Solstice d'Hiver
(has 8 batches)
Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada 🇨🇦
Barley Wine - Barley Winter|
Score
7.33
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This deep-brown winter ale offers up complex aromas of fruit, alcohol and hops. The boozy mouth feel is vaguely sweet with hints of brunt caramel. Up-front bitterness accompanies a surprising element of complex red fruit, followed by an expressively hoppy finish. Solstice d’Hiver is brewed only once a year, and is then aged for 4 to 5 months before being sold. This aging process is necessary to achieve an ideal equilibrium between the sharp bitterness and the other flavours in the beer. After aging, it is then sold starting mid-December of each year, until stocks last.
This beer was first crafted at our Montreal brewpub in December of 1998.
This beer was first crafted at our Montreal brewpub in December of 1998.
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7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 7
Bottle at home. Pours clear ruby amber, nose is caramel, bread, redcurrant, taste is sweet toffee, bready, berries, bitter finish. 8/8/8/7/7
Tried
on 07 Aug 2026
at 13:26
8.1/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Fles 33cl thuis. Caramel, bitters, licht liquorice, hop (Centennial, East Kent Goldings), toffee, suikers, wat citrustonen, hoppig, dried fruits, kruidig, soja? Mooie balans. (5-5-2026).
Tried
from Bottle
from Beer Republic
on 05 May 2026
at 14:50
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Nose is a bit boozy with hops, sweet malt and a hint of bubble gum. Body is rich and substantial. Very much like a quadruple/BW hybrid. The taste is complex with sweet toffee, a hoppy bite, some spice and dark fruit, that Belgian bubble gum and roasted malt. The bitterness sustains well. A great winter warming barley wine.
Tried
on 23 Sep 2025
at 19:59
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottled. Deep dark pour almost no head. Dark fruits, rum, raisins. Yeast. Vanilla. Pretty good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 May 2025
at 01:08
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Olive-coloured bottle, 330 ml, purchased from Dépanneur Rapido on 19 December 2024, tasted on 7 May 2025; eye: dirty brown, opaque, no effervescence, ring and island of beige head, no lacing; nose: malt, raisin, light alcohol, grape, earthy; mouth: malt, metallic, raisins, alcohol, finale in a hint of bitter hops with presence of metallic note, full-bodied, average carbonation, mildy bitter, lightly sweet, lightly metallic texture; in summary: decent
FRANÇAIS
Bouteille olive, 330 ml, achetée chez Dépanneur Rapido le 19 décembre 2024, savourée le 7 mai 2025; œil : brun sale, opaque, pas d’effervescence, anneau et île de mousse beige, pas de dentelle; nez : malt, raisin sec, léger alcool, raisin, terreux; bouche : malt, métallique, raisin sec, alcool, finale en léger houblon amérisant avec présence métallique, corsée, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement amère, légèrement sucrée, texture légèrement métallique; en résumé : correct
FRANÇAIS
Bouteille olive, 330 ml, achetée chez Dépanneur Rapido le 19 décembre 2024, savourée le 7 mai 2025; œil : brun sale, opaque, pas d’effervescence, anneau et île de mousse beige, pas de dentelle; nez : malt, raisin sec, léger alcool, raisin, terreux; bouche : malt, métallique, raisin sec, alcool, finale en léger houblon amérisant avec présence métallique, corsée, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement amère, légèrement sucrée, texture légèrement métallique; en résumé : correct
Tried
from Bottle
from
Dépanneur Rapido - Le Géant de la Bière
on 07 May 2025
at 21:51
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle. Much hoppier then I expected. Has a nice fruity, malt taste but the hops are a bit overpowering for a barleywine. Nice pleasant, dark amberish brown. Aroma is fruity, hoppy and malty all at the same time. Overall, not a bad beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Mar 2025
at 05:14
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dark ruby brown. Small white head. Sweet aroma bready malts, light piney hops, touch of sweet sherry, and some light vanilla. Mouthfeel is a little thick. Low carb. Decent bitter finish with touches of caramel and nutty malt. And american/british hybrid barley wine.
Tried
from Can
on 28 Feb 2025
at 05:21
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
tasting in Bratislavka. Deep amber color with small beige head. Malty aroma with caramel, vanilla, light hoppy notes, honey. Taste is pretty the same.
Tried
on 04 Jan 2025
at 17:03
8/10
Super sweet. Absolutely delicious.
Tried
on 13 Dec 2024
at 18:34
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
11.5 ounce bottle from Philly Craft Beer in Langhorne, PA. A rather lucky find, if I do say so! Bottled on 2023-01-05. Rich garnet colored pour evokes a creamy mousse-like tannish head. Aroma of rich, sherry like malt and toasted, rustic bread. Soft and pliable, this ale is simple, yet complex. There is an underlying smokiness and a richness that transcends the style. In my experience, most barley wines are much more intense and forthcoming. This brew is more relaxed and amiable. There is the slightest bitterness in the finish that adds a level of welcomed complexity. As I said earlier, what a rather lucky find, indeed!
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jul 2024
at 05:35