Beer 360/365 – Dieu Du Ciel Peche Mortel

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.5%

Purchased at: Sent to me by Jared

What makes this beer different: One of the most intensely coffee flavored stouts ever.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes if I can find it again.

Grade: A

11/3/2010: I’m pretty sure this is my first beer from Dieu Du Ciel. I have a bottle of Aphrodisiaque in the basement, but it didn’t make the cut for the final handful of beers for my 365. I am sure I will drink and review it after the 365 is over.

The nose smells like used up coffee grinds, which is good because I love coffee (drinking some boca java as I type this). The flavor is all about semi-bitter roasted coffee, but it is rounded out nicely by some bitter chocolate. The alcohol is completely hidden. The mouthfeel is the highlight of this beer, so full and so creamy. This beer is by no means complex, its all about the coffee. Sometimes coffee doesn’t come through in big heavy stouts like this, but the coffee makes itself well known in Peche Mortel. The coffee flavor may be a bit too much for non-java lovers, but me personally I loved it.

Picture of the day: Baby is not a fan of yoda.

Beer 326/365 – Mill Street Lemon Tea Beer

Style: Herbed / Spiced beer

ABV: 4.90%

Purchased at: Dave brought it back from Canada

What makes this beer different: It really tastes like Tea! Not too much though.

Will I be drinking this again: Would love to next summer.

Grade: B+

9/30/2010: I had my roommate Dave stop by a six pack shop to grab me some brew while he was on a business trip in Canada a few weeks back. I have never heard of this beer, but it sounded interesting so I had him pick me up one.

The nose really comes off with a lot of fresh brewed tea, with a splash of lemon. The flavor was a lot better than I expected, an even split between wheat flavor, and fresh brewed hot tea. Yes a little bit of tart lemon is there as well. I was afraid the tea would be way overdone, but I think this is a perfect amount. Mouthfeel is light with nice carbonation. This would be an awesome beer to have a six pack of on a hot summer day.

Picture of the day: How to spot a douchebag.

Beer 325/365 – Unibroue La Fin Du Monde

Style: Tripel

ABV: 9.0%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman, OH

What makes this beer different: The best North American brewed Belgian style beer I have ever had.

Will I be drinking this again: I have 3 more aging in the basement, so yes!

Grade: A

9/29/2010: La Fin Du Monde is Unibroue’s highest ranked beer. Which is why I am kind of surprised I haven’t reviewed it yet. I think its almost goes unsaid that Unibroue makes the best Belgain Style beer not brewed within the borders of Belgium itself. I also picked this beer because I really wanted to knock off as many of the Top 100 BeerAdvocate beers as I could before I wrap up my 365 (La Fin comes in at #33 at the moment).

The nose of La Fin Du Monde isn’t quite as funky/yeasty as a true Belgian, but its still good. Pears/Apples at the front, and a touch of clove. The flavor is what makes this beer, its on the sweeter end of the Tripel scale. Lots of apple/pear type flavors, maybe some banana? Clove and pepper are in the background, but theres just enough for you to know its there. Not as spicy as other tripels I have had, but thats okay by me. Mouthfeel is the only knock on this beer, as it doesn’t have the full creamy feeling of a true Belgian. I have yet to find a North American brewed beer that gets the Belgian mouthfeel right. That being said this is still a great great beer.

Picture of the day: Free Sex!

Beer 323/365 – Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.2%

Purchased at: Roommate Dave brought it back from Canada on a road-trip.

What makes this beer different: Lots of flavor for an APA

Will I be drinking this again: I would if it were available in the states!

Grade: B+

9/27/2010: Canada… forever America’s top hat. I keed I keed. My roommate recently went on a business trip through the great white north, and of course I had him stop and grab me some brew that I can’t get in the states. Apparently Canada doesn’t have a big selection at thier 6 pack shops like do in the US, but he still got me a nice variety.

The nose of Hoptical Illusion (awesome name by the way) is mostly bready, with some fruity hops. The flavor has a great balance of malt/hops; Pale and bready malts, with some citrus (almost apricot like) and floral hops. Very crisp for the style. Average carbonation and mouthfeel, with a lot of carbonation. Also a bit creamy for the style. Good job on this one Canadia!

Picture of the day: Very witty and appropro (sp?) baseball illustration.

Beer 251/365 – Unibroue La Seigneuriale

Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 7.5%

Purchased at: The Headkeeper – Greensburg PA

What makes this beer different: Funky for a BSPA

Will I be drinking this again: Its retired, but just slightly above average to me.

Grade: B+

7/17/2010: I usually know a good bit about a certain before before purchasing it, but that was not the case with La Seigneuriale. I bought this completely on a whim because of it being vintage, and knowing that Unibroue makes some of the best Belgian beer outside of Belgium. The Headkeeper had a few Unibroue 15’s on the shelves for 10 bones, so I grabbed a couple of those as well.

La Seigneuriale is one of the first beers I have smelled, that is both sweet and sour. Very pleasant smelling to be sure. Candi sugar leads the way for the flavors, with a side of breadyness, a little sour apple, and caramel. Something about this beer makes me think its a semi-sour watered down version of Trappistes Rochefort 8. The flavors are good, just not as intense as they need to be for the style. Upon reading some reviews on Beer Advocate, I don’t think this beer is supposed to be sour. Infection maybe? Either way I think it actually works here. Mouthfeel is very thin, another knock on the beer. All that being said if La Seigneuriale had a little stronger flavors going on, or a thicker body, this might have jumped into the A- range.

Picture of the day: If i were a kid, I would be avoiding this guy like the plague.

Beer 184/365 – Unibroue Ephemere Apple

Style: Fruit / Vegetable Beer

ABV: 5.50%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Sour apple cider

Will I be drinking this again:No

Grade: C+

5/11/2010: Unibroue probably brews some of the best Belgian style beers outside of Belgium. La Fin Du Monde, Trois Pistoles, Maudite, La Terrible, all very very solid beers. Actually I think La Terrible might be my favorite of theirs. I have yet to try a beer of theirs that I do not like …until now.

Ephemere smells like straight apple juice made from granny smith apples. The taste is a very bitter apple, with not nearly enough sweetness to back it up. Not much malt/sugar to speak of. Very dry also. Overall it kind of tastes like a fizzy sour apple juice mixed 50/50 with some very dry champagne. I guess you can’t hit a home run every time right?

Picture of the day: Human heads are delicious.

Beer 143/365 – Central City Red Racer IPA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Purchased at: Sent in a trade from Jared @beeradvocate

What makes this beer different: Is that pineapple I taste?!

Will I be drinking this again: Doubtful that I can find it in Pennsylvania

Grade: A-

3/31/2010: Thanks to Jared for sending this to me. I was excited to see this as an extra throw in because I love canned beers for some reason, they have that “underdog” feel to them. This beer also is apparently the #1 rated IPA brewed in Canada (A on Beeradvocate).

I crack open the can, pour it, and instantly get the smell of fruity hops. I usually take my pictures from about 5-6 feet away from the actual beer (higher zoom makes a more interesting depth of field), and I could smell it from there. The taste was not quite as hoppy as the smell would make you think. An even balance of pine/citrus hops. The citrus end of it is almost tropical.. Mango/Pineapple type flavors are what I am getting. That makes this beer very unique. Overall a very solid beer, only knock on it was the mouthfeel was a bit watery for my liking.

Picture of the day: The evolutions of worship. How true.

Beer 61/365 – Unibroue Maudite

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Purchased at: Vintage Estate

What makes this beer different: Smooth and Crisp

Will I be drinking this again: Fo shizzle (Snoop just made a quick guest appearance on my blizog)

Grade: A

1/08/2010: Three A or better ratings in a row? Yes this is a first. This is one of the few mainstream Unibroue beers I have yet to try. Hard to believe because it is considered by many to be their best, but it actually isn’t super easy to find in the burgh.

The head on this beer didn’t come out quite like I was expecting. It was only slightly bubbly and not that creamy looking. The smell also was almost non-existent, but a bit fruity. The cliche “Don’t judge a book by its cover” without a doubt applies here. The taste is just awesome, so smooth. Very complex, with heavy malt to start, slight cherry, and a slight peppery taste. Also some spices in the background but I can’t quite pick out exactly what they are. ABV is hidden extremely well. The mouthfeel is a bit on the light side for a BSDA. I would have made this an A+ if the mouth feel was just a bit heavier, and if it had more of a good smell to it.

Beer 45 – Unibroue Chambly Noire

Style: Belgian Dark Ale

Purchased at: Vintage Estate

What makes this beer different: Lacks oomph for a belgian

Will I be drinking this again: nope

Grade: B

12/23/2009: I have had a handful of Unibroue beers, and up until this one they have all been awesome. Unibroue consistently makes some of the best tasting Belgian beers outside of Europe.

At first taste I expect some wow factor, but I get nothing. Every sip after that I find myself looking for a taste that just isn’t there. The flavors are so dull that I really cannot pick out anything specific. I taste dark malt, and some sort of fruit but I cannot tell what it is. Someone who has never tried a belgian might like this, but I expect more out of a Belgian Dark Ale. Very drinkable, just not a lot of flavor.