Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel

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

Incredible beer, bottle. Pitch black, great imperial Stout with perfect coffee flavor, not too much, just perfectly balanced. Although I liked the draught at the brewpub a little better then the exported bottles, still a great beer. Brewpub version gets a higher rating though...excellent beer! It is worth the trip to Montreal though. Also, Dieu du Ciel is a great place, great atmosphere, great people and the place is packed, always....for a reason.

Wow, what a difference just a couple months makes... Impy Stouts are now one of my favorites styles and this is my favorite beer! Pours a dark almost black color with a very thick head and lots of off-white, thick lasting lacing. The aroma is totally roasted and smells just like the best coffee you can possibly dream up! I would say that it’s melts in your mouth, but i don’t think its possible for an imperial stout to do that, so as soon as i think of an equivalent to that statement, i’ll put it in! The flavor is out of this world with coffee and chocolate!

Bottle courtesy gunhaver. Poured into a snifter. Deepest black with an inch of mocha head. Some scattered wet lacing. Aroma is excellent, reminds me of a good British coffee porter with all the sweet creamed coffee. Nice bittersweet chocolate takes the sugary edge off it. Flavor is hugely java-esque, with a bit of oatiness. It’s got that sort of burnt, roasty finish that to me makes a great stout, as opposed to some that are sweet, boozy messes. Mouthfeel is ridiculous. It has a heavy, creamy body with ample carbonation, but it just vanishes from the palate with an exquisite dryness that coerces the next sip. Outlandishly drinkable.

Damn I love this beer. Smells like freshly ground coffee and molasses. Pours black with a lasting tan head. Very strong, bitter, grainy coffee flavor with hints of sweet vanilla. Smooth, creamy mouth feel. No hint of alcohol whatsoever - very smooth, enjoyable and drinkable. Possibly the best beer I’ve ever had.

Easily my favourite beer. I have tried the majority of the top 50, and this one deserves more recognition. Beautiful deep colour, wonderful coffee and burnt toffee nose, alcohol is up there - just the way I like it. Living in Ottawa, ON, I can get all I want and I often bring some with me to spread the love when I travel.

12 oz. bottle. Pours pitch black with a gorgeous dark brown head. One of the best aroma’s I’ve ever experienced. The complexity of this beer is also amazing. Chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and oak all combining perfectly. This is one of the 5 best beer’s I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy.

Bottle #46 Oct. 2004... This beer rocks!... Pitch black ale with no light penetration, even when held up to the Montreal Sunshine. Mid-sized, creamy, khaki-colored head with good retention. The aroma is of coffee beans, bitter-sweet chocolate and vanilla. The flavor is incredible. So rich, so sweet, so bitter, so warming, so complex, so BIG. At first, it is so pleasantly sweet on the tongue and then BANG!, the bitter, burnt flavors kick in. The coffee and hops take over, keeping the sweetness from being even remotely cloying. So many layers of flavor. Mega full-bodied and dry with fizzy carbonation. Lengthy, bitter-sweet finish. What a jewel of a brew! A lot of ratebeerians will be blown away by this one at the RBSG 2005 in Montreal. Thanks go out to Stefan for the bottle since the tap was dry!

Fresh :
Tremendously rich coffee cake, as thick as tar...Overwhelmingly sensuous icing that lasts forever...The fattest milk chocolate... Absolute equilibrium of roasted malt bitterness, coffee beans and dessert sweetness...I want this to be my birthday cake...

2-year-old from bottle purchased to drink on the premises :
A bit less creamy and decadent than the tap version, but the body is all that is affected...The generous coffee beans still love their well-endowed milky chocolate and their monogamous communion just never ends...Truly in a league of its own...

First batch bottled for Shelton Brothers, exported to the US:
Where is my Péché Mortel? I have had every batch of this, and on numerous occasions, yet I don’t recognize my Péché Mortel. Near violent roastiness blends malt and coffee beans well. Bitterness is of mythic proportions and carbonation is much livelier than any other batch I’ve had. But where is my Péché Mortel? Where is the tiramisu cake icing? Where is the sweet crème brûlée? Where is the truffle mousse? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t bad by any means, but this is NOT the beer that deserved a place in this site’s Top 50.

Cask:
This is as smooth as the nitroed version, but perhaps silkier. Extremely easy drinking, dangerously so. This "in the nude" version is as delicious and effortless as the regular version, and showcases the beer’s true virtues for those who thought nitro was masking most of its character. Back roastiness may linger longer, or appear to. This is a marvelous creation, any way you look at it.

Newly bottled batch (oct.2007):
the nose is full of roasted coffee beans. Mouthfeel is rich but not obese, rendering drinkability to this nourishing imperial stout. Malt roastiness and coffee are seamlessly integrated, creating a chocolate espresso paradise. The finish is quite bitter, but not overwhelming; just a pleasant continuation of the elaborate and near decadent flavor profile. A Dieu du Ciel masterpiece!