Dieu du Ciel Chaman

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Montreal, Canada

February 2005 bottle consumed at Dieu du Ciel at the RBSG on 7/9/2005. Big yellowish head with medium-sized bubbles rising. Orange-golden body has a light shimmer to it, with a small amount of haziness. Head is well-retained. Aroma is earthy, leafy and quite dry, with hints of nuttiness. Light oranges as well, not terribly bitter or perfumey. Flavor begins with lemon rinds, tea leaves and white pepper. Very odd and unique take on the style, and it took me a few minutes to get my bearings straight with this beer. Very dry malt continues the dryish flavored trend and there is a bit of fruity/peachiness from the hops (or is it the yeast?). Mainly a floral hops flavor, not a tremendous amount of bitterness. Some light orange zest lingers on the palate, while lacing covers the glass well. Creamy mouthfeel and well balanced to the extent that it dosen’t go over the top with hops bitterness. But unique dosen’t always mean great, and I’m a little less than enamoured by this one. Too dry overall and just sort of peters out at the end. Haven’t been too blown away by DdC’s bottled beers, thus far. I think that might be more a comment on their lack of focus on bottling and less a comment on the beers’ quality. Once the laws change and they bottle higher volume, I bet things will get worked out better.

October 2005 draught Tremendously fresh and delicate aroma boasts complex hop notes as poignant and strong as any West Coast DIPA. Tangerines, honey, light cherries and plenty of honeydew melon. Very sweet, with candied oranges and apples in the background. Immensely sniffable. The flavor has a strong pine and floral hop bite, with tight carbonation delivering a softly sweet caramel malt and tons of pale malt sugars. Grapefruit grows, and bitterness climaxes in the middle, allowing the malt to steadily grow on the palate. Leafy and crystally, very green with a bit of warming on the end. Very substantial body. 9/4/8/4/16. Rating is an average of the two.

July 2006 bottle drunk on 2/25/07
Not much exciting hop aroma. A bit of juiciness and some cherries with light melon are the extent of the fruitiness. Lots of alcohol and sweet caramel, though not cloyingly so.
The flavor has a slight medicinal note, it seems, and some very raw alcohol that keeps things dry. I let it breath and warm for about 45 minutes but it never really lost this flavor. Towards the bottom of the bottle, it got a little cleaner, actually, maybe the yeast dulling some of the phenol/alcohol notes. Hops have faded a bit too much. Nice sweet texture still, though. Obviously not a beer that should be experienced in bottle, but rather fresh on tap, where it’s delicious and highly aromatic/flavorful.

Bright amber colour. A little woodsy, with hints of crystal malt and a fair bit of alcohol. Strangely watery body...highly irregular for the style. Flavour has light notes of woody hop and a fair amount of toasty malt. Quite a bit of late alcohol heat. Underwhelming to say the least.

RBSG05 Bottle from 02/05. Spicy, piney, peppery aroma with some sweetness. Hazy copper/orange color with a yellowish head. Mildly bitter and hoppy to start, turning malty and very mellow. Kind of boring finish. There are nice malts in this with little alcohol present. Nice, but not as aggressively hopped as I would like from an IIPA. Granted, this is 5 months old, so the hops may have mellowed in fairness to the brewer.

RBSG bottle #50 2005 This started out with a huge, creamy light brown head that stayed the whole time. Medium amber color. Light malt and piney hop aroma. Smooth full palate delivers a nicely hopped crisp IPA with a good malt to hop balance in the flavor.

(Bottle, RBSG05) Clear amber body topped by big beige head. Aroma is moderately sweet, herbal, some grapefruit, caramel. Taste is medium sweet, herbal, some grapefruit, light caramel, dry finish. Medium-full body.

Poured the yeast end of the bottle, but I got a good whiff of leafy, grassy hops in the nose, reminding me of the Stone 5th with how much of an aged or oxidized quality exists. Bitter, dry and scorching wood once again, a common quality in DDC beer. A decent beer.

Pour was copper amber with a nice dense tan head...smell is sweet caramel and pine...the taste is absolutely great...delicate balance between malt/hops...it is interesting for an IIPA...great stuff...

2005 RBSG - 660ml bottle shared with several others. I detect yeastly banana in the nose. Strange for an IIPA. Dry, sticky, sweet - mildly hoppy - unimpressive, run of the mill, maybe a little below average. This just doesn’t stand out as an Imperial India Pale Ale. Very cool that I had the chance to sample, however.