This was my first beer of 2011, and my first beer from the Microbrasserie (microbrewery) Charlevoix.
The head is large and fast-forming. It's lumpy, creamy, and dimpled. The impressive head forces a pour done in stages. It's very dark in the glass... pitch black/dark brown. No light gets through. As the beer goes down, the lacing is sparse.
In the smell is chocolate, milk, oranges, and alcohol. Perhaps even some wet/musty wood.
The taste is very fruity and alcoholic - not quite what I expected. It's bright and light in some ways, but strong. You can taste cherries, chocolate cream wafers / mousse. There's also a chocolate liqueur flavour... almost like chocolate Grand Marnier. Just a hint of coffee, as any roasted flavour comes out later (and in he aftertaste).
The carbonation is OK. The mouthfeel isn't too thick or thin. There is a sharpness of the alcohol (& fruit flavour). I don't like what I taste/feel as an imbalance in alcohol / tartness / bitterness / sweetness.
Overall, for me, this beer is decent. It's too sweet / strong for my liking. It's not quite medicinal... more like the syrup of a really sugary drink. A bit much to want to finish.