Canadian brewery (er… sorry, brasserie) Dieu du Ciel has been so kind as to share their big (9.5%) coffee stout with the world in a snazzy 11.5 fl oz bottle. An interesting aside before getting in to the review, the bottle says Peche Mortel is French for “mortal sin.” I swear I thought it meant “mortal peach.”
Glassware – Over-sized brandy snifter.
Appearance – Pours a very dark black with some very dark red highlights. There isn’t too much of a head to speak of, even after a very vigorous pour. There are some bubbles however, they are floating around the outside of the glass and are scattered through the top of the beer. Rolling the beer around the glass shows off some very nice legs and leaves some really nice lacing.
Nose – I could smell this beer across the room while setting up the pictures, it is strong. Lots of roasted barley notes, alcohol and really dark coffee. Very dark, strong coffee. This is a coffee stout for sure and a hard one to contend with in the nose.
Taste – Astringent bitterness coming from the coffee flavor with a strong, burnt coffee aftertaste. Very bitter and very aggressive. I think it’s actually a bit too much for me. The alcohol, the malt, any semblance of flavor is completely annihilated by this burnt coffee flavor. This one is clearly not for me.
Mouthfeel – The body is on the heavier side of medium (or the lighter side of heavy… whichever) with really nice carbonation. The beer finishes a little sticky which I normally wouldn’t mind but the flavor of this stickiness is burnt coffee.
Overall – This beer has a lot of potential, maybe this was a bad batch but I really could see myself enjoying this if it were more than one dimensional bitterness.
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