Petite Mort
Brasserie Dunham

 

Moderate pour yields a one inch tan head over a dark brown body with some sticky lacing. Nose of all kinds of chocolate, a bit of coffee, plenty of roasted malt, and a tiny bit of dark fruit. Armagnac, cognac, and brandy notes from the barrels are faint but definitely there. Taste mirrors nose nicely and even though this is a couple years old the hops (85 ibus) are more than noticeable. Very nice feel and overall, a real nice RIS and I'm very glad for the opportunity to enjoy this offering from our friends up north. Cheers!

 

 

Jet black and oily, ring of tan head and some lace here. Smell is oaky, nice vinous cognac character, fairly well roasted and chocolatey, really quite an outstanding nose. Taste is toasty and chocolatey, oak and coffee flavours that last into the finish, nice underlying cognac flavour and some dark fruit and grape, oaky and coffee aftertaste. Lightly carbonated, thick full body, chewy. Wonderful, seamless blend of flavours and incredibly drinkable, a wonderful Cognac treated stout.

A: The beer pours pitch black with a mocha colored head that has really strong retention. Strong lacing and alcohol legs, which is expected considering the amount of residual sugars and ABV.

S: The smell is pretty light, which is surprising. But, the whisky notes come out pretty strong with strong amount of vanilla, oak. This is well complemented by some buttery esters present too. There is a healthy dose of licorice in this, as well as dark chocolate notes and even some maple maybe. Someone else said cola and I'd have to agree here.

T: This beer is rated at 88 IBU, much higher than most imperial stouts. This shows in the taste. You get a healthy dose of bitterness, making this one kind of close to an imperial black IPA. You get a bit of peaches, candied orange peels, a light herbal note. But, there is solid amount of dark chocolate and licorice too, staples of imperial stouts. Finally, it all wraps up with oak tannins, buttery esters, pecans, maple and a general booze that indeeds makes me think of some speyside whiskies.

M: Now, this is how you do it. Just perfectly heavy, not too sticky. Carbonation could be a tiny bit smoother, but that's about it, and would require different yeasts.

O: This is a very solid limited edition from Dunham, one of my favorite brewery from Quebec. This is worth a try.

Also, I need to add how I enjoy the fact that this is bottled 375ml bottles (13 ish ounces) instead of the usual 750ml (double) for limited edition beers around here. This is 11% ABV, and I just want to drink a good beer, not get wasted. I appreciate the smaller bottling.

 

L: Solid, light mocha head, could use more thickness.

S: Nice, roasty, bit of barrel, cola. Not much chocolate IIRC.

T: Very similar. Wish the barrel was more present here and it at least had some fudge, but it's good.

F: I think I remember the carb being a bit heavy, otherwise fine.

O: Nice offering, but a bit lacking compared to other BA imperial stouts I've had.

Surprisingly well balanced for a triple barrel. Really enjoyed this one. Chocolate on the nose, touch of must, barrel, raisin, plum in the back. Moderate mouth feel. Clean finish, not too sweet like a lot of BA stouts. The 11.0% hides deep in the background. Maybe provides a touch of spice on the finish. Worth seeking out.

 

 

375ml bottle.

Deep black with a dark brown head that while large, dissipates quickly. No lacing. Smokey malt notes, coffee on the nose. Roasted grain, coffee and slight hop bitterness. Boozy, but well integrated. Lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

Quite a nice imperial stout. The barrel is present but not overbearing. Cognac comes through most notably, but it is well done, adding to the flavour rather than dominating it. The base beer is smooth, with roasted malt and cocoa. A good example of barrel-aging that is subtle enough not to overtake the beer.