Back in the fall, I heard a rumour that the LC was planning on stocking more beer from Quebec. When I first heard about it, I thought "oh, BS, it's likely just the Unibroue taster pack". A few weeks later, Unibroue's Raftman made an appearance, and so did Unibroue Terrible, and of course, so did the Unibroue Collection (in very limited quantity). So this rumour had some truth to it. Last week, I head to the LC, the first beer I see is this beer in a big green bottle. At first, I thought it was just excess stock of Stella Artois xmas beer, but nope, it turns out it was Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus by Microbrasserie Charlevoix out of Baie Saint-Paul, Québec, a town several times smaller than Brandon. I am looking forward to trying this, as I have never had a single Charlevoix beer before, considering I've tried too-many-to-count Quebec beers in my day.
Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow, not quite lager yellow, and not quite orange. More like the yellow from La fin du Monde, very bubbly beer like a champagne beer (DeuS). The foam is incredibly thick and creme white. It looks like whipped cream to me.
Aroma: I notice two things: 1) It smells like DeuS Brut des Flandres and 2) It's hoppy with some citrus notes to it. That's a combination of two things I love, so hopefully it will work together. I'm slowly noticing a slight soapiness (Dove soap to be specific).
Taste: Very bitter and confusing taste to me. The bitterness really hits immediately, but it's followed by a slight sweetness comparable of that to DeuS. It's quite different. I am enjoying the champagne-style taste to it, but the bitterness from the hops is making me confused. I DO enjoy the hops in the beer though but the aftertaste from the hop bitterness is kind of not enjoyable. From the sweetness, I'm noticing a slight hint of citrus, pear and apple. Edit: As I continue to drink it, it could be just the beer talking but it's reminding me a bit of Unibroue's Eau Bénite beer.
Overall Thoughts: The taste of Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus is quite strange as you have here a beer that's a champagne-style ale mixed with lots of hops. If I thought I was drinking DeuS, I'd be confused. Since this isn't DeuS, I think it was worth a taste. I like the sweetness, the combination of hops and champange-style-beer. What I don't like is the extreme bitterness of said hops sticking around after the party is over. Will I buy this again? Actually, yeah, I will. Why? While it's pricier than most beers at being $15 for a 750mL bottle, its unique taste is something that's making me rub my chin, it's interesting. Certainly a much better deal than Sam Adams Infinium, I can say! The beer has an ABV of 10% so you will feel a bit of warmth quite quickly.
What do I recommend this for? Certainly not an every day beer. This is a beer that could be an alternative to DeuS, Champagne or any beer you only drink on a very special occasion, or if you want to have a beer & cheese event at your home. What don't I recommend this for? Watching hockey games, beer pong, giving to my picky parents as a gift.
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