Dieu du Ciel Route des Épices

Bottle that was sitting in my fridge a long time because I didn’t feel like drinking it. Holy crap they weren’t kidding with the spices here. I was thinking this would just be some lightly spiced APA going in to this but boy was I wrong. A black pepper dominates the finish in this, and the rye makes for a very rich nose. I like what they’ve done with those here, however the rest of the beer is pretty dull, and features that distinctly boring Dieu du Ciel yeast.

[1443-20080531] Tap. Strong gingersnap aroma with some mild grain notes. Clear, dark amber body with a long-lasting creamy off-white head. Nice gingersnap and pepper grains flavour. Medium body. Good.
(@ Mondial; Montreal, QC)

Copper color with a medium head. Fresh peppercorn aroma. Holy crap! This puppy screams black pepper, and great black pepper at that. Like you just popped a couple whole corns in your mouth and started chewing. Hot. Once the burn subsides, the spicy rye and sweet malt come out. Incredibly underrated.

Pours a dark brownish amber with a decent off-white head that hung around for quite a while and left very good lacing. The smell is all rye and spices, mainly pepper, on top of a caramel malt background. It definitely stings the nose a little bit. Speaking of stinging, they’re not kidding around with the peppercorn. The rye and caramel malts are present but the peppercorn completely burns the tongue on the finish. I’ve never tasted anything like it. The mouthfeel is creamy and medium bodied with decent carbonation, but the spices are more dominant than any beer I’ve ever tasted. This is certainly a unique beer and one that I enjoyed trying, but the drinkability is limited a bit by the overpowering pepper.

an amber ale bought from bauer wine and spirits in boston - softly spicy aroma, and not enough that i would identify it as a spice/herb beer. it’s clearly not anything like an amber ale, however, since the starchy and bready flavors won’t allow it - and the hops remnants won’t allow it either. green and peppery, and hotter than it would initially seem. unquestionably worth trying once, but not worth revisiting. as the 12 oz plodded on, i found myself in an increasingly-difficult battle to finish it - almost as if jalapenos had been planted in it as a joke, just to see if someone might actually finish it. ouch.

Pours brown into a trappist glass. Head quickly recedes to hug rim. Rye bread and black pepper aromas. Pepper and rye from front to back with a lasting spicy tingle finish. Very nice.

11.5oz bottle. Pours a cloudy orange/gold/brown with a medium, off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a little bit of thin, spotty lace on the glass. The aroma is very nice - malty and caramel sweet with a subtle spice. The flavor starts with a very distinct rye character - grainy and spicy, but very nice due to being well-balanced by sweet malts. The peppercorn addition is noticeable by mid-tongue. There is a distinct herbal, peppery spiciness that leaves a touch of heat on the tongue. There is also a subtle note of acid and citrus in the background. Throughout are grainy malt flavors with a consistent caramel sweetness. The finish is medium (not dry, but not full) with a light fruitiness. The aftertaste has sweet malts and a slightly hot, spicy, pepper tone. The mouthfeel is medium-full in body and heavily carbonated. Overall, this beer is a very charming and imaginative combination - the rye and pepper give it an interesting and exotic taste. Though strong with rye up-front and a little hot with peppercorn in the finish, the is made palatable and familiar by the sweet malts. Well balanced and drinkable.

Sample at the 2008 VT Brewers Fest - Poured a dark amber in color with a hefty light tan head. Aroma was malty with fruity esters and accompanied by the spiciness of the peppercorns. Flavor was also malty with hefty amounts of dark fruits and, again, the distinct flavor of the peppercorns. The rye adds a ice creamy texture to the beer. I liked this one...