Pionnière - Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel

Luk13

Quebec (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -8.8%

01-08-2013 20:00:39 | More by Luk13

jenray

Texas

3/5  rDev -27%

05-13-2013 23:05:09 | More by jenray

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Half pint at Beer Revolution 6/5/13 from notes

A she looks pretty black but when held to the light a dark cola edge makes it half way to the other side under the thin mocha foam that leaves 6 distinct rings of lace, looks sexy

S big tropical nose, tangerine, mandarin, grapefruit, passion fruit with a little pine, I’m amazed how the hops shine through a beer this dark, vitamin c chewable’s with a little coco but its almost a hop runaway

T faint coco and a little coffee with just a hint of char provides some balance but I think the hops are firmly in charge

M not to heavy but has some body to it, bitter bite and a little char peeking through the hoppy finish

O a little bump up overall for having no booze at any point in a 9% beer, high mark overall to begin with for being such a great beer

This ones worth the trip to Beer Revolution alone, almost saves me a trip to Montreal, now if I could only get Deesee Nocturne at one of these local tap takeovers, hint, hint, hoser

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2013 02:52:27 | More by wordemupg

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.99/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cask (Hivernale): Poured a deep black color ale with a small dark foamy head. Aroma consists of powerful green hops with some dry roasted malt notes also perceptible. Taste is a good balanced mix between some powerful green hops with some citrus and resinous notes mix with some dry roasted malt notes with light floral coffee notes and no residual sugar. Body is about average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Very nice mix of huge hoppy notes without too much bitterness.

Serving type: cask

03-06-2013 14:56:12 | More by Phyl21ca

mynie

Indiana

4.46/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Mid grade milk chocolate mixed with a strange aftertaste that’s like how you smell if you spent a few hours working around a deep fryer. So basically take a hit off of the Chocolate Wonderfall at Golden Corral and you get the gist of it. Ends with hop profile that’s very similar to Dreadnaught’s, and that’s actually really nice for a black IPA. A more fruity hop profile means a bigger break from the stouty beginning, the effect is nicely jarring.

(Full review as part of a Montreal beer guide: http://mynie.com/?p=318)

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2013 21:44:49 | More by mynie

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Glad to see this on tap this past week.

Appearance: An utterly black body with a 2-3 finger head the color of ecru/tan. Glass is coated with lacing as it empties.

Smell: Strong roasted malt with plenty of coffee notes and juicy hops as well. I'd say fifty-fifty between the two.

Taste: Citrus rinds, roasted & bitter at first but followed by grapefruit and a tangerine sweetness at the end. Some pine needles as well as a coffee creaminess.

Mouthfeel: Body hits medium at best. Very smooth and has a nice bittering finish but the body lacks punch "imperial and robustness for an "imperial" black IPA.

Overall: A good ale and the flavor is very nice but when billed as "imperial", it should be fuller. Good but misses the mark a bit as regards to intensity.

Serving type: on-tap

06-30-2012 19:42:08 | More by papat444

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

4.33/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on cask at Volo's Cask Days 2010. Pours pitch black with moderate tan head. Nice lacing and head retention. Smells of huge citrus hops with a more understated roast. Alcohol is noticeable in the smell. Flavour is bitter, sweet and boozy, but this is an imperial black IPA, so I would expect as much. Really nice body on this. One of my favourite black IPA's I've had.

Serving type: cask

01-07-2011 01:21:20 | More by kwjd

hoser

Alberta (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A year old and it rocks. In case anyone is reading this, Phillips's Black Toque was my first and the one I compare all to. Big Roasty and hoppy sadly this has never been on tap when I have been in Montreal. Thanks for the bottles guys. Hopefully some day we will get this in Alberta.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2010 04:51:24 | More by hoser

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pitch black with a 1/2 inch of sticky head. Very dark and roasty. Big grapey flavour with grapefruit and lots of burnt and hoppy bitterness. Body isn't too heavy despite the immense flavour. Sharply carbonated with a hint of astringency. Very easy drinking, fantastically flavourful beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2010 02:11:51 | More by allergictomacros

SFLpunk

Vermont

3.93/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sample pour at Vermont Brewers Festival. Black IPA.

Lots and lots of creamy light brown carbonation on top of a pitch black body. Aromas are dense with pine and toasty roasted coffee. Palate is crisp with hop bitterness, but turns medium-bodied and lots of roasted dark malts come through. Finish is long and bitter, both from hops and burnt malt.

Notes: A tasty beer for sure and a great collaboration from DDC and Hill Farmstead (the original batch anyway). More like a Baltic Porter though than the current trend in Black IPA's. Still 100% worth the wait.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2010 04:04:04 | More by SFLpunk

kingcrowing

Vermont

4.03/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap poured into a sampling glass at the vt brewers fest.

Pours a very dark ruby/amber with a very small thin light brown head. Nose is chalky, sweet and a bit hoppy.

Taste is coffee, roasted malt and nice bitter floral hops. Very tasty and crisp. Mouthfeel is creamy rich and full.

Best beer I've had by Shaun hill. Awesome as always by ddc.

Serving type: on-tap

07-16-2010 23:03:11 | More by kingcrowing

KickbacksSteve

Florida

4.43/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Mondial beer festival. Imperial Black IPA! Picking up warrior and/or amarillo in the nose. Fresh, fresh hops. Delicious hoppy nose. Some roasted malts for color and slight flavor. The malts are just manhandled by the hops, a beautiful struggle. Taste has some coffee/chocolate derived from the dark malt addition. Ton of hop bitterness throughout the taste. D. Lish. Us.

Serving type: on-tap

06-14-2010 04:49:07 | More by KickbacksSteve

flipper2gv

Quebec (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sampled at Mondial de la bière 2010 in Montreal without any notes, so this is from pure memory so the review can be somewhat inaccurate.

A: What you'd expect, it's black. It's got a beige head. Can't remember anything else, was about to leave and had a lot of beer that day.

S: It had a lot of roasted characteristics like coffee and good level of dark chocolate. Some nice level of maple syrup. Also, a good level of pine hops and grapefruit.

T: When smelling it, it was quite weird but when tasting it, it was making a bit more sense. All the tastes depicted in the smell were there but making a lot of sense. It was somewhat reminiscent of lemon Pepsi (ok please don't quote me on that). It really all went well together. Strange, I know...

M: mid to heavy mouthfeel with mid to high carbonation. Thus getting the best of both world, somewhat.

D: Was strange but quite easily drinkable.

Notes: There really should be the style on beeradvocate of black IPA, they really stand apart other IPA's.

Serving type: on-tap

06-09-2010 01:29:45 | More by flipper2gv

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The server described this to me as an imperial black IPA, which has awesome written all over it. On tap at Mondial de la Biere.

True to word this pours a jet black, with a good two fingers of tan head that lay down huge chunks of lace. Really great looking appearance. Whoah on the nose - huge roasted notes and equally large grapefruit and pine. A balance achieved by pitting two juggernauts against one another. The flavour is just crazy - tasting like a really good black IPA on steroids. Huge dark roasted coffee notes, bitter chocolate, pine, grapefruit and caramel. Big bitterness from both the hops and the malt. As Eric noted in his review, this is a very intense experience. Medium mouthfeel and carbonation works well.

Sweet Jesus, this was a beauty. Good work JF!

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2010 15:35:49 | More by bobsy

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Mondial.

Pours a very dark reddish black, huge cap of thick tan foam forms, takes forever to settles down to a very thick layer and ring, tons of lacing all over the glass.

Smell is great, really malty, big roastiness, fresh espresso, grapefruit and piney hops, toffee, biscuit, some floral, tons of citrus, really intense aroma.

Taste is crazy, like a shot of espresso dropped in a double IPA, very roasty, lots of coffee, caramel, big grapefruit and citrus middle, very hoppy, some pine, more toasty/biscuity malt, more hops, big bitterness, this is intense.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Wow, almost like a really hoppy Peche Mortel. This stuff is awesome!

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2010 00:29:18 | More by Viggo

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Mondiale 2010. Black with three-eight inch of white foam. Coffee roast taste, a good taste of coffee, and lemon. Roast and hop aromas. Carbonation is a bit above average, and the mouthfeel is creamy and above average. Malty backbone. Artistic lace is present at the end of this fine drink.

Serving type: on-tap

06-06-2010 13:27:14 | More by northyorksammy

divineaudio

Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

from notes taken on vacation in montreal 5.16.2010.

listed as an imperial black ipa at the brewpub. website says that it was born in december 2009 at the brewpub, so i listed it as winter availability.

served in a tulip.

color is dark brown to black with a foamy, tan, 1 finger head. after calming down i'm left with a ring around the glass and some thick, sticky lacing.

smells of toffee and chocolate with piny hops. taste follows nose with strong hop character up front, sweetish malts in the middle, and more hops in back. has that dipa bitter kick, but also a strong malt backbone for balance. alcohol is barely noticable, but does give a bit of warming.

not nearly as heavy as i expected from the appearance. lots of carbonation feels a bit prickly on the tongue.

drinkability is pretty high for the abv. worth trying and i'd probably buy it if i saw it in bottles.

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2010 22:05:04 | More by divineaudio