Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux

Brewed by Brasserie Dupont
Style: Saison
Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium

Sample on tap at Vintage Estates. Pours a slightly hazy amber with a decent-sized, fizzy head. Aromas are spices, lemon and grass, without the buttery sweetness that drives me away from some of the other saisons. Flavor is nice enough, but I’m thinking that saisons aren’t my cup of beer, so to speak. It is fairly light, driven by the grass and light fruit, but rather uninspiring as far as I am concerned. It is strange to me that this is 9.5%... you would never guess it from the flavor.

2005 bottle. pours a clear gold until the yeast bomb drops. it’s topped with a wispy white head that sticks a little to the glass. this smells like the inside of a barn... straw, dried hay, light funk, lemon, a little yeast and pepper. the palate starts lightly caramel sweet and yeasty then gets dry and bitter. dried spices/herbs, pepper, a little funk, lemon and a bit of alcohol on the finish. yeasty fruity aftertaste. there’s something very candy like in the flavor which puts me off... a bit too sweet. (i’ll give the remaining bottles a few years to fix and this will be stellar) medium bodied with a soft mouth feel and prickly carbonation...

Bouteille de 750 ml verte foncée, bu à Brouhaha à Montreal le 18/7/08. Blonde brumeuse dorée, un peu de collet. Arome de malté épicé, herbe de provence, un peu sûrette. Goût de malte sec épicé, orge doux, légèrement houblonné avec une amèrturme agréable et elle devient sucré avec le temps. Une bonne beilege forte bien balancée!

Bottle. Golden straw color, thin persistent white head. Lightly spicy aroma, slight sweetness, very light white pepper aroma. Refreshing dry taste, hay, grass, smooth warm finish. Very nice.

(3/5/08) Draught at Kulminator in Antwerp. Cloudy orange with a quickly-disappearing white head. Fruity, moderately spicy aroma with some hops and some yeast. Flavor is a bit sweetish at firsy, then turns spicy with a bit of yeast and towards the end joins a strong hoppy bitterness. Medium-bodied. Very good, but not great.

Pours a perfect slightly hazy orange with a thick billowy white head. Zesty citrusy lemon, white pepper, light banana and a spicy/fruitiness in the nose. The flavor is a bold and tasty mix of pale malt, orange, lemon zest, honey, flowers, grassy noble hops and black pepper. Pleasantly sweet - ending with ample hop bitterness on the back end. Alcohol content very well-hidden. Perfect medium body with that classic lively, spritzy carbonation and dry finish. Excellent.

Bottle, 2007. Pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma of yeast, apple skins, light fruits (citrus) and spices. Flavor is quite similar, lots of yeast, apple, and spices. ’’Hot’’ and warming. Nice saison (but I prefer the regular Saison Dupont).

Cold. Hazy mellon color with a nice big white creamy head. Big spicy aroma even when cold. Palate is harsh on the mouth while cold, but easier as it warms. Scrapingly dry. Mild fruity/wheaty flavor. Nice stuff.