Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel

As a java junkie and a beer geek, I was extremely excited to find this beer in my local store. This starts with an aroma of sweetened coffee, and pours black with a huge tan head. There is a bit of dark roasted aromas hiding behind the starting sweet coffee. Starts with a slightly sweet taste, that is quickly overwhelmed by a bitter roasted flavor. The coffee used in it seems to be a bit overroasted, adding to bitterness. Nice thick mouthfeel to the beer. However, I’ll still lean towards Speedway Stout for a coffee stout.

Bottle: pours dark black with a dark tan head and pretty nice lacing on the glass, aroma is heavy on the coffee, taste is obviously coffee flavored but not as overpowering as I was expecting, the beer also has some roasted malt taste, leaves a bitter aftertaste in the back of the mouth like you just drank some coffee. Very nice coffee stout - one of the best I’ve had.

Pours dark brown in color with a very pillowy inch of head. Smell is very roasty. A very burnt coffee grinds kind of smell. Taste is much the same.
I had the earlier release of this beer a few years back in a bomber and it tasted completely different than this. The earlier bottle had a luxurious, velvety, espresso flavor. This newer release has a burnt coffee flavor. Decent mouthfeel, but I have to think that there is something slightly off with this bottle.

Thanks to whoever brought this to us on DLD 08! Pours near black, a little bit oily, with an unexpected larger beige frothy head. Incredible cinnamon coffee ground aroma with notes of chocolate, raisins and licorice as well. Great coffee flavor that is just sweet enough. Low dry bitterness. I like this better than Bourbon Kentucky Breakfast. Slightly creamy, but somewhat thin, body with low carbonation. This is a very very drinkable IRS.

Pours pitch black with a thick tan head. Smells like pure coffee. Has a medium to heavy mouthfeel. There is a subtle creaminess to it as well. Tastes like I’m enjoying a nice dark roast coffee. And I really like coffee. The coffee is way over the top and I really like that. Only slight hints of malt and hop appear here. This brew is for coffee lovers only.

11.5oz bottle. To my surprise I found this beer shopping today, I didn’t even think this was distributed here. Pours pretty damn black with a nice big foamy light brown head that has good retention. I can smell the coffee from a couple feet away. Pleasant coffee aroma that is strong but not one dimensional. There’s some sweet maltiness underneath but the coffee is definitely at the forefront. Taste is mostly coffee too. Actually it’s all coffee, with a bitter, slightly ashy aftertaste (though not astringent). Body is medium. This is pretty good though I don’t think it really stands out among other coffee stouts, and I love coffee stouts. I’d say this is on par or a little worse even than Southern Tier’s Jah-va.

BB 2011. Pours coal black with a full, tan, creamy, frothy, somewhat rocky head; longevity is great and lace is sporatic. Nose is nice with lots of rich mocha notes to match molasses, a lightly scorched maple wood, and some chocolate shake notes; coffee beans which are nicely roasted BALANCE the sweet notes and are not overly roasted. Flavor is less sweet than the nose suggests but still nice; burned maple wood and lots of moderately roasted coffee beans are most dominant with underlying notes of mocha, resinous hops, and faint molasses. Bitterness is moderately high from the coffee notes and only a bit of itterness noticable from the hops; the acidity is moderate from the coffee but not offputting, it fits in the style well. Palate is nice with a soft carbonation, a full body, and a coating, silky feel; somewhat chewy but falls shy becoming syrupy. Finishes long and dry with plenty of burned and roasty notes including roasted coffee, burnt caramel, and faint burned maple wood. A very nice example of the style and certainly a coffee lovers dream but not the most complex, considering the style. A little more dry than I like in an Imp, but certainly carries enough sweet malt notes to balance the dry coffee notes. While it’s not my favorite of the style, the intense coffee notes create an interesting twist on the ever-expanding syle.

11.5oz. Bottle: Aroma of roasted (or even slightly burnt) malts, dark chocolate, and coffee. I am not sure why everyone seems to think this deserves such high aroma ratings. Poured black in color with a large, dark brown head that lasted throughout. Opaque. Excellent lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of dark chocolate, roasted (or even slightly burnt) malts, coffee, and a little cream. Full body. Tingly texture becomes chalky. Soft carbonation. Dry, chocolate and coffee finish.