Dieu du Ciel Rigor Mortis Abt

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Montreal, Canada

Aromas: lightly smoked, alcohol, malt, sugar, dried fruits (figs, dates, raisins) sweet. dark brown reddish with thin cream head. Flavor: First sip is strong alcohol, brandy like warmth with the grapes, second sip is earthy residual sugars (caramel) a bit fruity still can’t get over the stingy alcohol that will hopefully mellow with aging. The palate feels somewhat thin and inadequate for a abt quadrupel. Tastes much like a scotch ale but with a bit more fruit.

Pours a solid murky brew with a purple mahogany color. Appropriate two finger creamy yellow tan head. Aroma is spice and fruit, figs and earthy yeast laid over a sweet malt profile. Also some notes similar to a strong dubbel, a metallic/rusty malt character. Flavor is very similar to a dubbel, strong rusty/metalic malt character. Sweet underattenuated feel with a peachy fruity charcter. Very pronounced esters from the yeast .Palate is a bit thick for a Belgian, gets to be cloying with warmth. Spicy and increasingly warm (alc) with time.

Pours a three finger off-white head that fades quickly leaving traces of lace. Cloudy amber color. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Brown sugar nose. Flavor is brown sugar and molasses but it is well balanced. Nice brown (that’s what the label says). Pricey at $6.99 for a 11.5oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.

Pours cloudy dark reddish brown with no head. Nice molasses, brown sugar and dried fruit nose and flavor. Lasting mellow sweet finish and medium full mouthfeel.

12 oz bottle: Hazy mohogany brown w/a lasting light beige, medium sized head. Malty and a bit musty at first whiff. Peppery spice, burnt roasted malt, hints of chocolate. Light rose floral and plum esters. Bready and fresh crushed pale malt aromas in the nose as well. A touch of an acidic note in the very deep nose. Sweet up front, malty flavored with toasted, caramel, and hints of chocolate malt. Peppery yeast is light as is the plum fruitiness, but also the floral flavor. A bit of earthy hop mid palate into the finish. Drier finish with a light astringency and very light bitterness in the very finish into the aftertaste. Some toffee and molasses notes as well. Medium bodied, medium CO2, warming, but mostly well hidden alcohol adds to the dryness of the beer. Smooth up front. Overall a really nice beer! Very well put together. I think I should have saved this as a victory beer after I finish walking the Breast Cancer 3 Day on Sunday, when I might feel like I have Rigor Mortis after walking 60+ miles over the weekend... Nah, I’ll be fine!

Bottle. Sugary sweet malty nose with wood and berry. Faint alcohol with a swat of yeast. Brown-black body with a clinging, creamy rocky beige head. Taste is sugary sweet with a kick from otherwise well-integrated character. Wood and syrupy red berries, a little spice with the yeast. Lightly nutty cracker beside the rich malt sweetness, faint caramel and light chocolate with think orange peel and plum. End-stage peppercorn. A delicate flowery air, with subtle cheek warming and absolutely no rough edges. Smoothness bespeaks controlled low-temp fermentation and obvious craftsmanship. Full body is syrupy and sugary, yet there’s no disgusting slurry or cloy-overload as in other 10%+ malt bombs (I’m looking at you, DFH); even though it’s not as dry as the Sixth Glass I had last night, this is very drinkable. Complex and definitely worth revisiting after some (six months?) additional fermentation - will be looking forward to the winter!

I am not impressed. Malty, with a slight edge of dried fruit and a fairly obvious alcohol note, and of course plenty of caramel/nut brown ale...but not layered with complexity and other than the lovely palate of a rollicking carbonation and froth, it’s a fairly middling kind of abt/brown ale. Doesn’t do it for me, though certainly drinkable. Bottle.

0.34 l bottle at PBF. Dark amber color. Sweet, caramelly, nutty and berryish aroma with a hint of something musty. Sweet, toffeish, caramelly, berryish, rummy and almondy flavor with some belgian spiciness. Warming with some alcohol sharpness. Too caramelly and sharp.