Dieu du Ciel Rigor Mortis Abt

3.7/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

11.5 ounce bottle into chalice, batch 15(or something). Pours cloudy dark brown color with a small light khaki head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap. Some small bits of lacing on the glass. Aromas of big plums, molasses, chocolate, caramel, candi sugar, bread, raisins, and a bit of yeast spices and light alcohol. Very nice and well balanced aromas. Taste of big chocolate, caramel, biscuit, toasted malt, molasses, dark fruit, herbal spiciness, pepper, and spicy alcohol. Lingering notes of chocolate, caramel, molasses, dark fruit, and a bit of alcohol on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly creamy mouthfeel. Drinkability is limited due to some booziness but it is a pretty nice sipper. Alcohol is noticeable, but not too bad. Overall this is a pretty nice Quadrupel. Some good flavor complexity and balance. If it was a bit less boozy I probably would have liked it more.

A little too boozy, but overall a pretty good offering.

Dieu du Ciel Équinoxe du Printemps

3.9/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

11.5 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 2010(I think). Pours hazy reddish brown color with a small fairly dense khaki head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Some nice bits of lacing cling to the glass as well. Aromas of big caramel, dark fruits, whiskey, spices, molasses, maple syrup, and alcohol. Some nice aromas that are improving a bit as it warms. Taste of big caramel, maple syrup, molasses, whiskey, spices, and a bit of wood. No bitterness noticed on the finish; and lingering notes of maple syrup, caramel, molasses, and some whiskey on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very creamy and slick mouthfeel. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming on the finish noticed. Nice smooth drinkability for the level of alcohol, but is still a sipper. Nice balance of flavors. Overall a really nice scotch ale. The maple syrup definitely has a strong presence in this.

A very nice brew from Dieu du Ciel. I will have to try some more of their imperial brews as they usually turn out to be good stuff.

Dieu du Ciel Corne du Diable

3.1/5

AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20

12 ounce bottle, 08-2011 notched in the side. Pours hazy red color with a gigantic foamy off white head that lasts half a century and reduces to a thick lacing cap. Some decent lacing sticks to the glass as well. Tons of carbonation bubbling from the bottom of the glass. Aromas of big caramel, molasses, pine, floral, bread, and lots of spices. Really odd and unique aromas for an IPA, I’m not liking them too much. Taste of big caramel, pine, spices, and a bit of citrus. Nice amount of bitterness on the finish that lingers with lots of pine and spices. Huge amount of carbonation with a big prickly mouthfeel, but this still drinks very smoothly with a medium body. No alcohol noticed in the taste or finish. Overall, a decent IPA. The aromas were really weird, but the taste was pretty good.

I have a feeling something went wrong with this bottle, because of the unusually high carbonation. I never really see this one around, I wish more stores carried this brewery. I would like to try other offerings from them(mostly the Belgians really).

Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel

4.4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20

11.5 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled 2/2011. Pours opaque black color with a dense 2 finger tan head with outstanding retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts. Some decent lacing on the glass as well. Aromas of strong espresso, dark chocolate, caramel, citrus, and roasted malt. Very nice aromas here. Taste of strong dark chocolate, espresso, caramel, roasted malt, and a bit of vanilla. A good amount of bitterness on the finish that lingers for a good period of time with espresso, dark chocolate, and roasted flavors. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel with no alcohol in the taste and a very slight warming on the finish; very well hidden. Very drinkable for 9.5% as well, with great balance. Overall, an outstanding imperial coffee stout, tons of great flavor and balance.

A fantastic imperial coffee stout. A little on the pricy side at $6 a single, mostly because the Shelton Brothers import it. I look forward to trying more from this brewery as well, I have seen a few around recently.