Dieu du Ciel Route des Épices

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

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.

The beer was picked up in a 330 ml. bottle, and was poured into a pint glass. The pou looked amber to orange-brown in color and the head was two finger thick. The smell was quite malty with sweet maple syrup aromas. The taste was malty up front with the spicy sweet rye grains quite apparent, some honey showed up in the middle, while the finish was pure peppercorns. I love all of these flavors so it worked for me wonderfully. The aftertaste lingered on for eternity. The body seemed sticky and creamy. This was a rare find, a beer that pushes the envelope, but still remains very drinkable.

Bottle at Mike and Molly’s in Champaign, IL. The bar owner so kindly bought this and recommended it for me. Pours dark amber with a light tan dissipating head. Aroma of fruity esters and pepper. Medium bodied with somewhat soft carbonation and a great mouthfeel. The flavor is a nice blend of dark malts and rye, countered by a bold, but great peppercorn flavor. Hints of lemon as well. This is just a great beer that is screaming to be paired with a steak. Way underrated if you love black pepper. Fuck balance, this is a spice beer and this has tons of it.

Courtesy of Jim @ OTH. I am getting more and more suprised and pleased with every new Dieu du Ciel beers that I taste. This one pours amber color, with a little dark head. Aroma is of malt and spices. The use of black pepper is very pleasant. It takes a few sips for the actual spiciness to set in. Highly drinkable beer, something different.

Feb 2003: Sweet peachy English bitter meets a powerful hot pepperiness that overwhelms you throughout the nose, first tasting and middle-late palate. Assertive and bold, but not eyewatering and harsh. The first beer made with "hot" spices that has been totally successful for me; I knew this was a better-than-good pub at this point. 8/4/8/4/16 4.0

December 2004, pint, only a touch of it shared with the gracious but pepper-beer abhoring tiggmtl, esq. Even better this time around, I find that though the pepper is dominant expecially in the nose, the flavor is extraordinarily complex and inviting, with caramel, bits of cherry and apple and a wonderful creaminess throughout...another masterpiece!

Appearance: Dark siena brown, similar to an American Brown or a dark Pumpkin ale. Lots of light-tan foamy head.

Aroma: Enticing! Dark, deep malt; black and white pepper leads into shades of cocoa, cardamom, salt, coriander, and rye, with an earthy-floral (is that basil?) finish.

Taste: Rich and complex: this is truly a caravan-journey across the Spice Road. Dark tones of rye and bourbon, with a flashy peppercorn showing and a spicy finish. Dandelion shows up, as well as (again) cardamom, with slight hints of white chocolate.

Palate: A strong pepper finish -- almost hot on the throat, and yet I want to sip again and again...

Overall: Very unusual! Very pleasant, too...Dark, mysterious, appropriately bitter. Great with (I would imagine) a whole array of foods -- peppery steak for sure; smoked cheeses; anything grilled. I had it alongside a chicken-gorgonzola-walnut pasta: it was *almost* too strong for the dish, but in the end it did work well together, thanks to that gorgonzola-blue cheese. I’d try this one with mole sauce in a heartbeat. Or, for that matter, curry fries.

My only advice: don’t drink it too cold. You’ll miss out on much of what makes this beer special.

Bottle poured a clear reddish brown with a large lasting amber head. Aromas of rye, graininess, cocoa nibs, pepper, light carmel and a hint of fruittiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a dry warming finish. Flavors of rye, peppercorns, carmel and light chocolate with a smooth dry lingering warming pepper finish.

Amazing pepper beer in my opinion! It has inspired me to homebrew a beer with peppercorns.

This was absolutely amazing. The pure real flavors which are done to perfect levels make this brew shine! .. . i’ll never be a man! .. peppermill action!! .. . this is made for a perfectly grilled fajita dinner!! .. i want more of this!! brains! brains!! BRAINS!!!!!!