Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus

Thanks to sflpunk for this one. 2007 bottle: pours a hazy gold with a big frothy head. Aroma has yeast, citrus, orange, and coriander- smells like it may have been fuller when fresh. There are also some herbal notes on the nose; maybe a bit of parsley. Upon sipping, the alcohol becomes more pronounced. Flavor starts with teh sweetish citrus, then moves to a spicy and bitter stage. Would be interested to try this fresher and get the full shot of Simcoe. Palate isn’t particularly full, but I like the spicy and dry finish. Really solid brew.

Courtesy of SFLPunk- thanks Jeff. Vintage 2007. Appearance is hazy golden with an excellent white foam that dissipates slowly leaving excellent lacingy Lots of carbonation. Aroma is citrus, coriander, and some yeasty dough. Orange peel abounds with some earthy herbal notes coming through more subtly. Flavor is quite hoppy with alcohol notes present. Pretty bitter, but the citrus sweetness that prevails in the aroma is just as prevalent in the flavor. Some herbal tones and elements from all over my spice cabinet. Palate is medium full for the style, with quite the dry finish. Intriguing- many of the flavor are hard to place but they yield with warming and continued quaffs. Very intriguing.

750ml. bottle, thanks a million to Glouglouburp! Slightly hazy golden color with a huge rocky white head. Grassy, floral aroma with a bit of black pepper and honey. Flavor starts off mildly sweet and doughy, before turning drier with the grassy/flowery hops taking over. A bit musty, like my glass has been in a cobweb filled basement for a long time. Some spiciness on the finish. A very nice beer. Thanks Dany!

From 2007. Ok, I know it’s kind of a sin to be rating this hop-driven beer at this late date, but I kept saving it for occasions last summer, again and again and again, and they never happened, and then I knew it was past an acceptable point of freshness, and then put it off even more. So here we are, all feeling awkward about this rating.

It pours a metallic yellow with a frothy pile of white. WIldflower honey, dry grass, saaz hops aroma; peppery, dry, and lightly sweet with a cornmeal-like maltiness. Honey is the strongest component, and sometimes its earthiness leans towards sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Here and there there’s a little burst of apple cider vinegar.

Flavor is a calm, creamy bitterness. Very flowery. Alcohol is almost completely hidden. Very tea-like in bitterness, with hints of soft green spices like sage, very much seeming like a settled-down version of its former self; there’s plenty of doughy, soft yeast flavor providing a pleasant pad underneath; quiet. I feel like I can taste the dusty, grassy bitterness of the saaz still, and even a bit of the bracing green bite of the simcoes in peppercorns and pine, but can’t find much amarillo; it’s very green-tasting, very floral, but it’s definitely noticeable that it’s far from fresh. Putting this aside, its herbal qualities really are pleasant, and it has an incense-like calm about it throughout; so, the feeling of it is still really nice, but the flavors very obviously indicate what it probably was a year ago when I first had it.

Yeast pour. Couldn’t hurt now I suppose. Aroma has more vinegar, more cheese, some pit fruits, and maple syrup. It now smells much like an egg-bake topped with honey and syrup, and I want to drink it with breakfast. Flavor has gotten gravelly and more pillowy; weaker for details but texturally more interesting. Man, it’s musky now,and full of an almost tannic, pure bitterness.

Medium-full bodied palate. Hugely effervescent, but still soft. Finishing flavors remind me of an orange pekoe tea, a pear skin, and a lot of mustiness. It’s good and long, but it gets less interesting as it fades, not just as if the flavor is fleeting but as if it’s getting worse, like when a piece of gum starts to taste like your spit. Finally, very dry.

It’s a sad thing for me to realize that this, with its punchy hop flavors, ample malt body and fulsome, bone dry yeast character is obviously something I would have loved when it was fresh, and that I’m only now drinking it and seeing how enticingly interesting it has still remained. And procrastination has bitten me in the ass again. Thanks for the opportunity, the man, Dany!

2007 bottle by way of the north... glouglouburp. pours a rich orange yellow color with an enormous wispy white head. it gets cloudy toward the end of the bottle... when we finally get that far as it was a struggle with terrible over carbonation! enticing rich yeasty aroma is followed by spice, orange, honey, flowers, grass and spent hops. it is quite sweet and malty on the palate yet yeasty and dry on the finish... the hops have obviously faded out of this but it is still interesting... must, honey, spice, grass and a fruitiness akin to red apples before an herbaceously dry, spent hoppy bitter finish. the medium body has an incredibly soft texture(once i can actually drink it!) with a pleasant warmth (not alcohol, state of mind). yum... 8/4/7/4/16/3.9

Bottle. cloudy orange/apricot pour. fluffy white head. Hoppy aroma with yeast and honey. Mouthfeel is great but the flavor has less hops than the nose. But this is still delicious. Some bitter hops, apple, honey and some fruitinesss go well with some light spice. Very good beer, quite different.

Bottle, thanks Daknole, was very much ISO...Gorgeous golden haze with gorgeous thick white head. Fruity tones lay groundwork for the bright grassy herbal hop overtones. Very floral aroma without becoming perfumy--nice. Has a little bit of damp earth or cheese in the aroma too, though. Smooth carbonation. Nice palate. A little bit of a sweet-sour thing going on. The bitterness is floating on top of a big layer of fruit. As if a fruit cake got smacked with hop icing. Citrusy finish. Very nice, interesting brew.

Fairly cloudy with a thin head. Very floral aroma with good yeasty spice depth. Some nice orangey notes from the hops. Very sweet, spicy character. Floral with a hint of bubblegum. Tasty.