Pionnière
Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

Working on cleaning up the backlog of notes I have. Sample enjoyed at the Brewery.

This version is 9.1 abv. Beige head which settles to rim bubbles. No lacing. Deep dark brown color. No passing light.

Black coffee aroma with dark chocolate and Graham crackers.

The flavor has a cookie like element. Rich body with a lower carbonation level. I keep getting graham cracker tastes. This is similar to a bitter s'more with a toasted Marshmallow. Overall, it's more bitter (black patent malt) than sweet. Long aftertaste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-tap at DDC.

Beer is black with a moderately-sized tan head. Head fades steadily, leaving some lace.

Big roasty nose, with chocolate and vanilla. Malt heavy, but there is some citrus.

Taste is also malt forward. Roasted malt and chocolate, a bit of smoke and some anise. This is coupled with nice American hop flavours, citrus and some tropical fruit. More 'black' than IPA, but a nice blend that tastes very good. Moderately bitter.

Full bodied, moderately carbonated. A bit oily and chewy.

Overall, very good. A very good Black IPA, so long as you are happy to have the malt take precedence.

 

 

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

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.

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)

 

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.