Dieu du Ciel Route des Épices

12 oz bottle, via cloudskipper. Pours a clear dark amber body with a nice two finger beige fluffy head. Slightly sweet nose with some rye and black pepper accents, a little bit of caramel. At first there’s just a bit of earthy rye coming out, then you’re just overpowered by huge intensely hot black peppercorns. It actually burns a little bit on the finish, the pepper is that pervasive. Some underlying sweet malt hiding in the background. This is almost too much pepper to take. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a touch of clinginess and moderate fizzy carbonation. This would go really well with a peppered burger, but otherwise I think that it would overpower almost anything else you’s eat with it. Damn this is a weird beer. Not so sure I could ever drink more than one of these.

341mL bottle from a sixer, brought back to me by my parents from a trip I couldn’t go on. Pours a dark red with a burgundy hue. Huge tan head. Aroma is mostly just some indistinct malts, no real hint of what is to come other than some mild pepper. Flavour is an experience, to say the least, starts out nice and sweet, some nice roasty caramel malts, a little rye, and then WHAM my tongue is hit with peppery spicey hottness that takes over and defines the finish and aftertaste. Wow, weird, unlike anything I’ve had before. I honestly don’t even know what to make of this. As it warms the aroma of black pepper corns eminates from the glass more and more. I’ll give it points for originality, and I’m sure people who love spicy things would get a huge kick out of this, but I’m not entirely sure it’s my thing. Interesting experience though.

Shared with a friend, sample from a BOMC. A very out of the ordinary brew. Dark amber beer with a creamy off white head. Spicy caramel malt aroma. Flavor starts with the rye malt, semi-sweet and spicy… then the pepper comes on and leaves a lasting burn at the finish. A very odd concoction. Very well made and enjoyable to sample but there was enough pepper in just one to hold me for a long time.

I absolutely hated this beer. Pours an amber color, and smells as if someone had dumped pepper into it. Bad Taste of spice lingers, and burns the back of the throat. A chore to sit through.

bottle at Spuyten Duyvil. Amber in color with a medium off white head. Aroma is nice: caramel, toasted malts, light rye and fresh pepper. Spice was apparent but not too strong. Taste: Caramel/molasses, toasted malts, rye, and the green peppercorn shows up midway through the taste and is really apparent in the finish and seems pretty fresh. body is medium, finish also has a light hop bitterness. Very nice spiced beer.

Pours out a reddish brown color with a small creamy slightly off white head with some lacing going on. Aroma is of some caramel, spice and slight grain, didn’t pickup much pepper in the aroma. Taste is complex, it starts with some caramel, then fades into some grainy rye notes mixed with a nice but not overpowering pepper flavor. The pepper becomes more apparent on the finish, finish reminds me of having a peppercorn crusted steak that leaves that tingly burn in the back of your throat.

Ok, first off, the best thing about this beer was that I got a viewing of Time Bandits out of it, for when I made a joke about the bottle, my girlfriend had no idea what I was talking about, and so of course I had to show her the entire movie just so that she got to see the scene featuring the giant with a boat on his head! Anyways, onto the beer. The bottle reads "rue beer brewed with peppercorns" and that’s exactly what you should expect. Aroma is yeasty, lots of rye and malt, with a notable spice, and pepper. Flavor is much the same, a nice rye brew, but too much peppercorn. In fact, the peppercorns begin to dominate to the point that they burn on the palate. Add to this the fact that it tasted like something that belongs on an Arby’s sandwhich, and I’m not sure I’d try this one again, although it certainly wasn’t bad, just really weird.

Bottle, courtesy Jim. Dark reddish brown pour with a frothy white head and nice lacing. Aroma is fairly malty, with a lot of spices, namely pepper, of course. Some distant hops. Flavor starts off malty and full of rye, with a very unique and awesome pepper finish in the throat. It’s pretty refreshing and drinkable though, despite this unique spiciness. Enjoyed it thoroughly.