Posted by Greg Clow in beer, beverages on February 12, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Normally, I try to focus this column exclusively on beers that are available in Toronto, either via the LCBO and/or Beer Store, or at one or more of the city's better beer establishments. This week, though, I'll be making an exception.
I'm doing this because I just returned from a weekend trip to Montreal, and amongst the numerous beers that I enjoyed during my visit, there is one that ranks amongst the best I've ever tried, so I can't resist raving about it. The beer is Péché Mortel ("Mortal Sin"), an imperial coffee stout from the brewpub and microbrewery Dieu de Ciel!
(The exclamation point is part of their actual name, but even if it wasn't, I'd be tempted to use one anyway.)
I paid my first visit to the DDC! brewpub (29 Laurier West near St-Denis, Montreal) in the summer of 2002, at a time when my interest in craft beer was really starting to take off. I sampled a few of their beers, and since it wasn't until a couple of months later that I started taking tasting notes, I don't recall exactly what I tried, but I'm certain that Péché Mortel wasn't one of them. Believe me, if it was, I wouldn't have forgotten it.
In the years that followed, DDC!'s reputation continued to grow, with many of their beers hovered near the top of the charts on RateBeer. But the one that attracted the most praise and attention was Péché Mortel, with brewhounds travelling to Montreal from far and wide to taste this near legendary black elixir.
Thanks to a deal with American beer distributor Shelton Brothers, a bottled version became available in 2004, although only south of the border in limited quantities, so it wasn't until a friend obtained a bottle in 2006 that I was finally able to enjoy a sample myself. I was also able to try it in cask-conditioned form at Volo Cask Days 2006 and 2007. But as much as I enjoyed those experiences, the romantic in me still wanted to try it in its birthplace.
That opportunity finally came this weekend, as three friends and I not only went to Montreal for a weekend of beer geekery, but also stayed in the accommodations upstairs from DDC! We spent one night exploring a few different bars and brewpubs, but Saturday night was devoted almost exclusively to drinking at DDC!, and the romantic in me took hold once again and convinced me to save Péché Mortel to be my final drink of the evening, as everything that followed would be sure to suffer in comparison.
Like all of their stronger beers, Péché Mortel (which is a hefty 9.5%) is served in an elegant tulip glass, its pitch black body topped with a cap of dark tan foam that looks thick enough to walk across. The aroma is a completely mind-blowing combination of roasted coffee, dark malt, bourbon, chocolate and caramelised sugar. The body is rich and full and luscious, seeming more like a decadent dessert than a beverage. The flavour follows through on the promise of the aroma, with a big hit of coffee giving way to roasted malt, toasted nuts, sweat cream, and a long finish of bitter chocolate. I'm generally reticent about declaring any beer to be perfect, but for a few moments a few nights ago, this beer was pretty damn close.
And to make it even better, DDC! opened a commercial brewing location last year, which means that six of their beers, including Péché Mortel, are available in bottles year round at a number of retail locations around Quebec. I grabbed a six-pack at Dépanneur Rahman, a convenience store a couple of blocks from the brewpub with a fantastic selection of Quebec microbrews, and had them immediately confiscated by my stout- and coffee-loving wife upon my return. (And keep your grubby paws off them! - Stout-drinking Editor wife.) Now, I can only hope that the LCBO clues in and starts importing what may very well be the best beer being made in Canada today.
