Route Des Épices (Ale Rousse Au Poivre) - Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel

mwilbur

Minnesota

2.75/5  rDev -25.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from 330 mL bottle into shaker pint glass.
A: Pours a dark caramel brown with 1/2 inch light tan head that quickly dissipates.
S: Grains (rye), sweet caramel malt, and a hint of black pepper.
T: Rye with overly sweet caramel malt and off-putting peppery spice...not a fan.
M: Light body. Oily feel. This one is too sweet and when combined with the peppery spice becomes just not good.
D: I guess a redeeming quality here is that this beer is at least interesting...but that's about it. Poor balance, oddly constructed, and just doesn't taste good. DP.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2013 03:26:23 | More by mwilbur

lsummers

California

3.93/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a fantastic amber reddish brown. A darker amber at that. Poured initially with a one finger head that diminishes with some nice subtle lacing.

Smells of a nutty peppery wheat and caramel. There's a creamy chocolate in there as well.

Tastes of a creamy nutty character with some somewhat strong spice. There's some chocolate, toffee notes coming through as well. A bready biscuit flavor comes through to help mellow out the spice, nut, and chocolate/toffee/caramel/malt.

Mouthfeel is fairly smooth, somewhat light and sharp. A fair amount of carbonation that helps pull out it's rye spice flavor notes.

Overall, I am a huge fan of rye beers and this one didn't disappoint. I do plan on trying this again. From it's darker nutty notes from the darker grains used when brewing to it's spicy rye, it is an interesting beer to at least try.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 04:50:15 | More by lsummers

NiceTaps

New Jersey

3.7/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

On tap in a stemmed tulip glass.

A-Dark amber-reddish brown color with a big, lasting head that leaves lots of lacing. This brew certainly appealed to my eye.

S- Strong peppery spice out of the box. Then come the bready malt and rich chocolatey aromas as it warms.

T- Some caramel and strong chololate along with pungent black peppery spice.

M- It has body and carbonation, is long lasting and not sweet. The deal breaker is the overpowering pepper, it lines the throat and increases in strength as I drink.

O- I enjoy pepper in general and peppery-spiced beers ( like rye porters), this beer is simply too peppery strong for my tastes, thus keeping the feel and taste ratings in check.

Serving type: on-tap

03-30-2013 21:09:32 | More by NiceTaps

Beer-A-Lot

Virginia

4.26/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured into wine glass.

This beer starts out very smooth, easy drinking, satisfying. As it warms, it gets more complex, the peppercorns start to shine through, and it really gets interesting. For a 5.00% beer, this is way more than a session beer with mild abv. It's a really interesting and flavorful beer. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will have again and again. If you like rye beers, peppery wines, or just complex ales in general, give this a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 18:36:47 | More by Beer-A-Lot

eduardolinhalis

Switzerland

3.93/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

341ml bottle served in a tulip glass.

A: First of all, perfect beer art. Dieu du Ciel makes, IMHO, the most beautiful beer labels ever! Pours a beautiful deep amber color forming a medium to small bubbled slightly yellow head which dissipates quickly leaving a thin layer that remains for a long time. Many lingering lacings are left in the glass

S: Great nose. Strong notes of black pepper, chocolate, toffee, caramel malts and bready yeasts

T: Follows the nose. Strong notes of black pepper and caramel malts. Notes of rye, chocolate and cinnamon. Slightly bitter and peppery end

M: Light to medium body. Good carbonation. Chocolate, caramel and peppery aftertaste

O: Good drinkability. Great Spicy beer. Unique experience

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 16:20:30 | More by eduardolinhalis

VoodooBear

Puerto Rico

3.33/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Presentation: 11.5 oz. brown bottle, served in a pint glass.

Appearance: Deep, reddish amber color. Looks clear when held up to the light. Gets a one finger light tan head and leaves some good lacing.

Smell: It's a very strong, spicy smell, mainly of pepper. There's some faint rye and hop aromas as well.

Taste: The pepper character is right up front. There's some rye notes and a small amount of bitterness. All that pepper leaves a spicy aftertaste that can be unpleasant to some people.

Mouthfeel: Light, a bit watery even. It has low carbonation and finishes dry.

Overall: This is going to be a love or hate beer for most people. The only things spicier than this are going to be beers with actual chilies in there. Overall, it's a good rye beer, but you'll only enjoy it if you like, or at least appreciate the overwhelming pepper character it has.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 08:26:35 | More by VoodooBear

DeanMoriarty

California

3.73/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The wifey picked up a 11.5oz bottle for me for Valentine's Day - poured into an Odell's branded tulip glass.

A: Pours a cloudy dark amber hue with a decent off-white head that dissipates quickly leaving a ring of foam, with real nice lacing in the glass from start to finish.

S: Sweet carmel malt, roasted coffe, fresh baked bread and molasses.

T: Earthy toasted grain, black molasses, sweet taffy, mild bitter hop, light hint of spices - almost curry like - great balance of odd flavor combinations that play off one another nicely.

M: Medium bodied, good carbonation for the style, crisp pepper bight that lingers a while.

Overall tasty and enjoyable beer - I have yet to be disappointed by any of this brewers offerings - they are always original and unique in style.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 02:01:52 | More by DeanMoriarty

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.94/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

never had one quite like this. like a swig of rye pale ale with a fat bite of steak au poivre. brewed with green and black peppercorns, this is one interesting sip. pours dense and milky brown in color, slight amber hue to it, definitely full bodied, with a fluffy just off white head. the nose is really bitey from the peppercorns, which increases even more as it warms. there is also a full dose of rye malt in here, which only adds to the spicy nose. flavor is great and unique. its peppery as hell, almost hot in the finish, but its highly refined as well, carefully dosed, and I think they walked the line here without crossing it. I could have drank another bottle of this without issue. the rye has a ton of body and exacerbates the pepper intensity, I love the combination. never had one like this before at all, not aware of another out there really. creamy feel in texture but with quite bold carbonation. this is a beer you can keep on tasting for awhile after you swallow, the pepper just keeps coming. I can think of about a million food combinations id like to serve this beer with. highly recommended!

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 16:30:42 | More by StonedTrippin

JG_brew

Quebec (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pepper! Very nice pepper taste. A bit of pepper in the aroma but Really hits you at the end of the palate. Really nice copper color. Fairly dry. Descent mouthfeel. Nice different beer. Pepper is not over powering, definately taste it but complements beer nicely.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 02:54:40 | More by JG_brew

Levich

Massachusetts

3.43/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 11.5 ounce bottle into a shaped pint glass.

Route des Epices pours a rich red tinged brown color with two fingers of light beige head that settles leaving half of an inch and a bit of lacing on the glass. The aroma is delicate with hints of maltiness as well as apple cider. The initial flavor is mildly sweet with hints of rye bread flavor. This is followed by a bit of relatively nondescript bitterness and finally a lingering peppery tingle on the back of the tongue. This beer has a thin mouthfeel with just a bit of carbonation, although the peppery finish beefs up the body a little. The pepperorns seem to work in this beer, giving an otherwise bland beer some character without overpowering the subtleness of the rye.

Overall, this is a pretty interesting beer. I would drink it again, but I wish it had more powerful carbonation. I think that would play nicely with the peppercorns.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 00:15:42 | More by Levich

Seanniek91

New Hampshire

3.65/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a Grimbergen goblet.

Appearance- Very hazy amber/copper color with zero head. Very mild looking carbonation.

Smell- I get a little bit of rye/peppercorn spice and vanilla. Mild cherry I think as well. Malty backbone.

Taste- Very dry with a strange bitterness that doesn't taste like a hop bitterness. Absolutely peppercorn flavors. I get the spice at the back of the throat. Not much else though.

Mouthfeel- Dry. Carbonation is mild. That spice hits everywhere in my mouth.

Overall- Kind of a strange beer. Bought it on a whim. It's good, but I would not seek it out anytime soon.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 17:20:14 | More by Seanniek91

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from tap into a Trappe Door tulip. Poured a deep ruby red-orange with a three finger very light tan head that subsided to one finger slowly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, bread, earth, pepper, and orange peel. The flavor was of sweet malt, bread, earth, earth hop, and orange peel. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. I really wish this brew had quite a bit more complexity to it. There were some good notes going on here with the orange peel, but it just wasn’t enough to make it stand out in the style. If it just had a little more going on it could have been a pretty good brew. Definitely worth your time trying at least once to judge for yourself though, but not super high on my list of must tries.

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2012 12:09:22 | More by thagr81us

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First had: growler from Pinocchio's, FREE, won by Meester Lo, who guessed what was in the mystery bag (Flying Dog Disobedience). Thanks, Meester Lo!

Decanted into my City Tap House "Sour Saturday" mini-stem glass, a hazy, chestnut brown color with a small off-white head that receded to a wispy layer of bubbles; spots of lacing left on the glass. Aroma is somewhat distant, caramel malt and rye "spice," toasted bread and light peppery spice. Pale biscuity malt taste, toasted grains, a little bland and not too sweet, stiff peppercorn character, and a bitter herbal hop finish. Medium body, moderate carbonation, drying. Not bad overall, but nothing great or memorable. It was free, so, giddyup.

Serving type: growler

10-02-2012 01:09:29 | More by Rifugium

trxxpaxxs

New York

4.28/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a clear, dark amber, with deep brown tones. There is about a half finger of fluffy off-white head that fades quickly. There is a really good amount of lacing left on the glass as it drinks.

S: The nose is sweet malt, caramel, and pepper. I also get some date notes in there as well. Really nice.

T: This beer starts out sweet with a nice kick of caramel. A bit of rye spice mixes in with the sweetness in the middle. As it reaches the finish, the peppercorns make their presence known. It's got heat and great spice.

M: Medium bodied beer. It's smooth and silky from start to finish with a great hot peppery kick in the back end. Lingering pepper heat.

O: Love this beer. I like rye beers, and I love peppercorn beers! This is right up my alley. Really good. I will be buying much more of this in the future.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2012 21:51:47 | More by trxxpaxxs

GPHarris

Alabama

3.98/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

a - poured a one finger thick creamy tan head into a tulip glass that left nice lacing and sheeting throughout. the head also billowed nicely. the body was a dark mahogany color.
s - peppery with a hint of raisins or red grapes.
t - very spicy and peppery.
m - bubbly. a little thinner than i would have liked.
o - really interesting take on a rye beer. much more spicy than others i have had.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 15:04:03 | More by GPHarris

superspak

Michigan

4/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330 ml bottle into pint glass, no bottle dating. Pours hazy red orange color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some decent spotty lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of caramel, toast, biscuit, rye, toffee, pepper, herbal, chocolate, and light plums. Very nice aromas with good balance, complexity, and strength. Taste of caramel, chocolate, pepper, rye, biscuit, toast, herbal, toffee, and light raisin. Lingering notes of pepper, rye, chocolate, caramel, toffee, and herbal on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance of flavors and complexity; with no cloying sweetness at all. Pepper heat flavors seem to build up in intensity as you drink. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and lightly crisp mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming noticed after the finish as expected. Overall this is a damn nice spiced rye beer. Nice balance of malty flavors with pepper; and quite smooth to drink. The pepper heat flavors build up on the palate, so I don’t see myself having more than one at a time. Very enjoyable though.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 05:23:50 | More by superspak

ThePorterSorter

New York

3.98/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a clear, dark brown with flecks of granite in the light. The thin, tannish head that forms upon pouring is weak and falls flat quickly...leaving very little lacing. The nose is intensely peppery, specifically black peppercorns, with a sweet underlying maltiness. The taste doesn't disappoint with malt and yeast upfront and a distinct and spicy, peppercorn finish. I believe the rye may be completely masked by the pepper. The back end spiciness doesn't linger long after sipping and the beer does admittedly leave a funky, slightly undesirable, building pepper-rye aftertaste.
Overall, this is a reasonably priced peppercorn ale that meets the description. However, isn't nearly the best pepper beer I've ever had.
I think this beer would pair exceptionally well with the right meal (maybe a montreal style brisket?), although I'm not sure I'll ever try it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 21:26:14 | More by ThePorterSorter

pkalix

California

1.93/5  rDev -47.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

i like rye. i like pepper. i like hot peppery things including hot sauces from pepperpalace.com. i like the chili beer (i know it has poor reviews- i like it as a 'finisher' when i'm done drinking for the night). i appreciate novelty beers.
but i'm not particualrly fond of this one.
A- a 'ruby' purple liquid with little or no head.
S- remember those little 'cans' of already ground black pepper that were so popular,back in the day, before 'fresh' ground peppercorn became availible?
T- remember those little 'cans' of already ground black pepper that were so popular,back in the day, before 'fresh' ground peppercorn became availible?
M- full-bodied, round(?).
overall??? blecchh. leave the spice to the food. dont pour it into your beer. it's not even a good novelty brew.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 02:51:44 | More by pkalix

Otterburn

Quebec (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a glass, amber with reddish reflects,
little foam forms on top, laces. Active but very fine carbonation.

It smells spicy, not the typical everyday beer.
Strong pepper presence, caramal.

Taste is unique, the rye mixed with the peppercorns gives this brew a special taste.
Its interesting because it goes out of the path.

Mouthfeel is round and medium body, carbonation is low has the taste takes over the feel.

overall its a quality red ale with that pepper punch, really good.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 22:44:58 | More by Otterburn

rickyleepotts

Arizona

3.9/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I have had this beer before. I actually had this beer back in Indiana… I saw it on sale somewhere and grabbed two bottles. I then realized it was on our list. Anyway, the first time I had this I was blown away. It is loaded with peppercorn and basically pepper notes from the aroma all the way through the beer. When researching this brewery, I learned that the recipe they use today was the first recipe created for this beer. The brewmaster must like grabbing random ingredients and just seeing what will happen. Success was born when this beer was finished! Let's stop talking and start drinking.

In the Glass: It pours nice, and leaves a deep brown thin look in the glass. It has a nice white head, and produces a smooth and consistent lace. The beer, coming from a brewery I was unaware of before having tasted this beer the first time, makes some pretty neat beers. They have some awesome labels, too.

Nose: Imagine a pile of peppercorns… now stick your nose in them. Breathe deep… that is what this beer tastes like. Yum! Man, this beer smells incredible. It reminds me of the FFF I had earlier this week. That is a basil beer, and pretty much smells like a bag of basil smacked you in the face. But this one is overwhelming and that's OK. Beers like this, extreme beers, are expected to smell like this.

Flavor: I just took a shot of vodka… I hope that doesn't change my opinion of this beer. And it doesn't! It's not the same flavor I remember, but it's because I am thinking about it and it would be impossible to produce the same flavors that I had weeks ago when I tried this beer. But the peppercorns are still there, and the flavor is as enjoyable as I recall. Man, this is a tasty beer.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is nice. It starts off without many flavors, but then the bubbles take over and the finish is strong. It almost reminds me of how a cheap barleywine would drink. It's hard to compare the two in terms of flavor, but the consistency on the tongue is similar.

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is nice, too. Imagine eating a spoon full of pepper. The flavors that are still there five minutes later are what this beer leaves in your mouth. The heat is there too, and not from the alcohol, but from the spices that this beer is known for. I haven't had any other beers from this brewery yet… but I can't wait to try more!

Like I said, it doesn't taste the same as I remember… but man, this is a good beer. The spices are obvious, and I am digging the peppery aftertaste. I like this beer a lot, and we have it at Total Wine… I actually recommended this to someone tonight! If you are looking for a good, unique beer with awkward flavors… look no further than the Route des Épices. Bottoms up, people!

Route des Épices - The bottle says: "Route des Épices (French for "Spice Route") is a rye beer brewed with black and green peppercorns. Initially the beer reveals flavors of fresh grain and malt, which, give it notes of chocolate, caramel, and fruit. The pepper flavor and arose is fully revealed in the finish, which leaves a pleasant spice, tingling sensation on the tongue."

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2012 06:19:23 | More by rickyleepotts

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.55/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Review from 2/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a clear orange amber, slight head and lacing. Aroma of sweet malt and pepper. Sweet malt changing to dry, spicy, earthy rye and light fruit. Definite pepper aftertaste is interesting, but overall flavor is somewhat muted. Light to medium bodied with some creaminess. Interesting to try, but fairly light flavored for the complexity.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 20:04:30 | More by LiquidAmber

sennin

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Hazey, reddish brown. The foam gives off a light hazelnut brown color. Nothing all that special.

S: Pepper rams the nasal cavity up front, I can minutely detect something like a tomato smell and maybe some raisin- dark fruits.

T: Follows the nose pretty well, but there is definitely a large amount of a somewhat unpleasant tomato-like taste. Sort of reminds me of Short's Bloody Brew, but a better brew over all. Pepper hits later and hits hard, but I wouldn't necessarily say it is super spicy. Somewhat of a bitter after-taste on the back-end but it works with the other flavors quite well (I'm assuming this comes from the rye). As it warms though, it does lose a lot of its character and the taste leaves with it. Alcohol is mostly non-existent in taste.

M: the mouthfeel can only be described as fun- the beer comes in silky smooth but causes the tongue to tingle a bit from the peppercorn later on. The flavors in the beer dance on your tongue long after swallowing- something I really admire about this brew. It almost has the mouthfeel that you get after tasting a very spicy salsa, but its not harsh by any means.

Overall, this brew is not bad, but quite average by Dieu Du Ciel standards. And the rather acrid tomatoey taste can be rather off-putting.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 08:18:01 | More by sennin

tdm168

North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to jtd1969 for bringing this to the tasting.

A - dark amber with a soft, white layer of head

S - bread, pie crust, apples, faint sugar

T - bread, sweet, spicy, peppery, rye, faint citrus

M - medium bodied, smooth, well carbonated

This is an enjoyable, complex, smooth offering with great drinkability. I'll definitely have this again.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 23:10:47 | More by tdm168

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Pours a hazy deep brown in color with some hints of amber and ruby red when held up to the light. The beer has a quarter finger tall beige head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of extremely thin film with a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of peppercorns in this beer. There are some lighter aromas of rye spiciness as well as some floral and citrus hops.

T: There is spiciness from both the rye and the peppercorns which really dominate the flavor of this beer. The heat of the spice really lingers for this one - not overly hot but lingers for quite some time.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. There is some spicy heat in the finish.

O: This beer is probably only going to find a niche of enjoyment and popularity - this is a flavor profile that I enjoy and really makes me think of steak au poivre. I enjoyed this beer but it is a little spicy to be an easier drinker. Very unique.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 21:59:35 | More by dbrauneis

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.95/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The dark and earthy character of the beer is shadowed closely with the assertive tone of peppercorn for a dryish and spicy taste that settles in early on and rides the wave thereafter.

Pouring a braised amber color, notions of ruby and garnet come to mind as an efforted ray of light penetrates. Well capped with a semi-dense creamy head, the beer shows certain retention and diced with lace that coats the glass afterwards.

Earthy and spicy, the nose wants to register Belgian-ale components, but the lace of sincere fruitiness and the hearty biscuit character of English ales sing another song. Rich with chocolate, toffee, and earthy black peppercorns the scent of the toasty ale is evident. Plumb, fig, and date give a sweeter nutty subsidiary note as the beer switches to aroma to flavor.

The taste of the beer goes quickly from malty sweet caramel to slightly scorched toffee, to heavy toast with earthy rye, peppercorn, and alcohol bitterness in finish. But there's an overlying veil that waves over the mid palate with sugar plumbs, burnt currants, and grape leaves for added depth and malt complexities. Hops only support the spice in balance of the beer and is comfortable in its hardly recognizable role.

Medium bodied to start as the malty toffee richness takes hold with a creamy texture. The peppery bite of the beer tempers the malts and starts to command the beer in the mid palate and ushers in peppery dryness, alcohol warmth, and a heated addition of spice that only peppercorn can produce.

The harmony of peppercorn and rye is remarkable as each play out in an intertwined taste and texture that's as rustic as it is playful. Yet the balance is spicy and raw to the point where it becomes a bit challenging to the palate- yet curiosity resumes...

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 07:21:14 | More by BEERchitect