Believe it or not, us Americans have some serious competition suds-wise from our neighbors to the north. And while Canada can't touch the sheer number of breweries we have, they may not be all that far off as far as quality goes. Brewery in point- Dieu du Ciel.
I've reviewed a few of Dieu du Ciel's offerings in previous posts, most notably their Top 100 stout, Peche Mortel. I'm such a fan of Dieu du Ciel that I've bought a new beer from them every time I've seen one. After trying their Belgian Pale Ale, Dernière Volonté, I thought I had run out of new beers from Dieu du Ciel to try (at least beers they distribute to San Diego). But a few days ago, I stumbled upon one of their bottles I had never seen before at Toronados. It was a scotch ale called Équinoxe Du Printemps. Like many of Dieu du Ciel's beers, this is a traditional style with a twist- it's brewed with maple syrup from Quebec. Sweet!
Équinoxe Du Printemps pours a murky light brown color with pretty much no head to speak of. While the beer didn't look like much, the smell was huge, with rich notes of dark fruit and toffee and a trace of maple syrup.
The taste opens with some big, chewy malt along with raisin skins and plums. Hidden in the background is something that definitely reminds me of scotch. Suddenly, the taste turns and a rich maple syrup sweetness takes over. I've had a lot of beers that said they had maple syrup in them, but I've never tasted as much maple syrup as I did in this one. The finish strays from the maple syrup sweetness and leaves a dry and lingering finish with a bit of peat that, again, reminded me of scotch.
This was a really interesting take on a scotch ale. I'd never had a scotch ale before that reminded me of actual scotch, nor had I had a beer that really tasted like maple syrup. Another fantastic offering from the folks at Dieu du Ciel. I'm hoping you'll see more of their beers on this blog in the near future. If nothing else, I'll have to make a trip out to Canada soon.
Final Grade: A
Top 100 Beers Tasted: 37
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