Our featured brewer out of Saint-Jérôme, Québec, is Dieu du Ciel, translation; God of the Sky. * Speaking of Gods of the sky, have you heard the story of Uranus and Cronus. You may have some relationship issues with your kids but there probably aren’t many of you out there that can say your son, with your wife’s assistance, cut off your genitals and tossed them into the sea.
In some kind of cosmic karma where the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the relationship issues continued for Cronus, with his son Zeus overthrowing his father to become King of the Gods. He tossed the Old man into a prison in the underworld to avoid any potential unpleasant scenes at future family reunions. It’s just like the Boss told us, “Poor man wanna be rich, Rich man wanna be king / And a king ain’t satisfied / Till he rules everything”. **
One Goddess on the half shell coming up. Hold the foam.
Ok, back to Uranus and his balls. Once his family jewels hit the drink, an environmental spill of “epic” proportions, from the foam that hit the shore Aphrodite was borne! Now I’m no pediatrician, but the story of how Aphrodite broke water doesn’t hold water for me. *** But my beer glass does hold beer, and right now it is holding an Aphrodite by Dieu du Ciel Brasserie. How’s that for a shaggy dog story of a segue. ****
Hades would have been proud of this pour, as dark as his world. A tan foam rising, let’s hope Aphrodite herself doesn’t pop out of the foam because we all know what that would mean. Gross. The aroma is strong cocoa and vanilla, here’s hoping it’s not as sweet as it smells. Ok, it is as sweet as it smells. Top heavy vanilla, a watery mouthfeel, with a mild roast malt body and cocoa finish. Imbalanced, unbalanced, and in general not balanced. The vanilla isn’t backing off, it’s a sipper not a swigger. I’m not sure what the right food pairing would be but I can tell you that it isn’t chips and dill dip.
The cocoa starts to kick in big time for a vanilla cocoa dominant stout. More than a touch too much vanilla, and chock o block with chocolate for some none too subtle very sweet suds.
It is what it says it is, a cocoa vanilla stout, with the cocoa and vanilla in the spotlight and the stout playing a supporting role. Higher ABV that a typical stout, it’s approaching an Imperial stout not in ABV, but with some over the top flavours. A desert sipper, not a wing can for the game.
*COMDB Translation Department Comment: Although that is the literal translation, the Reviewer has taken some literary licence. The common translation of the expression Dieu du Ciel is “God in Heaven”.
**Editor’s Comment: From the song Badlands by Bruce Springsteen from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town”.
***Editor’s Comment: Greek legend does in fact say that Aphrodite was borne off the coast of Cythera from the foam produced by Uranus’ genitals when they were thrown into the sea by Cronus. In an alternate legend, including Homer’s Iliad, she was said to be the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Aphrodite is the Greek Goddess while Venus is her Roman name, they are one in the same.
****Editor’s Comment: A shaggy-dog story is an extremely long-winded anecdote of irrelevant information which ends in an anticlimax. In other words, a COM beer review.
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