Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’Hiver Réserve Spéciale (Oak Aged)

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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Drank on tap, at the Microbrasserie Dieu du Ciel in Saint Jérôme, on January 30th 2010, for their second anniversary party of their brewery in St. Jerome. Dark amber, small head. Aroma of malted barley, matured fields fruits well spiced. Taste of caramelized fruits well malted, warming alcohol. As exellente as the original.

(Version 2012) Une robe lourdement brune qui fabrique un mince col mousseux. Des arômes confortables de fruits foncés inondés par des malts riches, complexes et ô combien alléchants. Des effluves de barrique qui soulignent le talent formidable de cette grande maison : le bourbon s’installe dans l’atmosphère comme un parfum enivrant et langoureux. Sur les papilles, un liquide qui possède déjà toutes les qualités du monde et qui impressionne par son caractère cohésif. Des malts opulents dans une rafale de mots : du caramel foncé, de la mélasse, de la tire d’érable, du toffee et du miel. Des flaveurs tirées d’un fût dans un générique qui souligne le travail d’un formidable artisan : du bourbon caramélisé, une noix de coco rôtie, un alcool tantôt doux et tantôt poivré, des notes boisées et une touche vanillée. Une représentation fruitée comme une mosaïque florentine : des petits fruits foncés, des dattes iraniennes, des figues Sultane, des raisins et autres merveilles qui, touchées par l’intelligence de l’alcool, s’imbriquent les uns dans les autres pour créer une pièce unique de ce nectar presque divin. En bouche, un liquide qui est en pleine possession de ses moyens. Un corps riche, rendu huileux par ses propres forces et poncé par le fût et ses transpirations américaines. Tout simplement sublime. En finale, des saveurs orgiaques qui subjuguent mes chémorécepteurs et qui me laissent, momentanément, dans un état d’euphorie. Un monstre?

Bottle with Tim and Bill pours hazy brown, light head, and lacing. Notes of plum, toffee, peat wood, sweet malts, mineral water, sugar, vanilla and more dark fruits. Medium to full body. Smooth for the alcohol pct.

Big vanilla aroma along with dark caramel and woody hops. Rich mouthfeel, but just short of superb. Nice baking spices come through along with the vanilla.

Toffee apples, vanilla, burnt toffee, candi floss. Like being at the local fair really. Very smooth, weighty body.

341ml from Le Monde des Bières.
Appearance : Dark amber with small head. Not much lacing
Aroma : Nice rich raisins and resinous hops. Light herbal notes. Rich vanilla bourbon with caramel. Light oxydation.
Taste : Piny hops qith caramel and raisins. Light vanilla and light wood. Piny and resinous finish with caramel, vanilla, light alcohol and some wood bitters.
Palate : Average carbonation, feels a bit thinner than the regular version maybe because of the woody notes and the spirit-y notes.
Overall : Really nice beer. The bourbon BA is not too powerful. The BA seems to add more persistence to the finish. Nice complex nose and taste. I think this is quite a nice example of good use of barrel aging. Rather elegant and quite tasty. A bit of age could improve it a bit. We’ll see !

On tap at Underground. Murky thing. Fluffy head. Milky chocolate lemon merengue oddity nose, soft caramel, it’s all soft. Vanilla, bourbon stuff. Excellent. Taste quickly. Smooth bourbon, vanilla, caramel, light heat, yes. Great. Mild bitterness.

Bottle shared by Glouglouburp, at post NotB tasting. Brown pour. Bourbon, oak, malty caramel, maple, dark fruit vanilla, and some light chocolate, also a bit of warming.

341 ml bottle received in trade. Thank you Glouglouburp! Pours hazy deep amber with a creamy goldenish beige head that is rather quick to dissipate while leaving some sticky trace on the glass. Smell is sweet and malty with caramel, roasted coconut, wood, toffee, vanilla fudge, alcohol, honey, sweet bread, butterscotch hard candy and hints of dark grapes. Taste is sweet, tiny bitter and malty with toffee, caramel, butterscotch hard candy, sweet liquorice hard candy, roasted coconut, slightly dry grass, golden syrup, alcohol, dark honey, wood and hints of lemon and orange zest. Mouthfeel is smooth, round, tiny sticky sweet, tiny boozy and full bodied. Finish is sweet and tiny bitter with caramel, toffee, coconut, vanilla fudge, dark honey and charred wood. Very nice!

Bottle at DDC 12th anniversary. Aroma of fermented cherries, wet wood, molasses. Taste is a little bit better. Very woody, caramelized cherries with a subtle hop backbone. Palate is rich and boozy, not too sticky. I couldn’t wait to taste this one and wad very disapointed, especially with the aroma.