Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’hiver

Brewed by Dieu du Ciel
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

Botella, courtesy of Plovmand. Dark brown colour. Sweet vineous dark fruity hoppy pleasant aroma. The flavor iis sweet and vinious with dark fruits, caramel, bitter hops and a pleasant long lasting dark fruity bitter-sweet finish.

Poured brown and red around the edges thick frothy tan head with aromas from caramel,dark fruits alcohol and hops taste is of burnt caramel’,hops and dark fruits slightly bitter bite with a dry but sweet astringent, finish I wish a had another one for the cellar to see if the hops become less of the focal point

Cherry twiizlers, brandy, whipped cream, anise or fennely, and superbly boozy...an aroma to jerk off to. Sensual beyond belief. Unfortunately the body is much thinner than expected. Not not necessarily thin, but not the thickness I was hoping for. Cherry and anise are still in the flavors and its a boozy one at that, but there’s thickness missing...its just too subtle...its still complex, refined, intriguing...lots of subtle boozy cherry eccentric happenings...but I want it to consume my palate...and yet it makes me work for it...which is fine if I wasn’t so lazy...but the more I drink and the more I get to know what’s going on...the thinness disappears and the effort to analyze decreases cuz I’m starting to get to know this thing. I’m fucking liking this and wish I had about a case to rate from. But I don’t, a bottle at a bar I won’t revisit for at least a year.

2009 Bottle - Thanks Sam! - Pours out dk amber with a medium off white head...aroma is dark fruit and rich malt, with just a touch of spice...flavour is similarly sweet, some candy, burnt sugar and just slight alcohol kick...nice stuff...

Bottle. Dark amber body with a creamy off white head. Very malty aroma with light spices, hops and dark sugar. Sweet malty flavour, light roasty, barley, hops and some alcolhol. Medium bodied.

[2259-20090606] Bottle. Candy cane "cinnamon in coffee" aroma. Hazy, dark red brown body with a long-lasting creamy off-white head. Roasted coffee malt flavour has tons of candy cane mint. Full body. Lovely, heavy and enjoyable.
(Vintage 2007 @ Diel du Ciel!; Montreal, QC)

(Bottled) Slightly hazy dark red-brown with a small, but lasting and lacy. Very strong anise and dried fruit in the aroma, with some alcohol hints. Anise spiciness also in the flavor, with mildly roasted malt and lots of dried fruit. Pretty full-bodied, slicky palate with soft carbonation. A balanced and beautiful winter warmer - maybe a touch alcoholic.

Bottle and served in my Corsendonk XMAS ale glass: Murky reddish brown hue a small but lasting frothy head with very good lacework. The nose dictates some toffee and charred malt, juicy plum and fig, grassy hops, hint of anise and grains of paradise, and some leathery and tobacco esters. seems to be towards the classic British style than an hopped up American version. The taste confirms this, sweet malty and dark fruit driven flavor profile with minerally and earthy tones. Slight cardboardy notes which will likely grow with aging. A hint of smoke and licorice spice working with some bitterness upon the finish. The mouth feel is lush and oily yet still quite aggressive and biting, fit the flavor profile well. Well still missing some depth and richness of the classics, this more than holds it own. Aging for 3-5 years would not be a bad idea IMO.