RateBeer

Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’Hiver

Score
9891
OVERALLStyle
Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada
Serve in Snifter

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 583   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.73   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 294   ABV: 9.8%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
This noble winter beer is brown in colour with flaming red highlights. Its taste is delicately sweet and liquor-like with a hint of burnt caramel coming from the malt and a prolonged boiling time. It is a very bitter beer with aromas of hops and alcohol, and flavours reminiscent of red fruit brought by the English-type yeast we use to ferment it. The aftertaste is accentuated by the wonderful flavour of hops. Solstice d’Hiver is brewed only once a year, and is then aged for 4 to 5 months before being sold. This aging process is necessary to achieve an ideal equilibrium between the sharp bitterness and the other flavours in the beer. After aging, it is then sold starting mid-December of each year, until stocks last.


3.8
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
greglikesbeer (23) - Ancaster, Ontario, CANADA - FEB 8, 2012
Pours brown-red with a white beige head. Aroma is resin/herbal hops, caramel maltiness and an alcohol punch. Tastebuds are immediately hit hard by alcohol and hoppy bitterness. Beer is full-bodied; plum and cherry flavours dominate along with burnt malts. Slightly sweet. Finish is long, bitter and quite satisfying. Surprisingly little alcohol taste in the finish. Lovely, complex beer. My only complaint is the burnt malt taste is slightly overwhelming - I’d like to see a little more complexity in the maltiness.

3.9
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
Countbeer (1686) - Best of Eindhoven ohne Brauhaus, NETHERLANDS - FEB 5, 2012
Bottle: Thanks to VsXsV: Small vast creamy yellowish head that changes with subtle movements into a vast thicker lacing. The beer has a slight hazy red to ruby color. Smells like liquor: alcohol notes, sticky barleys and malts, some subtle sweet fruit and something floral. Seems the smell already gave some hints of how soft this beer will be. Taste is a bit strange but a strong, good and well balanced mix of: spices, sticky barleys and malts, fruit like prunes, dried peach, figs, caramel, warmth of alcohol, herbs, bitterness and a hints of something sweet and vanilla. The sweetness most likely comes from the fruity and sticky malt/barley touch and is far from overpowering or dominating. The bitterness is more present, still not entirely dominating and seems to have some kind of herbal/grassy and very light nasty bitterness hints. Warm grassy light barley aftertaste. Low carbo, soft almost silky mouthfeel, full body and a creamy texture. Decent beer. Though alcohol is present. Well balanced, though I got a bit irritated by the nasty bitter touch. But this beer hardly got anything to whine about! Of course it get’s better when warming up in it’s glass.

4.3
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
toffsbury (44) - Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - FEB 4, 2012
Good gods, what a lovely beer. Aroma is rich, sweet and fruity. I get grapes and candy and miscellaneous fruit in the nose. Pours a deep brown-red, not perfectly clear, with a low head. Flavour starts out sweet, with a fairly bitter and alcoholic finish. Very warning. Not exactly full-bodied, but definitely not light. This bottle was a Christmas gift from my sister in Montreal, but now that it’s at the LCBO, I’m definitely buying a four-pack. A superior barley wine. also a correction to the entry: the most recent batch is 10.2% AVB, not 9%.

4.4
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
libertine (23) - rochester hills, USA - FEB 3, 2012
pours almost an opaque dark burgundy.smells sweet,raisins,anise and cinnamon.taste is fantastic,same as the aromas only the anise doesnt stand out as much and getting a little pepper at the end.alchohol is pretty noticable and warming.hardly any carbonation with a full bodied oily mouthfeel.this is very nice and i would definetly get one of these and let it age.a must try

4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 17/20
kevinsenn (175) - Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA - JAN 29, 2012
UPDATED: JAN 31, 2012 Bottle says 10.2% ABV. Pours a deep clear brown. Aroma of caramel, dark fruits, and brandy. Has a nice dark fruit taste up front, leading into some spices, and finally a slightly bitter warming alcohol finish. Little-to-no carbonation. Delicious!

3.9
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 17/20
Blairgus (1010) - California, USA - JAN 26, 2012
26 jan 2012, bottle. dark nut brown, clear, no bubbles or head. meaty and raisiny. bran muffins. alcohol isn’t really noticeable. med/full body and a bit fizzy. very balanced flavors. some cherry, vanilla, meaty, raisin bran muffins, some dark chocolate, and alcohol comes out in finish. subtle for a barley wine. nice.

3.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
reebtogi (1524) - Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA - JAN 25, 2012
341ml bottle pours a reddish brown color with a finger of off-white head which leaves a few spots of lace. Aroma is light roasted malts and hints of earthy hops. Taste is malty sweet with hints of fruit and a pleasing hoppy bitterness. This brew is more complex than I can describe and just wonderful. A great barleywine and just a treasure to have sampled.

4.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
krinkle (11) - Sherbrooke, Quebec, CANADA - JAN 22, 2012
Deep copper color. The feel is very very rich, sweet but not heavy. Aromas of caramel, wood and hops. Reminds me of an english old ale in many ways. A remarkable barley wine.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’Hiver Rating Avg: 3.73 No. of Ratings: 583
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