Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel

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

Thanks group for the share. Pours dark black/ brown with a tan head. Aroma is roasted coffee, vanilla, earth, and roasted malts. Flavor is dark malt, dark coffee, chocolate, and some milky qualities. Incredible, and very nice. Full bodied and enjoyable- I wish it was available in Florida.

Pours pitch black with a dense one-finger head that lingers a bit and leaves a fantastic network of lacing along the side. Slightest bit of mahogany around the edges when held up to the light. Smell is dominated by dark roasted coffee with sweet cream and chocolate and roasted malts present as well. Big bitter espresso taste up front with a nice sweet chocolate and malt taste to balance the astringency. The coffee taste lingers for ages after each sip with alcohol making itself present throughout. Mouthfeel is super creamy but nice and crisp in the finish due to the coffee astringency. Carbonation leaves a nice tingle on the tongue. This is one hell of a coffee stout and I would certainly put it on my short list for best in that category. The coffee flavor comes across a bit astringent but I’m nitpicking.

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.

Had this again this year, and here: Aroma of chocolate chips, coffee beans that have been soaking in water. Blackish brown with ruby highlights and dark tan head. Tastes like whipped cream, black coffee, heavy roasted malts, chocolate chip cookies, Starbucks double shot, and finishes like bittersweet baking chocolate.

Bottle courtesy of franksnbeans -- thanks! Bottled September 07.

Pours near black with brown highlights and dark-tan head. The aroma is baking chocolate and coffee, vinous notes, and a strong presence of stale tobacco smoke. The flavor more or less follows, though drier than expected (almost no sweetness) with an assertive hop close atop chocolate cheesecake. The problem is that the tobacco / cigarette smoke is strong to the point of being overpowering, and this ultimately ruins the beer. I love the smoky single malts to which this one is sometimes compared, but this is no Islay malt - it’s more like french-kissing a smoker. I also pick up some pretty well-defined vegetal flavors on the front end of each sip, again detracting. Long finish of bitter black coffee, ashy, chalky. Creamy if relatively thin mouthfeel for the ABV, but little hint of the alcohol either.

I’ve been looking forward to trying this one for a couple of years, and there’s really no way to report this as anything other than a huge disappointment after the anticipation and compared to the other ratings on the site. Maybe it’s better on tap, maybe it would improve with a couple of years on it - but it’s not going to be high on my list to seek out. It’s too close to skimming the water off of a sodden outdoor ashtray. Looking over the endless streams of mid-4 ratings, I can’t help but wonder whether the beer has changed or whether the emperor is walking through town butt-ass naked.

Bottle. Rich, roasted coffee bean aroma carries through the aroma to the flavor. Black body with ruby highlights in the body. Thick, fizzy head that lasts and lacing that coats the side of the glass. The aroma is dominated by the coffee and chocolate with notes of roasted and burnt malts and vanilla. The flavor is moderately sweet and moderately bitter and mildly acidic. Dry, coffee bitterness in the finish. Tastes of unsweetened dark chocolate linger along with the alcohol. Medium body with a velvety texture and lively carbonation. You could say this is a one-trick pony kind of beer — all coffee all the time — but that one trick is pretty good.

12 oz bottle courtesy of Binnys (Orland Park, IL). Pours a pitch black opaque pour, some red at the bottom, maybe ruby over midnight edges, with a big brown head, laces well, built solid. Aromas are very coffee, a nice smooth bitterness mixed with a good roast from the malts and coffee, chocolate bitter and sweet, some underlying creamy sweetness that takes a bit of the edge off. Pretty nice, not intimidating. Initial is very bitter and hardcore coffee grounds, strong coffee is at the forefront, good bitterness, with bittersweet chocolate and roasted malts mixed in liberally, a light sweetness of caramel and milk chocolate, but very roasty overall. Good bitterness, dry with almost a piney quality, almost hops, but perhaps it is just intense coffee strength. Tastes like a coffee shop smells. Very nice, almost gives me a semblance of heartburn. Yum. Finish leaves a dry roast, coffee, good bitterness on the palate. Alcohol warms, sweetness stays at bay but does leave more presence in the aftertaste. I enjoy smelling my own breath on this one. Cheers!

V - brown head, light lacing, black viscous A - strong coffee T - dark espresso P - solid, befitting an imperial stout