Rosee d'Hibiscus - Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!
If you haven't come across Dieu du Ciel!, don't feel bad. They're only one of the coolest breweries in Quebec at the moment, so it's no surprise it's almost impossible to find them in Ontario. I've had bottles at a few bars (Volo in Toronto, St Veronus in Peterborough), and HMH Negotiants have been bringing bottles in for private orders through the LCBO, but thankfully they've finally cracked the LCBO, and gotten a bottle on the LCBO shelves. For the summer release, the LCBO has brought in Rosee d'Hibiscus, a Belgian style white beer, made with Hibiscus flowers in the brew. Let's do this!
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From a 341ml bottle with a date stamp punched on the side of the label, the beer is opaque, deep red with hints of orange around the edges. A big white-beer sudsy head dissipated pretty quickly, but left a nice bit of lace. The Aroma is big on apples, with hints of rum and a touch of malt. There is something "floral". I own a bunch of hibiscus plants, and none of them have a particular aroma (the way lavender or roses do), so I'm not going to commit to saying it smells like Hibiscus, but definitely flowery. The taste is more apples, and something that definitely tastes like Hibiscus tea, there's some cranberry to it (mostly the bitter element) peaches, and a touch of yeast. The beer is light in the mouth, with a very sharp carbonation, and a tart cleansing note. Some sweetness lingers for a good bit. For a fruit beer (okay, a flower beer, but whatever), it is surprisingly drinkable. On a hot summer day (like today), I could drain a fair few of these. So refreshing a nice. Can't wait to add a few more reviews from Dieu du Ciel!.
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I live in Chico Ca., had this wonderful beverage and want to know where I can buy it.
Kathy,
Well, I'm no pro in terms of the US beer scene, but I know precious few bottles of DDC beers even make it further west than Ontario. In fact, I've heard people from Montreal complain that it's easier to find a bottle of DDC in Ontario, than Quebec..... That being said, if you're interested, I always suggest to my US beer cousins, to reach out for a trading partner. You have access to beers that most Ontario geeks lust for. Hit up a site like Bartowel.com and check out their trading forum (it's here: http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewforum.php?f=17). Start a post saying what you're looking for, and suggest some stuff you could send in return (I'd start with Stone, Russian River, Lagunitas, Alpine, etc, as a good opening bid) and watch the offers come pouring in. As always, buyer beware, but generally, these people are good decent folk, who will send you great beer safely and in a timely way. Start small, maybe 2-3 bottles, to build your relationship, and go from there. Actually, I suspect I'm about to write a post about this. I get asked about it a lot.....