Murky orange color (I was the last one to drink the bottle so this is understandable). Oranges, spice and whisky notes elude from the nose. Thick heavy malty mouth, earthy, peaty, full bodied and smooth. Warming alcoholic, spiced finish. Nice, but not overly complex.

On draught at the Mondial, 6/3/2005. Orange-golden-copper. Lightly hazy, full white, lasting head, with good lacing. Smells of musty, sweaty yeast, outdone by a crips, yet plant-like spiciness. Coriander stalks is what I always think of. Flavor is coriander and green, juicy plants. Fresh spiciness, with light hops bitterness, very green and chewy. Very doughy, though not bready or rough in any way. Medium-full bodied, ending malty sweet and quite yeasty. Moderate carbonation amply provides pleasing texture. Much yeast lingers on the finish. No alcohol detected in my samples.

On draught at the brewpub 6/2/2005 with Tiggmtl, Muzzlehatch and Bret Kuhnhenn and Co. Pale golden-yellow colored beer, small white head with good retention and low lacing. Looks rather still in the glass for a Belgian ale, however. Aroma of light pale malts, some dry biscuits and touches of lemon and orange rind. Fresh green hops greet the nose immediately backed by a brace of white sugar. Some faint touches of yeast, but it’s passing. Flavor is sweet, light grassy/plant-like bitterness, with dough and sugar, and a round, but too subtle/subdued Belgian yeast. Dry spiciness gets almost bready on the end. Mouthfeel is soft, almost buttery/creamy, with moderate carbonation, and a medium body overall. Would like more Belgian yeast apparency and complexity and some dryer/more complex malts.

On draught at the brewpub and at the fest June 2005. Chocolate, caramel brown body, with some darker brown notes mixed in. Opaque/cloudy with a small beige head, rapidly receding to cover then ring. Aroma smells of smoked malt and more specifically, woody, oily, dry, charred smoked malt, with less salty, beef and pork smoke character than your typical Schlennie offering. Bits of chocolate and coffee break in, with a bit of molasses or lightly sweet brown-sugar. Flavor is sweet and smokey, like maple cured turkey bacon, wet coffee rinds, chocolate and dry pine wood. Honey sweet malt sugariness on the end, with an easygoing milk chocolatiness and a touch of drying roast. Watery consistency to the texture with the body seemingly broken up by unusually large bubbles, too watery ultimately. Low carbonation. Still, the fact that they smoked their own malt really impresses me. Hard to give a palate score on this for me, a perfect balance for the flavor, in my mind, but an overly watery consistency.

On nitro draught 6/2/2005 at the brewpub with Muzzlehatch, tiggmtl, Bret Kuhnhenn and co. Thick, molasses and brown sugar tinged black body, with a lasting beige-flecked tan nitro head. So here you have DdC’s non-coffee imperial stout, what to think? Well, since the Peche Mortel is not over-the-top, dosent have boatloads of bitter hops, a thick salty body, huge sticky malt and gobs of alcohol, then maybe this one does? No, not a chance. J.F. is too good for that, that’s right you American brewers, he’s better than you!!
Ahem, anyways, this one smells of light milk chocolate, raisins, caramel, ever-so slight tinges of smoke (or perhaps it’s just deeply roasted malt). Flavor is full of milk chocolate, creamy and moderately sweet, with fudge, vanilla-mocha cappucino notes and lovely roasted barley bitterness on the end. No hops noted anywhere. Nitro consistency makes it lightly watery and loose, with low carbonation, but the flavors are just so well-done that it isnt really a problem. No trace of alcohol. The roasted barley flavor in this beer is second to none. It’s not all out heavily roasted black coffee, but a more subtle plant root, meets lightly bitter oily coffee and just whole grains of rich germinated barley mash. Reminds me of how guinness used to taste, a long time ago. Maybe a bit too choco-caramelly sweet overall, but definitely well-done and more importantly, not overdone.