Dieu du Ciel Route des Épices

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Montreal, Canada

This is a malty beer. Not a lot of hops, but the malt is pleasant. The black pepper is noticeable in the aroma, although it’s not that almost fruity quality you get out of fresh cracked. The pepper comes through more strongly in the flavor where it cause a slight burn in the throat during the swallow. I could see the black pepper burn being a turn off for some.

33 cl bottle on 6/16/08.

App - Faintly hazy copper with a large, creamy, off white head and superb lace.

Aroma- Unmistakeable black pepper up front, caramel, dark sweet fruit like dates, figs, etc.

Palate - Medium body and carbonation, dry palate.

Flavor - Underlying malty sweetness is easily overcome by the spicy, peppery bitterness.

Definitely a beer to have with a meal, preferably a charbroiled steak or burger, something big and hearty. In that context, which is how I drank it, it matches up well. Drunk by itslef, it would almost certainly be excessive and unbalanced. If nothing else, it’s unique.

330ml bottle. A rather brown ale aroma. Ripe apricot / amber color with a beige head that didn’t stay. Medium body with creamy carbonation. Pepper!!!! Fruit. Herb. Ginger? Roasted malt. Pepper!!!!! This is not your Belgian wit. Finish is pretty dang spicey. A bit astringent. It tingles. What kind of food would this not go with? Glad I was able to try this one. Get it if you can.

Pour is a copper/orange with a spicy nose of rye, roasted malt, and pepper. The flavor is very much like freshly ground peppercorns, with notes of chocolate, roasted malt, rye, caramel, and hints of fruit. Leaves a spicy kick on the back of your tongue. Excellent spiced ale, but the body is a little thin.

Poured a rich orange color. Aroma is spicy, for obvious reasons, but the minty rye notes do come through. Flavor os what is expected, with the black pepper providing a formidable wallop. I really dug this one.

A nose of malt and peppercorn. An amber orange pour. A pepper flavor that just crawls all over your mouth heats you up and eats you up. A very warm beer but not at all in an abv way. A little thins and foamy. A beer I think I would like better just by itself and not during a tasting session.

Poured clear brown with a dissipating offwhite head. The spice is very up front and potent but unique. Nose is nutty and spicy. The peppercorn tickles the back of your throat as you sip and swallow. In the background is a little bit of fruit flavors like fig and plum. Gives you a different kind of burn than what you are used to in beer. Points for originality but I don’t think I can drink more than one of these in one sitting.

This spice ale pours a deep amber color from a 12oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head, with good retention and nice lacing. The aroma is caramel malt and pepper. A medium bodied spiced ale. The malts are caramel and sweet. The hops are earthy and a touch spicy. That is all dwarfed by the huge amount of black pepper in this beer. It adds an interesting dimension to the beer, but it just way to peppery for me. This is going to be a love it or hate it beer. I don’t much care for it, but it’s a well-made beer. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is peppery and spicy.