Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’hiver

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

shared by plovmand at bakken tasting. thanks a bunch. clear brown, small yellow heaad. aroma is licorice, sweet hops, sweet maalty. flavor is hard roasted tofee, roasted grains, hoppy sweetness, nicely balanced.

Time to catch up before BCTC. Bottle shared by someone at Spuyten Duyvil big beer fest. Thanks! Amber with head and lace. Brown sugar ripe cherries and bitter finish with alcohol and some astringency. Good.

Pours a four finger light tan head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Cloudy red/amber color with yeast left in bottle. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Malty/alcohol nose. Flavor is sweet, malty and alcohol. Would have gotten a higher rating but the alcohol burn is too much. There are better barley wines like N’ice Chouffe Belgian Barley Wine. Pricey at $6.75 for a 11.5oz bottle from Tully’s Beer & Wine Wells, Me.

11.5 oz bottle. Brown, clear at the edges with lacy beige haze. Nose is caramel, hay, fig and orange peel. Medium body with a sharp metallic tang but feeling flat, ugh. Taste is soapy bitter spruce and rubbing alcohol. A brief glimpse of caramel. Barely drinkable but it does get you buzzed. I hope this is not what they intended. Re-rate.

11.5oz bottle. Pours a clear, darker but bright amber colored body with a thin, tan head that leaves a nice looking, whispy spiral head that remains throughout the session. Good amount of soft lacing on the glass as well. Aroma is spiced caramels, earthy hops, dried dark fruits, berries, raisins, booze, and a hint of burnt malts. For both the aroma and flavor, they’re spot on in the description when they claim this is "sweet and liquor-like." Flavor is very dry and woody with lots of earthy bitterness. Somewhat sweet caramels and a distinct burnt malt taste. Lots of spices and very fruity. A noticeable booze flavor that warms on the way down. Long lasting aftertaste of deeper toffees, spiced dark fruits, and a burnt bitterness. Medium bodied, soft, and clean. Overall, a pretty cool barley wine. Assertive, but balanced. Nice one.

Pours an attractive medium brown, with a lasting whitish middle. Barleywine aroma. The mouthfeel is above average, a smooth barleywine with a lovely drinkable caramel. Nice balance, satisfying, although boozy. Thanks for bringing me back a bottle, Derk.

Dark brown pour with a thin off-white head. Earthy malt nose, a touch of yeast. Flavor is dark fruit and malt sweetness. Medium bodied. Pretty tasty.

Bottle. Moderate malt aromas of nutty, caramel and milk chocolate, orange for the hops, leather for the yeast, with raisin, brown sugar and alcohol in the background. Head is creamy/frothy, off-white, with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is murky brown with a red tint. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes lightly sweet and acidic and lightly to moderately bitter. Palate is medium to full, syrupy, with a soft carbonation and a lightly astringent and alcoholic finish. A superb Barley Wine. Complete, satisfying and fairly easy to drink due to the 9.8%.