Péché Mortel (Imperial Stout Au Cafe) - Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.65/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap a Pizzeria Paradiso maybe nearly a month ago now.

A: Awesome Reverse cascading head to a beautiful tan ring. Nice black hue of course.

S: Amazing smell with fudge soaked espresso beans and dark charred malts wafting effortlessly from the glass. Some other brighter sweet notes and just a touch of hop resin. Excellent, doesn't get much better than that for coffee stouts.

T: Outstanding in the taste as well, big notes of fudge, high quality fresh espresso, and then more chocolate and fine coffee. Hops are slightly there but take a backseat though leave a bittering finish with the chocolate and coffee beans.

M: This is exceptional. Totally creamy and coating, just magnificent to drink.

Serving type: nitro-tap

07-27-2011 02:07:32 | More by Dreadnaught33

coryking

Missouri

4.78/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sipping on this now, from a nitro tapped version of Peche...

Wow, is this a great beer. I have always loved Peche, but on nitro, it becomes dangerous. The drinkability is scary...

A: Jet black, creamy finger of head thats the color of a cinnamon roll that has retained for at least 20 minutes now.

S: Its an imperial coffee stout, so if I didnt get a bunch of coffee, chocolates, toasted caramel, roastiness, and a bunch of sweet bourbon, I would be disappointed, but Im getting everything in a really nice harmony.

T: So creamy with a big coffee bite. It really is scary how easy this monster is to drink. Its like frothed coffee with a bourbon hint. Dry roasted malt, caramel, coffee, dark chocolate and cocoa, more coffee, some creamy hint of frothed coffee and more coffee.

M/D: Way to easy and pleasing on nitro. A big medium body begging you to have another sip, so drinkable. As about as good as it gets! Great beer on nitro, a must have!!

Serving type: nitro-tap

08-15-2010 07:54:01 | More by coryking

divineaudio

Michigan

4.8/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

from notes taken on vacation in montreal 5.16.2010.

served in a tulip glass. color is an opaque dark brown with a thick, creamy, light brown head that lasts till the beer is gone. leaves some nice sticky, webby lace all down the sides of the glass.

smell is coffee, milk chocolate, some hops and a little fruit.

taste is absolutely amazing; following the nose with roasted, coffee and chocolate malts. has a nice sweetness to it without being cloying. a pleasing, slightly puckery hop bitterness and a long, bittersweet finish make this very well balanced. alcohol content is extremely well hidden.

full bodied but incredibly smooth and creamy.

dangerously drinkable considering that it's almost 10%! this is fantastic beer - rich, decadent and certainly worth seeking out.

Serving type: nitro-tap

05-19-2010 21:18:36 | More by divineaudio

plaid75

New York

4.5/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a deep black hue with a one and a half finger creamy light tan head. There was very good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a pronounced coffee and roasted grain aroma.

The taste consisted of a robust roasted coffee with a growing bitterness. No alcohol detected.

The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy with some chewiness.

Overall a superior coffee stout.

Serving type: nitro-tap

08-12-2008 18:24:50 | More by plaid75

egajdzis

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle 11/04... Explosive, poured opaque black color with a medium sized tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Great aroma of coffee, chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon, and anise. More of the same in the taste, lots of coffee and light alcohol. High quality beer, I actually am excited to try this on nitro, because as others have said, the extra carbonation is the only drawback.
Nitro Draft 7/05... Creamy mouthfeel with a great balance of chocolate and roasted coffee malts. Faint alcohol in the background. Now I see what the big deal is.

Serving type: nitro-tap

08-05-2005 18:12:31 | More by egajdzis

francisweizen

Australia

5/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

2004 Edition sampled several times at Montreals Mondial De La Biere 2004.

2002 First batch sampled several times at the Dieu Du Ciel brewpub in Montreal, PQ

Appearance: As dark as a starless night. This brew is a deeply opaque black colour with a huge tan head that lasts until the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Todd summed this one up nicely. The aroma of this brew screams Espresso. Fresh espresso beans, fresh espresso coffee, FRESH ESPRESSO! There are also some nice chocolate (milk), caramel, and roasted malt notes hidden beneath the mound of espresso beans.

Taste: This brew tastes like a dream. First the fresh espresso notes hit hard, followed by a nice dark chocolate flavor. Than the roasted malts and the subdued but caramel-like sweetness come into play in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth as silk and as creamy as a milkshake. This is the best beer that I have EVER had off of the nitro-tap. Somehow the flavors are not muted by the nitro-tap. In fact I think that this beers flavors blend wonderfully on nitro (although i've yet to have this aged in the bottle)

Drinkability: How can a 9%abv espresso assault be this easy to drink. This is easily the easiest drinking coffee beer that I have ever consumed. In fact this is one of the easiest drinking strong stouts that I have ever had as well.

Notes: This stuff is awesome! Why-oh-why can we not get this in the states. I really wish that Montreal would change it's laws so Jean-Francois Gravel can start filling growlers of this stuff to go, or better yet bottling it for export. This is really one of the best beers out there!

Serving type: nitro-tap

06-23-2004 18:40:07 | More by francisweizen

KYGunner

Kentucky

4.29/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured black as night, it was served with a collared khaki head of thick foam and had nice lacing.

The scent is nicely varied with chocolate malt, caramel, marshmallow, light espresso and overtures of roasted coffee.

The taste is more coffee-centric, with a strong roast and char presence. Bits of dry chocolate are there but very little sweetness. The beer is smooth, with no visible alcohol presence. Very good flavor, great scent, very good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-16-2013 21:42:09 | More by KYGunner

hopsputin

California

4.56/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

not sure how old this bottle is

a: pretty much pitch black. maybe a little dark purple/ruby red at the bottom of the glass. 3 finger tan marshmallowy head

s: smells delicious. sweet toasted malt, tons of milk chocolate, very faint hint if black licorice, some coffee (not as much as i would have liked), fig, smells almost woody/oaky and smokey towards the end. smells really good - hoping there is more coffee in the flavor than the smell

t: roasty toasty malts right away followed by dark toffee and caramel malts. that immediately fades into milk chocolate and smooth coffee and coffee bitterness. there is some (not as much as you'd expect from 9.5%) alcohol in the flavor that cuts the sweetness. dates and raisins on the backend along with some nice bready flavors. all the flavors harmonize really well.

m: fuller side of medium. not much carbonation

o: maybe i had an old bottle but there is not as much coffee flavor in here as i would have liked. HOWEVER even without the abundance of coffee this is still a stellar beer - its delicious and well balance and dangerously drinkable for the abv. i need to get my hands on a bottle i know is fresh

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 05:15:22 | More by hopsputin

Haydn-Juby

Quebec (Canada)

4.61/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served from a 341ml bottle to a snifter.

A: A luscious pitch black topped with a mocha color head. About one finger thick. Sadly it died down pretty rapidly and didn't leave that much lacing but I'm not taking points of because its understandable due to the high alcohol.

S: Coffee grounds are definitely dominant. Alcohol is not noticeable at all.

T: Once again dark coffee flavors come through as most powerful. Deeply roasted malts are also there providing some dark chocolate. Bitterness is really not too potent. Perhaps a bit of dark fruit near the finish but coffee is definitely dominant. Alcohol is once again not at all noticeable and very well hidden.

M: Very creamy and thick. Carbonation is pretty well done and mild making the beer fairly smooth. Goes down very nicely.

O: Absolutely amazing beer. Definitely recommend it to someone looking for a good Imp. stout, coffee stout, or just great beer. I can't say how much I love this beer and its local for me too.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 02:01:33 | More by Haydn-Juby

Dcunicelli

Pennsylvania

3.19/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Just let me say that this beer is clearly well made. But am I missing something? The espresso flavor is so forward and overpowering that a bag of crushed coffe beans would have the same effect. Now, I know that people love to eat ground coffee beans on their chocolate, on their dessert and sometimes with hot pepper. But alone ground coffe flavor tastes like just that...coffee grounds. For me that was all I could taste. Iced coffee from Dunkin' is not what I want in a beer. Just not my thing.

But if you are one of those people that lives for coffee flavors outside of your morning coffee, this is your beer. It's like that time i accidentally doubled the beans in my morning brew, just cold and with a well hidden alcohol kick.

If that's your thing, have at it. I will save it all for you.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2013 16:50:42 | More by Dcunicelli

JamesStreet

Louisiana

4.39/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle into snifter
Bottled date 5-12

A - pours a nice opaque black with a thick brownish-tan one-finger head. More bubbles than I would've thought but good head retention with minimal lace.

S - Roasted malts, roasted espresso beans, freshly ground coffee beans, vanilla beans (a pattern is forming) cocoa & toffee.

T - Coffee leads the way of the aforementioned smells. Lots of roasty goodness. Toffee flavor sits well on tge back end. All in all, great balance of flavors. Alcohol, at least to me, was barely noticeable.

M - A little syrupy thick and nice heavy mouthfeel. Really smooth.

O - Awesome version of this style. Now one of my faves. Too bad it took me too long to try this one. Highly recommended for I.S.lovers.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 17:52:41 | More by JamesStreet

girlbrew

District of Columbia

4.78/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Pours a very dark chocolate with no head o speak of. Very light lacing but minimal carbonation.

Aroma is heavy coffee with secondary alcohol and malt nose. The smell is my favorite part of drinking this beer; its a great beer and well deserving of its high ratings but the smell is so uniquely good. I love holding a glass and sniffing it.

Palate is like drinking an espresso/stout shandy. Very dominant coffee flavor but very well done. Too often the coffee can taste off or stale if the flavor is too heavy but the coffee part of this stout tastes just as nice as the stout. Other flavors of chocolate, pine and roasty malts.

Serving type: on-tap

05-28-2013 12:19:44 | More by girlbrew

writerLJBerg

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle.

A: Still black with an inviting mocha head that descends into a decent lacing. Has some decent legs. Looks pretty good.

N: Loads of vanilla, caramel, coffee, and bittersweet chocolate. There's plenty of roasted malt here as well as plenty of brown sugar and sweetness. Even though it's not barrel aged, it has the same presence as a BA beer in terms of smell.

T: Delicious. Big malt sweetness backed by a strapping of bitter roasted coffee. Also has the sweetness of bread mixed in here.

M: Rounded and filling mouthfeel with a modicum of carbonation. Alcohol is still lingering here, and it might be one of the few flaws of the beer.

O: This is easily one of the best coffee beers out there, and it's not even barrel aged to add additional flavor. I could, and would, drink a lot of this.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2013 05:22:54 | More by writerLJBerg

bmwats

Louisiana

4.5/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 11.5 oz bottle into a snifter.

A: Very dark brown. Pours a slight, bubbly, brown head. Dissipates quickly, leaving a rumor of carbonation on the surface. Spotty lacing.

S: Charred malt, dark roasted coffee, dark bittersweet chocolate, and a little black licorice and oak.

T: Roasted espresso beans, roasted malt grains, dark chocolate, licorice.... tastes just like it smells.

M: Thick, syrupy, and heavy. Bittersweet throughout. Lingers on the palate. Very smooth. Heavy alcohol is apparent.

D: Sip, savor, and enjoy. It will be gone too soon....

Atmosphere is pretty damn good. Dark intimidating hue, slight bubbly head, and some spotty lacing. Nose is full on roasted grains and coffee beans, chocolate, and licorice, all with a little bit of an oaky character. Tastes like it smells. Very well-balanced combination of roasted grains and espresso, accentuated with a hint of bittersweet dark chocolate, and bitter licorice. Thick and hearty, yet soft and smooth. Overall, this is a great quaff.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2013 04:02:43 | More by bmwats

trxxpaxxs

New York

4.64/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to tom10101 for this bottle...

A: Pours a deep dark black with one full finger of dark khaki colored head. The foam fades fairly rapidly, leaving a thin clingy layer of bubbles across the top of the beer. Excellent lacing as it drinks.

S: The nose is roasted malt, toasted chestnuts, milk chocolate, coffee, and a touch of sweet vanilla. Smells excellent.

T: This beer starts out sweet and creamy with milk chocolate, vanilla, and marshmallow. The coffee notes of this beer dominate in the middle, but the beer remains creamy. As it moves to the back end, I get a lot of roast and toast. It tightens up with big dark chocolate bitters, and burnt toast. It's wonderful.

M: Full bodied beer. It's sweet and creamy to start, silky smooth in the middle, and gets almost bitterly dry in the finish.

O: Excellent beer. One of my favorites. I can't believe it took me this long to finally review it. I need more of this as soon as possible.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 19:04:36 | More by trxxpaxxs

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

4.66/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle into tulip.

Inky, oily, black pour. Half finger creamy tan head. Lacing is excellent.

Obviously coffee right up front, with some chocolate and vanilla with a touch of brown sugar and licorice. Some molasses with burnt toast and some figs.

Massive amounts of coffee, bittersweet chocolate with a touch of smoke and vanilla. Molasses with some licorice.

Creamy medium body, low carbonation, Slightly syrupy. Sticky on the lips.

This beer is truly part of the top echelon of beers for a reason. I've had this many times and it never ceases to amaze.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 22:57:16 | More by korguy123

PicoPapa

Connecticut

4.34/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Taken from notes from a recent trip to Montreal and Vermont.

On tap at Dieu Du Ciel! Pours a pitch black color with an inch of frothy khaki head. Lots of lacing. The aroma is boozey with some nice coffee, roasted malts and smoke. Hints of chocolate but the main focus is the roasted coffee. The taste is no surprise, coffee, along with some sweet chocolate, roasted malts and earth. Maybe even hints of licorice. Not a huge alcohol presence. Silky and creamy. This one is almost like a delicious coffee milkshake. Good mix of roasted coffee and earthiness. Overall, outstanding brew I'm glad I got to have on tap. I look forward to drinking the bottles I grabbed as well.

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2013 01:03:54 | More by PicoPapa

Flounder57

Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

11.5 oz bottle was poured into a snifter.

Appearance: This beer poured a one finger mocha head that reduced to a thin layer and left some lacing on the glass. It is a pitch black color with no clarity, but bubbles can be seen towards the top of the glass. Super nice lacing on the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: nice roasted coffee, chocolate, molasses, smoke, and the booze is hidden really well.

Taste: Coffee is upfront like the label says. Nice and roasty with some chocolate, sweetness, and warm booze in there.

Mouthfeel: Silky smooth, full bodied, low to medium carbonation, very drinkable, and nice warming booze.

Overall: A nice find when I was up in Portland, ME. I have always wanted to try this beer out and happy to finally have had a bottle. Now I need to get more.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 04:03:00 | More by Flounder57

FloppyDog

North Carolina

4.9/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Pours black as night. No light shines through the edges of this viscous brew. Head does not stick around very long, but it could be due to the glass I am pouring it into.

Aroma is dominated by espresso and hints of chocolate.

Taste is again espresso in its fullest, with bittersweet chocolate intermingled.

Mouthfeel is viscous and smooth.

Overall, a world class coffee imperial stout. Very fortunate to try it.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 22:29:55 | More by FloppyDog

dar482

New York

4.7/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Pours in a pitch black color with a khaki hint of a head. Almost non existant one.

The aroma has coffee, bitter chocolate, a malted and roasted sweetness, possibly a hint of vanilla.

The flavor upfront is great. There starts off with this creamy, yet bitter espresso and chocolate. Then there’s a hint of alcohol at the end of the mouth and top of the throat. The finish has a huge amount of hop and roasted espresso bitterness for a Russian Imperial. This is not a sweet beer nor does the malt linger and stick. There also is this smokiness that I pick up because I’ve recently had KBS. The dark tobacco character lingers around with both flavor and aroma.

The mouthfeel is not as velvety and thick and round as some other Russian Imperials, but that’s fine. It is quite drinkable because of the clean tongue finish.

Be sure to let this warm up from refrigerator temperature. It opens up to be creamier. The flavors roll around the mouth. The bitter espresso just melds into this smokey finish. It is just wonderful.

This is unmatched in complexity for a non-barrel aged beer and even beats some barrel aged beers. Ten Fidy and this are different, so I can’t decide which is better, but this is Top 2 for Russian Imperials.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 04:42:53 | More by dar482

craft_shannie

Indiana

4.23/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

pours black, four finger frothy coffee head with nice lacing. nose is a bit restrained: espresso, burnt sugar, w. a bit of booze. taste is big and refined: espresso, robust malts. extremely smooth, rounded with just the right amount of sweet creaminess.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 02:05:59 | More by craft_shannie

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

4.4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

11.5 oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- Pours very black with a half finger of an off white head.

S- A massive roasted malt. A slight bit of a dark chocolate with an underlying coffee note.

T- A big roastyness at first. A bit of a BBQ smokiness made it into this beer. A dominant coffee flavor in this beer. A very dry aftertaste. A big roasty malt takes up most of the beer but seems to branch off to cocoa and dark chocolate. This beer is much smokier then I imagined but it works quite well.

M- Thick and very dry. This syrupy stout is a flavorful sipper and to be appreciated.

O- A solid stout to say the least. A wee bit pricey (7$) but definitely worth trying once. I would love to try the bourbon barrel version.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 23:53:35 | More by TwelveOunces

BGDrock

Ontario (Canada)

4.36/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: black as night, even under the light; milk chocolate head fades after a minute or two to a film

Aroma: lot's of black licorice ju jubes, some coffee and chocolate round out the roast; on the sweet side; a bit of dried herb

Taste & Mouthfeel: beautiful flavour and texture, great medium roast coffee with a light and airy body - like you're just drinking the crema - but not watery; has an acidic and fairly well hopped finish with good length, carrying the coffee and anise flavour with it for perfect balance, kind of like it's burning the flavour into your palate - it's a great way to cap it off; bitter dark cocoa powder gains more of a presence as you get through the beer

Overall: amazingly luxurious mouthfeel, and a robust flavour that grows more complex with every sip; pair it with some berries for dessert

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2013 02:51:05 | More by BGDrock

deadonhisfeet

Kentucky

4.44/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer gave an angry hiss as the cap was pried off and the contents poured into a Lost Abbey Teku was extremely dark brown, but not quite black. There were 2 fingers of khaki brown head that slowly dissipated down to some nice Belgian lacing. The nose is pretty dreamy, but not as intense as I anticipated. Rich, deep espresso notes with just a hint of sweetness behind it.

Full body and a deep, coffee-infused flavor. Lots and lots of coffee assaults your palate, but the beer is not overly bitter. The feel is creamy enough to enhance the flavor, but not so thick it compromises the drinkability. Besides the coffee, there is a slight oaky flavor in the back of the palate. The finish is well-sustained and, obviously, full of coffee. The taste of freshly roasted espresso beans and a hint of baker's chocolate just lingers on and on.

I had heard a lot about this beer and was really excited to finally get a chance to try it. The best part is that I have two more bottles of it to look forward to. If you don't like coffee or coffee stouts, avoid this beer like crazy. If you like coffee-focused beers, seek this one out. It can be a bit pricey, but worth trying once (or three times).

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 02:13:08 | More by deadonhisfeet

Beersquad

Ontario (Canada)

4.9/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I've enjoyed this beer many times in the past in a bottle. It's a great imperial stout, I'd rate 4.25 out 5. On tap however, it's a 5 out of 5. Completely different pour and taste. In a bottle, the head is dark and has big bubbles, disappears quickly. On tap, I had it in a tulip glass and the head was over 3/4 glass until it finally settled to about 1\2. And it was not the same head at all, it was thick and creamy. I was wondering if the bar tender gave me the wrong beer but if you google it online, and look at images, you can tell the difference.

On tap, the taste in far better as well. In a bottle, this is a complex and well done imperial stout, one of my favourites. On tap it blew me away. It got better as I got to the bottom and it warmed up a little bit more.

Buy this beer in a bottle for sure but go out of your way to try this on tap. You will not regret it.

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2013 02:01:57 | More by Beersquad