Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’Hiver

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle and served in my Corsendonk XMAS ale glass: Murky reddish brown hue a small but lasting frothy head with very good lacework. The nose dictates some toffee and charred malt, juicy plum and fig, grassy hops, hint of anise and grains of paradise, and some leathery and tobacco esters. seems to be towards the classic British style than an hopped up American version. The taste confirms this, sweet malty and dark fruit driven flavor profile with minerally and earthy tones. Slight cardboardy notes which will likely grow with aging. A hint of smoke and licorice spice working with some bitterness upon the finish. The mouth feel is lush and oily yet still quite aggressive and biting, fit the flavor profile well. Well still missing some depth and richness of the classics, this more than holds it own. Aging for 3-5 years would not be a bad idea IMO.

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.