Péché Mortel Framboise
Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

Deep dark brown, almost black, clear, with a hint of red; forms almost no head, though this could be due to age.
A tempting combination of sweet, ripe raspberry and luscious dark chocolate cake, a touch of coffee.
The flavour is more like a fruity single-origin chocolate, as opposed to the distinct notes in the nose; there's a bitterness to it that is distracting, like an apricot pit; there is some coffee bean as well - again, of the new wave fruity variety; noticeable acidity; carbonation is almost nil, medium body, with a sticky feel.

The aroma was so enticing, it might have made the flavour more of a letdown. Peche Mortel is what it is, but a version of this without coffee might be delicious, it just doesn't do well with coffee imo.

 

Medium: Capped + small snifter. Almost a year old.
Opacity: Opaque.
Color: Black.
Head: Poor with light swirl reaction.
Legs: Okay but strong lacing.
Smell: Raspberries/Coffee/Toffee.
Taste: Chocolate/Molasses/Herbal.
Feel: Roasted/Earthy/Fruity/Woody.
Body: Medium creamy, a bit silky, but a little thin like a Porter.
Carbonation: Moderate crisp, slightly sharp.
Overall: Aged well in the cellar, very soft sourness but probably from the fruits. Quite warming yet alcohol is respectfully hidden. Raspberries is a nice addition to the complexity from the original and is not overwhelming.

Visual 5/10 - Flavors 9/10 - Sensations 8/10 - Balance 8/10 -
Freshness 2/10 - Intensity 8/10 - Complexity 8/10 - Appreciation 8.5/10

Dark brown with a moist tan head, low to moderate retention, no lacing. Roasty coffee notes, milk chocolate, and very present raspberry. Moderate to thin body, light carbonation. Lovely series of stouts.

 

 

 

Serving: Bottle
Bottled: Nov-8-2017

It pours pretty nice, pitch black with a decent creamy tan head that settles to an easily roused film. Spider web lacing.
Smell is of bright, fresh raspberry tartness with a little espresso and some cocoa underneath. It tastes like a raspberry bush ground into the earth by a pissed off bear complete with the herbal and woodsy bite of the "stems" and "leaves." Lordy that's an interesting and surprisingly good combination! It is definitely drinkable, with a full body and mediun carbonation. The feel is kind of balanced between roastiness and the suggestion of tartness. Really interesting and enjoyable.

3.75...4...4...4...4

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of nice espresso notes with some roasted malt notes, light chocolate notes with some tart raspberry flavours also noticeable. Taste is also a mix of floral espresso notes with some dry bitter roasted malt notes, light black chocolate notes offset by tart raspberry flavours. Body is about average with good carbonation with no real apparent alcohol notes. Interesting mix of flavours but not something I would feel the need to try again.

A: Pours the usual brownish black color with a tan head. Poor retention and lacing, strong alcohol legs.

S: I don't know so far. This doesn't do it for me much. There is a LOT of raspberry jam like notes in there. The smoked/burnt notes of the espresso are there in the background, as well as some vanilla. But they don't blend quite well together. Doesn't really work.

T: Well, like I said, this doesn't work at all. The raspberries are the main feature of the beer but they really don't fit well with the base beer. The burnt notes and smokiness of the espresso really clash with the beer. Also, there are some green, vegetable-like hops in the beer. The result taste like raspberry soap. This would have worked in a beer that had a lot more sweet chocolate notes or with a fruitier coffee base.

M: A bit light for the genre and the sugar content. I doubt it is because of the wheat used.

O: This really doesn't work for me at all. I love raspberries, I love coffee (especially fruity origin coffees like from Ethiopia) and I love imperial stout. But this doesn't work at all. I suppose if they used a fruitier, more acidic coffee for the espresso would have helped. Also, if the overall recipe was sweeter and had more chocolate notes, it would have helped. They needed to cut back a lot on the hops for them to blend well with the raspberries and the coffee notes.

This beer is extremely eclectic and lacks a lot of cohesion. Many elements that don't blend together at all. Drain pour for me.

 

 

 

 

On tap at Belmont Station yesterday.

The beer pours a blackish brown color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose, there's coffee, chocolate, light vanilla and burnt toast, coupled with a noticeable blasts of raspberry. Frankly, I don't think the raspberry blends in all that well with the base beer. The flavor profile is more of the same, but I'm really not digging the raspberry on the palate. It seems to give this beer almost a soapy flavor that is pretty unattractive. The base beer is good enough, but the raspberry is a distraction and a detraction. Mouthfeel is medium bodied to full, with the beer drying out pretty quickly on the finish. Mouthfeel is ultimately a bit thin in this beer. Alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, but even so, drinkability is not this beer's strong suit.

Mehhhh... nothing really special about this beer, and it was a chore trying to drink it. Definitely not my cup of tea.