In august my girlfriend and I went to Montreal for a few days as a little affordable vacation. It was pretty cool. I've been there a few times but the last couple of times I went were for just playing a show and left no time to explore what the city had to offer. Also, it really wasn't until 2 or 3 years ago that I really started to take an active interest in beer so this time I was going to make it a priority to see what Montreal was brewing. The Unibrou brand is way popular, you can get their giant bottles anywhere/everywhere, and while the beer is good it's not really my cup of tea. One of my buddies at work (and fellow beer snob) Bart informed me of a few great pubs to check out. One in particular - Le Saint Bock - floored me. It was a few blocks away from the hotel we stayed at so we ended up going there every night. My first visit there I asked for a Corne Du Diablo, one of the beers produced by Dieu Du Ciel, and the waitress warned me: "It's very strong, do you like IPAs?" I grinned and said yes. She brought out a pint of one of the best IPAs I've ever had. It was beautiful, bitter, and full of flavour. I think I'll take that as a good sign if the bartender gives me a warning before trying a beer: "Are you certain that you want to corrode your mouth with so much flavour that your tongue will turn black and your eyes will roll back in your head?" (The answer will always be: yes, very much so.)
I noticed a few months back that Dieu Du Ciel beers started popping up in the LCBOs around here. Surely enough I picked up 3 bottles of Corne Du Diablo but I hadn't ventured into any other kinds of beer. I kept getting recommendations but it wasn't until tonight that I decided that I really need to try another one. I picked up this interesting looking bottle of Aphrodite. The little description card at LCBO described flavours such as vanilla and cocoa and it is a strong stout. Sounds pretty out there, but I am very much stoked to try it!
The website for Dieu De Ciel is a bit confusing because they have a couple locations and also brewpubs too. I do recommend navigating till you get a selection of the beers they carry because they all sound very complex. The Aphrodite is said to have won a bunch of awards in back in 2003. It also goes on to describe the flavours of vanilla, dark chocolate, bourbon and roasted malt being present. Despite its colouring, they claim it's accessible enough for most beer drinkers. Aw, I thought this was the beer for the elite? Well, either way it still sounds pretty interesting.
It pours out pretty thick and dark with dark foam as well. It smells like any stout, but maybe a bit weaker. First sip, very nice. Initially I taste the coffee-like bitterness but then my tongue is coated with dark chocolate. The vanilla bean flavouring is very subtle. Maybe I'd want just a bit more vanilla flavouring to come forward to make this beer stand out more but it still is very delicious. I'm guessing that what the vanilla bean does is strengthen the cocoa flavouring because for a beer that is not called a Chocolate Stout it may in fact be the most chocolaty tasting stout I've ever had. It's also not overly smoky tasting too. The only downside is that it's $3.50 for a 341 mL bottle. If this was a bit cheaper I'd probably pick this up more often.
I just ate a few crackers and now am taking a sip. It basically tasted the way I figured it would. I know crackers aren't considered a good pairing food, but essentially I just wanted something to cleanse the palette and make way for a bolder taste which is exactly what it did.
87% : A tasty chocolaty stout. The vanilla flavour really just boosts the chocolaty flavour. Coats your tongue in chocolate and coffee. Quite delicious and intense. I say try anything by Dieu Du Ciel and you'll be in for a treat - especially the Corne Du Diable!
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