Dominus Vobiscum Blanche - Microbrasserie Charlevoix

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Light, basically water and fizz and a bit of wheat beer. Initial aroma corriander and floral and wheat. Appearance: Beer colour with vanilla added and lots of soapy bubbles in big cream that dissipitates. Bit of banana and astringent aftertaste. Not complex

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2004 03:50:38 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

very hazy, whitish yellow, very pale and cloudy. Huge white head never fully faded and tons of clingy lace down the sides of the glass. Some visible carbonation.

light, lots of yeast and some light fruit, little grain, and a touch of hops.Lots of yeast and light fruits, some peach and pear. Very light taste, awesome hot summer day flavor,rich and creamy, very nice consistency and feel. Great carbonation.

Could put down a ton, really easy drinker and a great belgian.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2011 01:56:55 | More by mikesgroove

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a dark yellow lightly cloudy ale with a huge foamy head with perfect retention. Aroma of coriander is nicely mixed with strong wheat – what a difference from most light witbier that are brewed to try and please the non-beer crowd. Taste is dominated by wheat and reveals a nice coriander/citrus finish. Body is quite full but still provide a refreshing edge. Nice to see somebody trying to put some more character in a style that is bland most of the time.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2005 15:57:50 | More by Phyl21ca

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottled June 2, 2010. IBUs: 7 - Wow.

This beer pours a slightly cloudy, pale yellow colour, with two thick fingers of thin foamy white head, which renders a few random streaks of lace around the glass as it settles. It smells of sharp herbal, citrusy hops, banana, soft black pepper, and musty yeast. The taste is sour wheat grain, banana bread, cinnamon, coriander, a bit of muddled citrus, and soft herbal yeast. The carbonation is moderate, the body fairly dense and smooth for the style, if only a wee bit cloying toward the end. It finishes mostly dry, that mixed bag of spices really holding sway - but it's the cinnamon that gets me.

A nice sharp, well-spiced witbier. Strangely thirst-quenching, in the sense that, while I enjoyed this, I now want something else...but that's just me.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2010 23:13:00 | More by biboergosum

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle, thanks for sharing bobsy!

Pours a very hazy and cloudy golden yellow, big bubbled white head forms, settles to a pretty thick layer, drops a lot of lacing on the glass, good retention. Smell is insane, very spicy, coriander and cinnamon, jasmine, minty, honey, oranges, bergamot, toast, some wheat, lightly yeast, touch of vanilla, very spicy but very well done. Taste is similar, big spiciness, cinnamon and honey, nutmeg, some fruit, chamomile, lightly tart and lemony through the middle, jasmine, mint, nice spicy finish. Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium to high carbonation. Maybe the most complex spicing I've ever encountered, and maybe the most unique witbier. Nice stuff! Thanks Rob.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2009 15:59:28 | More by Viggo

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dominus Vobiscum Blanche is quite cheery and bright in contrast to its seemingly doomsday-inspired label. The ultra-hazy, daisy yellow beer is lively with effervescent bubbles that shoot up its side and actively gurgle and percolate atop its surface.

It's impossible to know what kind of yeast was used simply by looking at a beer, but it sure can be easy to tell by smelling it. This recipe surely employs yeast of the Belgian variety - the barnyard mustiness and spicy/savory fusion give it away. It's a wonderful fragrance containing garden variety floral qualities, dry hay-like graininess and a bit of tart fruit.

I have no idea how many batches the brewery must have run through before finding this one - it is perfect to the letter. The old saw has it that if you can tell what spices were used then you've used too many; I've no idea which ones the brewery went with but I could entertain the notion of a number of different ones (coriander, nutmeg, oregano). This beer is a Petri dish of flavours that includes everything from honeyed oats to green grapes to chamomile tea.

The bubbles really sparkle in the mouth, almost like an Italian-soda; fizziness work well in a beer that leaves dry hay-like graininess and herbaceous chamomile-like notes, scrubbing them off the palate so as to make room for an aftertaste that features sharp lemon acidity, tart citrus fruit and flower petals. There's menial resemblance to a Prosecco. It is immensely refreshing and agreeable surely to even those who don't have much of a palate for beer.

If ever in our bid to try to connect with extraterrestrial life we send another Voyager shuttle out into space, I think we should include some beer alongside any golden records - surely beer is part and parcel with the story of mankind. It has been called the "universal drink", after all. And if I witbier makes the cut, and there's no Pierre Celis offerings laying around, then I opt we send this - it's every bit the same as good.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 17:08:27 | More by biegaman

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

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

A: Pale yellow with a slightly white haze; pours with a rediculous amount of fluffy white head; continous degassing makes a great bubble show; plenty of retention & leaves a foamy lace.

S: Spicy (cloves?), slight floral & citrus, toffee & light caramel sweetness.

T: Corriander, hint of cloves, orange rind, tropical fruit, slight breadyness, lemon citrus in the finish.

M: Plenty of carbonation, light body is slightly creamy.

D: Good summer drinker.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2007 21:57:48 | More by Derek

RoyalT

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance – This is a beautiful, hazy orange in color with a nice head.

Smell – The big, beautiful, fruity yeast aroma jumps from the goblet, even when the beer is cold. The orange and lemon especially mate well with the beautiful Belgian-style yeast.

Taste – Ah, this is very refreshing. There’s a bit of hop in here to compliment the fruity malt show. Of course, it is more in the background but still noticeable. Otherwise, the tongue (thankfully) follows the nose.

Mouthfeel – This is almost medium in the body with some big, fluffy carbonation. I really enjoyed this mouthfeel. It seems so difficult to replicate outside of Europe, but here it is properly done.

Drinkability – Simply wonderful! If you like the style you have to give this a try.

Comments – Rastacouere has excellent taste, I will say. He sent me this as part of a monster cross-border trade. A big BA thanks to my bro from Quebec.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2004 01:42:40 | More by RoyalT

francisweizen

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Excellent. Poure from the fat looking stubby brown glass bottle the liquid is a murky golden with yeast particulates floating about and a fluffy head of off-white bubbles. The aroma is wonderful. Coriander, lemon, orange peel/rind, wheat, yeast, candy sugar and other spices. The taste follows suit with lovely spicy hints and a refreshing citrus like finish. The mouthfeel is creamy, and oh-so smooth and the drinkability is perfect for a summer day!

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2004 22:54:34 | More by francisweizen

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle poured into 400ml dab glass

A pours head too start with followed by a very cloudy peach color with the most carbonation I've ever seen in a beer. it took several tries getting this in the glass, but it had a massive head the whole time and the foam went nowhere

S fairly complex, I get lots of honey and clove among other things

T cinnamon, and vanilla come out to play with a little yeast and all the things I can smell. well done a great mix of flavors here

M its just too carbonated for its own good, nice otherwise

D I must say I loved this beer, very unique and every sip left me thinking

this is the first beer I've had from this brewer and I'm looking forward too the rest of their stash

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2009 06:17:50 | More by wordemupg

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle acquired in trade with MartinT (thanks!).

Poured a medium, and slightly hazy, golden color with a huge sized, frothy white head. Aromas of yeast, spices, citrus, and some apple & banana fruitiness. Tastes of wheat, citrus, very light spices, and lightly fruity. Sweet finish. Thin body.

Notes from: 5/17/06

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2009 00:11:17 | More by hopdog

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml Bottle

Appearance - The beer pours a slightly hazy yellow/gold colour with an average size fizzy white coloured head. There is a lot of carbonation is showing and there is some faint lacing on the sides of the glass. The head lasted for only a couple of minutes before it began to dissipate.

Smell - wheat, cloves, breads/grains, lemon, cinnamon

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount carbonation and it feels very light and lively on the tongue. Most of the flavour consists of breads/grains, lemons, and cloves. There are also notes of cinnamon and perhaps some dry white wine. It finishes with a bitter/spicy lemony aftertaste.

Drink - I was on the fence with this one once I had my first few sips. It really has a unique flavour. In the end I was enjoying it quite a bit and I'm happy that I made the purchase. I'm not sure I'd seek it out again though.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2011 19:50:01 | More by spinrsx

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

4.53/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours the colour of unfiltered apple cider, with one of the whitest, soapiest heads I've seen in a long time. Retention and lacing is great. You'd think you were smelling a freshly baked spice cookie rather than a beer on the basis of the large aromas of cinnamon, chamomile and cloves. It also has an underlying doughy sweetness, which adds to the impression. Other notes of interest include ripe peaches, banana and lemon. It does smell great, but if I had to fault it I would say that its far from traditional in its aroma, and seems more in line with a weizenbock. Likewise, the flavour is far fuller and richer than I'd ever expected of the style, but this is a good think. The spice cookie comparison holds - this is a sweet, spicy doughy treat of a beer. Its particularly well-balanced by a slight wheat tanginess and hint of bitter tea leaves in the finish. Over-ripe bananas round things off. The body is as you would expect for the style - medium-light with a high, but pillowy, carbonation. Its certainly well done and in line with expectations.

Chalk up another great beer from Charlevoix. Big thanks to zorprime for this tasty treat!

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2009 15:21:20 | More by bobsy

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

4.53/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

From a 500 ml brown bottle, bottled on June 27, 2009.

Massive spongy white head on the pour, takes a few attempts to fill the glass finally. Cloudy, deep honey golden hue, nearing light amber already.

Intense tart citrus notes, lemon and rosehips greets the nose, along with some wheat in the background. Light spice then reveals itself after some time. Notes of orange surface last.

It all comes together in the flavour as well, a light citrusy tart wheat canvas embellished with light spice, with citrus notes of tangerine, lemon, and most predominantly that of key lime. Very, very refreshing!

Full, lush, creamy smooth mouthfeel contrasted with the lightest of pinprick carbonation on the finish. Dry and quenching. I can't fault it.

An excellent wit, better even than the St. Bernardus, it has it in all the right places, and the lime notes add an extra quenching element to this version of the style. A deceptively fulfilling session beer, and a classy one at that!

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2010 22:42:00 | More by IronDjinn

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from the LCBO, 500ml into a tulip. Bottled May 10, 2011.

A towering white head, both creamy yet dense appears in the glass, and took a few minutes to settle. A hazy yellow body arrives, carrying a slight orange tinge to it. Head leaves behind some fantastic retention and lace. Nose is great for a wit, lemon, mild phenolic character, slight herbal spiciness (not distinclty chamomile), slight peppery quality and some wheat. Taste is more distinct in terms of the chamomile, some lemon and orange zest, wheat and some mild banana character. Hints of vanillla. Fantastic mouthfeel, with a medium carbonation (maybe my aggressive pour brought it down to the perfect carbonation level - I thought the mouthfeel was sublime). Fairly light body, slightly creamy and a gentle spice in the finish. Absolutely crushable, one of the best wits I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2011 18:46:06 | More by liamt07

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

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

Notes from 7/21/11/. Bottled on 5/10/11. Poured in to Sierra Nevada pint glass.

A - Hazy/cloudy medium yellow with two fingers of thick, bubbly white head that left some good lacing on the glass.

S - Cloves, citrus, spice, Belgian yeast.

T - Cloves, banana, citrus, yeast esters, some spice, chamomile tea.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2011 15:17:58 | More by TheSevenDuffs

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled 2011/05/10.

A - Pours cloudy golden/blonde. One finger of soapy white head. Good carbonation. A touch of lacing and a good three quarter finger of retention.

S - Lot's of sweet spice, yeast, light wheat, lemony citrus, and a bit of banana. Nice complex aroma.

T - Nice lemony wit on our hands. Wheat, sweet spice, a little yeast.

M - Really effervescent, light to medium creamy-ish body and a slightly sweet, crisp finish.

O/D - A pretty solid Belgian style wheat. Spice is balanced with a good yeast presence, the gentle wheat character, and a good citrusy aspect. I liked it.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2011 23:11:11 | More by tbeckett

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

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

A - Pours a hazy pale colour, finger of head with little retention or lacing.

S - Sweet cloves and lemon citrus, wheat and yeast notes complemented by a touch of vanilla.

T - The cloves dominate with some citrus notes that follow. The flavour is more sweet than bitter, which is nice, and the flavours are rather bold for a witbier.

M - Heavy carbonation and goes down a bit prickly, but finishes nice and wet.

O - A very flavourful wit, and well worth a try. Glad I was able to grab a bottle in Ontario. Perfect summer time ale that is easily drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 16:10:15 | More by andrenaline

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

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

Pours a hazy pale orange colour with thick head. Nice head retention with some solid lacing around the glass. Smells quite yeasty with citrus and spices. Flavour is quite dry, very mild bitterness. Really nice carbonation level for the style. Certainly one of the better wheat beers I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2011 04:19:00 | More by kwjd

Proteus93

Virginia

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

Bottle states 'embouteilee le: 2010 Jan 14'

A: Big head, which appears to be the trend with this brewery. Hazy pale straw colour, head is rocky and rolling white. Pretty nice.

S: Quite a notable wheaty aroma, along with a modest whiff of lemon zest. If I had not seen chamomile on the bottle, I don't think I would have necessarily picked up on it myself, but I can see it upon being aware. Ginger? That comes out on the palate a bit, I think. Not as much of a 'breakfast cerea
* 'breakfast cereal' flavour as I usually detect in most wits. Very nice.

M + D: A nice, fizzly kind of carbonation rather similar to being kinda soda-like in many ways. Just the right assertiveness, and otherwise a smooth drinking experience. As far as wits go, this is pretty nicely done. I'd recommend this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2010 18:45:04 | More by Proteus93

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - starts a clear bubby light straw golden, very tall head retained forever, leaving some random lacing as it finally dissipated ... note that the last half of the bottle was very hazy as expected
S - strong aromas of yeast, spice, bread, and alight perfume hint
T - big flavours of fruity yeast, all spice, bready malt, tropical fruit, and perfumey hops, very complex mix of flavours
M - light with a pleasant carbonation, refreshing, finishing with a dry grainy feel
O - simply outstanding, one of the most tasty and complex witbiers i've had the pleasure of trying, if i had this on tap somewhere close i would never leave

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2012 04:46:37 | More by joemcgrath27

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy pale blonde colour, 2 finger of white head, sticky with some lace. Smell is yeasty-citrus upfront, orange peel, spices, coriander and white pepper. Taste is initially spicy and yeasty, very fresh floral notes, light sweetness at times, orange and citrus with a fairly dry aftertaste. High carbonation, medium body, thin at points, med-full feel and pretty good for style. Very good stuff overall, nice refreshing witbier drinks very well.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 16:11:01 | More by peensteen

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.45/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottled on May 10, 2011.

Pours a lovely, cloudy, golden colour, with a mountain of frothy white head on top. Very nice.

Smell is also great. Lemon and some other fruit notes, spice, and the characteristic wheat smell, but a particularly nice version of it.

Taste has lots of the lemon, as well as some banana, clove, nutmeg and other spices. Finish is somewhat creamy. The taste of the wheat malt is clearly present as well, very smooth.

Mouthfeel is pretty good. I realize that witbiers are a fairly carbonated style, but this one was a little much for me. Somewhat irritating on the palate. Body of the beer is otherwise a very good example of a light bodied beer. Quite velvety.

Overall, a great witbier. Really enjoyable, one of my favourites.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 02:34:49 | More by jrenihan

colts9016

Idaho

4.15/5  rDev +1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I acquired this bottle from Phyl21ca, thank you.

Poured into a pilsner glass at 46 degrees.

Appearance: A massive white foamy creamy head. The beer is a light amber yellow color with a lot of effervescence in the beer. The clarity of the beer is cloudy. The head sticks to the glass leaving the wonderful lacing.

Nose: A very nice spicy citrus sweetness. There is a light grain with honey, fruity esters, and floral.

Taste: There is a light grain, nice citrus, light peppery note, some honey, fruity esters, and floral.

Overall: The mouth feel is carbonated and the body is medium light. The finish is mild and refreshing. The first sip of this beer the first thing that came to my mind was a rather fresh and refreshing beer to drink on a lazy Saturday afternoon. It is a very tasty overall and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2009 23:43:55 | More by colts9016

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

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

Bottle from a mixed 4 pack picked up in Drummondville, along with the Dubbel, Tripel and Blonde.

Poured into a weizen glass. Pale opaque light golden, lots of bubbles on the sides of the glass, a sturdy two inches of head that left behind some nice lace, and survived as a thin layer throughout the pint.

Nose is banana, bubblegum, citrus and fresh grain. A bit of yeast and spice as well.

A great witbier, full of flavor and ridiculously easy to drink. Lemon, spice, mild bubblegum and yeast towards the finish. Slightly sweet and spicy - a great blend of flavors. I also picked up a clear presence of cinnamon and lime as well.

Mild pinprick carbonation, almost creamy feel, medium bodied.

Another great brew from Charlevoix. Fun to drink, flavorful from start to finish, a few nice tweaks (cinnamon, lime, bubblegum) to distinguing this from other witbier. I'd certainly place this among my top Canadian wheat beers for sure.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2011 04:13:16 | More by JohnnyBarman