Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’Hiver

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

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

11.5 ounce bottle - $4.99 at Bullock’s in Marietta, Georgia. Let’s D’hive right in, shall we? Appearance: Pours out an opaque, murky-looking, dark brick-colored body with a whipped, frothy, light beige head. Smell: Malty nose smelling of toasted bread crusts and sweet-scented notes of toffee and caramel accented by some wafting alcoholic aromatics. Additional whiffs of wood chips, juicy cherries, light spice, and a nearby snifter of room-temp brandy. Taste: Begins with a bold maltiness that has a chewy breadiness about it with a rich toffee taste and lighter hints of semi-sweet chocolate and brown sugar. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet. There’s a pervasive earthiness to it and a snap of seasoned wood and spice. It’s bitter, but not overly bitter. Fair amount of fruitiness present, but sweet cherries, for me, are the most prominent. Splash of brandy. Light, lingering bitterness and some warming alcoholic heat on the otherwise smooth malty finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Smooth, chewy mouthfeel. Drinkability: Tasty, enjoyable barleywine with a nice, inviting warmth to it that suits me just fine as I watch the recent snow melt away. It’s not nearly as sweet as many English version and it’s not nearly as bitter as many American iterations of the style, though, admittedly, I’m not entirely sure as to the age of this particular bottle I purchased last night. Why not just pick a bottle and find out for yourself.

Bottle. Pours mahogany with almost zero head, limited lacing, and a little rim of white-ness around the rim of the glass. This smells like an over-the-top bourbon beer with vanilla jumping down your nose. The taste on this is incredibly sweet with a little bit of that vanilla on the tongue. Palate was full but overall this beer was unenjoyable. this just isn’t my bag.

UPDATED: MAY 27, 2012 yeast sweet alcoholic aroma pores murky brown with lots of floaties, taste sweet caramel, malty, bitter, somewhat sticky with slight alcohol burn on the finish very good Barley wine. I should clarify the "floaties" are from sediment in the bottle, which I didn’t expect in a barley wine, no less one that’s been aged 4 to 5 months.

Backlog nov 2011 Amber, ok foam Full bodied and high complexity Sweet dried fruit aromos Enjoyable, but a bit too sweet

Bottle. Pours a murky rust colored with smaller beige head and a fair amount of floaties. Smell is rich fig, caramel, chocolate, and sweet cystalized sugar. Taste is initally sweet caramel followed by dark fruits, chocolate, a little coffee and then finishes a tad boozy. Texture is very smooth and velvty. Really nice brew.

341ml bottle. Dieu du Ciel pours a dense oily amber body with reddish tones. Nice big head for a barley wine, creamy mocha, with decent retention. Aroma is sweet and yeasty, with a good dose of hops, caramel, nice breadiness, floral, prunes. Taste is astringent, wormwood bitterness, good dose of malt, hops, late summer grass, late alcohol heat, aggressive hop aftertaste. Good.

Bottle from Timfoolery. Pours a very dark brown. Very strong taste of carmel flavor. Full-bodied barleywine that goes down smooth without any alcohol burn.

Wow. Where do I start....Smells like raisins, honey. Head pretty much disappears right away, but who cares. Colour is a cloudy blood red/amber. Tastes like honey, strong alcohol disguised in a kind of almost grapefruit bitterness that has a good lasting power. A sexy, complex beer. Liked this more than Peche Mortal even.

Murky dark brown pour with a small amount of head. Nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is caramel and roasted malt. A little nuttiness and some sweet fruit too. Tastes almost like a brandy. Lots of caramel malt but the alcohol is present throughout but not overpowering. Hops come through a little in the end for a bittersweet finish. Pretty complex, I’ve not had a beer like this one. Very good sipper.

Dark brown beer with hardly any carbonation or head. Hardly any aroma. Strong taste of dark burned malts, some caramel and a lot of alcohol. Herbal, spicy but all ruined by the overwhelming alcohol warmth making it very unbalanced.

Not my kind of thing. The aroma was understated, not a lot there. Flavor was strong but somehow a little flat. Dry, kinda perfumey. Sort of an oily body. Alcohol a heavy presence on the exhale. I enjoyed the first half or so but was tired of it by the end.