Le Sang D'Encre

Le Sang D'Encre is born of Shawinigan, Quebec's Le Trou du Diable. It comes in a beautiful 375mL bottle that features a giant squid battling some sea folk on the label, and is billed as an "epic stout". Epic it may be, but at only 5.1% alcohol, it could certainly be stronger.

This is a blackish brew with blood red highlights, and it lives beneath a thin tan head. It has a luxurious nose of cocoa, brown sugar, and malt, that leads into a flavour that begins with some sweet, mocha notes and a bit of molasses ooze. On the flip side, I was pleased to encounter a healthy wallop of bitterness running alongside some cocoa notes.

This beer tastes bigger than its 5.1%. It's warm, well balanced, flavourful, and it should definitely find a place in your fridge. Plus the bottle is amazing. My only real complaint is that I'd have liked it to be stronger--I feel like the honorific title "epic stout" should only be attached to a truly forceful brew.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.