Beer Review: Aphrodisiaque (Élevée En Barriques De Rhum)

Reviewing the Rum Barrel Aged Aphrodisiaque from Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel out of Montréal, Quebec (the Rome of Canada). This beer is their lovely Aphrodisiaque imperial stout aged in rum barrels.

Score: 90

January 2014 vintage bottle served in an O'so snifter and enjoyed on 05/07/14. Big shout out and thank you Adam and Marcus, my Canadian buddies, for helping me acquire this one.

Appearance: Black bodied with a half finger layer of khaki head off the pour. Okay lacing, good retention, solid cling. 4/5

Smell: Huge, smack-you-across-the-face vanilla cake and vanilla frosting. Also, milk chocolate and brown sugar, rounded out by rum and light wood-like character. Not the most complex, but the vanilla character here is incredibly appetizing. The brown sugar note slowly turns syrupy as it warms up. Really, really well-integrated nose. I could smell this all evening. 5/5

Taste: Unfortunately, the taste is not very well-integrated or as much of an explosive desserty vanilla bomb as the nose. Still, there are delicious pieces here. Vanilla-forward rum, chocolate, and wood. The finish is somewhat crisp, with just a bit of that wood flavor lasting. A touch boozy and heavy on the wood character, in my opinion. As it warms up, the rum develops a nicer finish. 3.75/5

Mouthfeel: Thin bodied, low carbonation. Nice balance, not very sweet, but watery mouthfeel. 3/5

Overall: While the rum aging has given this delectable stout an epic nose, the barrel treatment caused this beer to take step back in the taste department in my opinion. I like the added complexity of the rum/vanilla notes, but they were not particularly well-integrated and the taste was a bit too boozy/woody for my preference (especially given the lack of a viscous body to back it up). There is clearly a tease of greatness here; some wonderful characteristics (the nose...the nose....it is so amazing that I might as well just smell this beer instead of drink it!) with plenty of roughness around the edges. I imagine that if Dieu Du Ciel tinkered with this one a bit, that over time this could become better than Barrel Aged Peche Mortel. I would certainly be interested in sampling future batches of this one. Thank you for the hookup Adam and Marcus! Cheers.

Cost: $8 for a 12 oz bottle.