Dieu du Ciel Route des Épices

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

Tap at RBSG05. Slightly roasty spiced peppery aroma that is somewhat faint. Transparent amber color with a tan/yellow head. Start is roasty with hot pepper touches. Finishes with some spiciness, but not too spicy like CCCB. Finishes roasty and smooth. Interesting and well-balanced.

Bottle. Mahogony beer with a nice tan head. Toffee, rye, and spice aroma. Big pepper flavor with caramel backing, some earthiness and a bit of hops. LIngering pepper and rye - reminds me a bit of a low level cinamon candy. Medium body. Different, but has you drinking more.

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.

This was quite a challenge. I couldn’t read the French fliers and overlooked that there was an English-language one on the counter, so I didn’t know this had pepper, though had I thought about the words on the page I might have remembered from High School French the word for "pepper". I wasn’t expecting the heat. The front end had some complexity, something subtle like curacao or nutmeg or something I couldn’t place. But then...HEAT! But I grew to like it, rather than loathe it like a chili beer or something. Standard brown/chestnut/amber color. Aroma has some caramel but otherwise it seems more woody. So much of this beer is in the finish. (on tap at Mondial de la Biere, 2008, Montreal)

Interesting beer, especially to a start. Aroma has pure notes of fresh pepper. Colour is brown and a bit unclear. Off-white head, mostly lasting. Flavor has some warming pepper. A pepper-beer.

Bottle: Poured a deep copper color ale with a big foamy head with some good retention and some lacing. Aroma of pepper is dominating and quite intriguing. Taste is dominated with strong black pepper with a nice touch of rye as well. Body is about average with some good carbonation. This beer is probably a bit too spicy for my taste buds but very innovative; probably not something I would be everyday but might want to try this once in a while.

12oz bottle: Pours to a clear brownish amber colored body with a small tan head that quickly fades. The aroma shows some spicy rye notes mixed with a bit a caramel sweetness, which then quickly opens up to black and mixed pepper scents. It’s really hard to distinguish the rye scents from the pepper ones, as they blend well. The flavor mimics the aroma well - starts with a quick flavor of spicy rye, apple and caramel sweetness, then hits your mouth with pepper spices that give hints of nutmeg at times. It has a very unique feeling on the tongue from the pepper that is nice. Finishes with extended pepper spritzy feeling on the tongue, as well as with notes of black and green pepper, with lightly sweet caramel lingering in the background. Medium bodied, medium-lively carbonation. This is one that I wish I could give a higher rating to because I really like pepper, think they’ve blended the flavors of rye and pepper exceptionally, yet the flavors don’t really blow me away.

(bottle - 11.5 oz) Copper color with a thin white head. Aroma is light and spicy with some hints of rye, pepper, and some malts. Flavor is sweet at the beginning with tons of peppercorns coming immediately after. Some light sweetness at the end but a lot of spicy and peppery notes. Really interesting.