Grande Noirceur - Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

341ml Bottle part of a 4-pack for 9.99+tax at Broue Haha QC

Appearance - Black/Brown colour with with an above average size fizzy/frothy brown head. I can't make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some great lacing. The head lasted for over 5 minutes.

Smell - Malts, chocolate, roasted nuts

Taste & Mouth - There is a below average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, chocolate, and some roasted/toasted nuts. There is also some light coffee flavour and some vanilla. It ends with a sooth chocolatey aftertaste but after a second or two a lingering bitterness kicks in.

Overall - Wow, another winner from DDC. The mouthfeel is a little flat but that adds to the creaminess on the palate. The booze is very well hidden and the beer is very drinkable. I think it would be tough for me to find another RIS of this quality for such a great price. Seek this one out.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 00:50:51 | More by spinrsx

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

06-04-2013 23:48:39 | More by Kmat10

kevanb

Illinois

4.06/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a 2012 DDC/Cantillon Zwanze Day wine glass.

The beer pours like motor oil, deep black in color, very inky, with a finger plus of caramel colored head, very tightly packed bubbles that has great retention and leaves a few spots of lace behind. The aroma is of lightly roasted coffee and toasted dark malts, touches of stone fruit and sweet alcohol. The flavors are right in line with the nose, lots of toasted grain, rich coffee, bitter bakers chocolate, pitted stone fruit, a touch of alcohol and a touch of chalky ash. The body is thick and viscous, low carbonation with a just of bubbliness at the finish. It's very silky and smooth and coats the mouth very, very well.

Verdict: A very fine Russian Imperial Stout from DDC. It's simple, balanced and not too aggressive. With the trend of late being high gravity, brutal, in your face RIS beers, this is a really nice change of pace. A very enjoyable beer to sip on.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 00:36:47 | More by kevanb

Gonzoillini

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -20%

06-01-2013 22:20:31 | More by Gonzoillini

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

4.01/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Beer Revolution.

Appearance- Pours a dark cola with a finger width of creamy mocha head.

Smell- Roasted malts, cocoa, grains.

Taste- Starts off with the roasted malts and then goes to the cocoa (more baker's chocolate then anything).

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation. Finishes with a nice bitterness from the baker's chocolate.

Overall- An enjoyable stout by Dieu du Ciel. I think this is a little bit of a restrained RIS and more of a American Stout/Imperial Stout. Still an enjoyable brew and worth a try if you are able to stumble across it.

Serving type: on-tap

05-12-2013 04:48:32 | More by leaddog

Krakpoff

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.5%

05-09-2013 01:47:17 | More by Krakpoff

Etan

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12oz, bottled Nov. 2012.

A: Pours a thick brownish-black with a nice cap of chocolate-colored head.

S: Coffee, lightly burnt grain, sweet lactose, cocoa, substantial piney hop notes.

T: Charred grain, roasty, light caramelized sweetness, subtle citric hoppiness, more roasted malt.

M: Thick-bodied with light yet ample carbonation.

O: A nice roasty imperial stout.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 02:31:56 | More by Etan

Whatup14

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

04-17-2013 14:11:20 | More by Whatup14

Jayhoop

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.5%

04-03-2013 16:13:44 | More by Jayhoop

chickenm

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -13.8%

04-02-2013 02:32:19 | More by chickenm

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

03-30-2013 01:53:16 | More by DaPan

yancot

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.5%

03-21-2013 06:48:46 | More by yancot

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12oz glass at the Underground in YEGDT, DDC TTO.

This beer appears a solid black abyss, with subtle mahogany highlights, and one finger of dense, somewhat bubbly light brown head, which leaves a solid, thick band of painted lace around the glass as it lazily bleeds away, and notably persists through the subsequent 'glass half empty' experience.

It smells of roasted, kind of meaty caramel/toffee malt, musty ash, bittersweet cocoa icing, herbal, leafy hops, and a twinge of metallic alcohol. The taste is grainy, sweet baker's chocolate, bready caramel malt, edgy dark fruit, wet ash, mild day-old coffee, a hint of earthy, musty hops, and some underlying warming booze.

The carbonation is present, but pretty well understated, the body a solid medium weight, and more or less smooth, a certain creaminess lingering from the ingrained chocolate notes. It finishes off-dry, the cocoa powder and bbq-charred caramel still contending with the offsetting fruit, coffee, and liquor essences.

An agreeable enough RIS, almost restrained to a certain degree, though. I'm not refuting the 17-proof booze, but everything else does well to keep the imperial nature a benevolent one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-17-2013 23:42:00 | More by biboergosum

CurtisD

New Brunswick (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +17%

03-11-2013 22:42:23 | More by CurtisD

ThinkAgain

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.5%

03-08-2013 03:00:32 | More by ThinkAgain

Noyt

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.5%

03-03-2013 03:07:02 | More by Noyt

westcoastbeerlvr

California

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

03-02-2013 08:51:17 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

aztraz

Sweden

3.75/5  rDev -7.6%

03-02-2013 07:39:57 | More by aztraz

JRod1969

New York

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

02-21-2013 01:22:08 | More by JRod1969

ThickNStout

Georgia

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle from J.A. Moisan Epicier (Quebec City). 2.79. I know this was bottled in 11/12 but you wouldn't know it from their obscure notched 0&1 (out of two sets of 0 to 9?!). Served in a Dogfish Head snifter.

Pours black with a little under a quarter finger deep tan head. Head recedes to the edges and leaves a good deal of spotty lace.

Smells of earthy roast, dark fruit, faint coffee and a bit of campfire. Opens up with more sweet fruits as it warms.

Bitter roast malts hit the palate first followed by coffee, blackened plums, smoked wood, licorice, anise, cherry pits, mild vanilla and a bite of alcohol. The alcohol is certainly present but never seems too hot or out of balance with the roasty dark fruits.

Medium full body with plenty of carbonation. Dry, sharp, long bitttersweet roasty aftertaste.

The more I try from Dieu du Ciel the more impressed I am. This is a nicely done and easily quaffable classic imperial stout. I wish I could have bought a six or four pack on vacation but was happy to find a store that still at least had this single bottle left. I hope to drink this again someday and with any luck have a few to lay down for a year or two.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 05:20:04 | More by ThickNStout

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.04/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottled in 11/2012.
Poured in to snifter.

A - Deep black with a thin layer of espresso coloured head.

S - Roast, semi-sweet chocolate, smoke and light espresso notes.

T - A big bitter roast profile with semi-sweet chocolate, espresso, smoke and licorice. Some molasses sweetness in the middle.

M - Medium, almost full body. Chewy. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 21:09:21 | More by TheSevenDuffs

nquigley16

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -1.5%

02-11-2013 03:52:04 | More by nquigley16

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks papat444!! Poured into a glass. :-P

Appearance. Pours thick and black with two+ fingers of thick, dark tan head that leaves some pretty lace behind.

Smell. Dark roasted malts, molasses, and lots of dark chocolate.

Taste. Dark roasted malts and lightly sweetened black coffee, a little bit of smoke and some cocoa as well as those dark malts in the lightly bitter and dry finish.

Mouthfeel. Pretty full body with lower carbonation.

Overall. A nice big stout. Tons of flavour and would probably age well.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 01:29:17 | More by Rutager

montrealbcr89

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

02-04-2013 16:47:56 | More by montrealbcr89

djcira

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

01-20-2013 15:26:27 | More by djcira