Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Imperial Stout
Montreal, Canada

Sample at Sleepy Bear tasting 09/30/06 - 2004 vintage thanks clarkVV - Aroma is big fresh roasted coffee and chocolate malt. Some espresso and dark chocolate. Pours balck with a big head and great lacing. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is sticky and chewy. Awesome brew if you like good coffee.

Brown bottle, 341 ml, bottled in September 2007, purchased at Le Grand Duc, savoured on December 13 2007; eye: black with a creamy cappuccino head, good lacing, opaque; nose: powerful roasted malt, lots of vanilla, dark chocolate, ash; mouth: all in roasted malt, dark chocolate, a bit of ash, hops appears just prior to the finale, finale in roasted malt with a presence of hops, creamy and slightly oily texture, light acridness, no alcohol taste, medium-full body, average carbonation; overall: quite good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, embouteillée en septembre 2007, achetée chez Le Grand Duc, savourée le 13 décembre 2007; œil : noire avec une mousse crémeuse cappuccino, bonne dentelle, opaque; nez : puissante torréfaction, beaucoup de vanille, chocolat noir, cendre; bouche : tout en torréfaction, chocolat noir, un peu de cendre, houblon apparaît juste avant la finale, finale en torréfaction avec une présence de houblon, texture crémeuse et légèrement huileuse, légère âcreté, moyennement amère, aucun goût d’alcool, corps moyen-corsé, carbonatation moyenne; en résumé : pas mal bonne

This is very similar to Founder’s Breakfast Stout, Very coffeeish and delicious. I will compare them side by side someday. Pitch black with alot of carbonation. If you open this at room temp. creep the cap off. frothy brown head. Aroma of a strong cup of coffee with maybe a little Kalua added. Thin bodied for a stout, but perfect for coffee comparisons. Neutral finish that left my lips sticky and with a thirst for more! Don’t open a room temperature, or cover it with a towel.

On nitro tap at Dieu du Ciel. Pours a deep black with ruby highlights and a remarkably thick and dense tan to deep brown head. Aromas are sweet and full of roasted malt and coffee, with more notes of candy, and caramel, but a little sweeter than caramel, and without the touch of vanilla. Medium bodied (even with the nitro which usually thins things out), and sweet, a little like a milkshake. Finishes with a nice roast bitterness, and a little more sweetness. Hides its abv pretty well.

Pours opaque brown, almost black, with a moderate brown head; looks a lot like a Bell’s Expedition. Nose explodes with chocolate and coffee. Taste of sweet chocolate, bitter espresso, in wonderful balance, but without the strong hop finish of a Bell’s or the clear hop notes of a Storm King. Wonderful big creamy mouth. Really nice beer, loses maybe a point because of the price, 50% more than a Bell’s and more than triple a Storm King.

Very rich and dark. Lots of chocolate. Tart/sour taste follows like a good Duck Rabbit. Lots of coffee indeed. Not intense roasty coffee flavor....but almost like coffee grounds. Very nice. Lives up to the reputation.

660 ml bottle

I got this in a trade a few months ago. According to the bottle, it was bottled in August 2005. This definitely deserves its sport in the Top 50 - besides being complex it was also easy to drink. Before I knew it the bottle was empty. If only it weren’t $18 a pop, I would pick up some more.

Aroma / Appearance - The pour resulted in an amazing deep black body with a one-fingered mocha head. It released a wonderful bouquet of smoke, roasted expresso, vanilla, dark chocolate, cherries, walnuts and cocoa. In addition, there was a trace of hops and strawberries sitting in the background.

Flavor / Platform - Straight black coffee explodes over the tongue. Behind it comes a splash of plum, smoke, hazelnut and mocha. Towards the middle it adds pecans, vinous notes and chocolately notes. The finish is smooth, dry and a little bitter. The alcohol is so well masked that before I knew it the entire bottle was empty. This compares well with the Expedition (batch 7205) I tried the night before.

What a great marriage! This blend between the stout and the coffee really appears effortless—it’s hard to tell where one begins and one ends. This lovely beer poured a nearly opaque black with a short-lived tan head that diminished quickly. The aroma is crazy heavy with good roasted coffee, strong tea, alcohol, old campfire and a hint of caramel. The palate is yummy thick with a velvety texture and average carbonation. The alcohol character is fairly light for it’s weight. The flavor starts pleasantly bitter and then smooths out—all the while busting with roasty retronasal coffee aromas—giving way to a long, bitter-enough finish. Think anyone would notice if I had this in my commuter mug in the morning?