovely deep brown with a thin mocha head floating on top. The kitchen is full of a sweet malt aroma. Almost an hour later, I’ve gone through almost a whole roll of paper towels and mopped up the floor. Chloe comes in from playing outside - she’s fallen in the mud. She takes off her pants and socks and runs through the kitchen - "WHAM!" - she slips and falls on her butt. She’s crying, it’s time for us to go over to Chris’ house.

Debbie can’t believe what happened - she says I jinxed it when I joked about telling John that his bottle broke. Chris rubs it in a bit - tells me that his lone remaining bottle has just quadrupled in value.

Jeff and Alicia arrive later and we’re finally ready to open our only bottle; and this is what really causes me pain - it was sooo good, sooo rich, like the best espresso you’ve ever tasted, roasty and laced with chocolate and caramel. Just like it was on my floor - the body is a deep brownish black, topped with a thick mocha head that lasted all the way to the bottom of my glass. Every smooth sip of this was so full of mouth coating flavor and a finish that lasted forever.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get to taste this one again, but I do know that I won’t soon forget my 2000th rating.