More or less (what does that mean anyway, is it more, or is it less?), I’ve been writing my thoughts down about various beers since the late 1980s. I can recall taking notes on Hope Lager in a journal that I wish I still had circa 1989. At that time, I was already a good five years into drinking craft beer, but in those days there were not the forums to share opinions on beers as there are today. That came about 5 years later with my first computer, access to the internet and the beginning of beer-reviewing career on Usenet. That continued in 1999 at Epinions.com.
With all of that, I am still amazed when I come across a classic beer I’ve enjoyed many a time yet still never taken the time to opine about. Latest example: Saison Dupont, the classic example of the saison style. Saisons are extremely popular today in the American craft beer market, though many of them have been modified to include fruits and such. Shocking to me then to see reviews on the major beer geek sites complaining about Saison Dupont using the American versions as the standard. Study your beer history, geeks.
What is saison? Saison is a farmhouse ale that emerged in Wallonia, Belgium and neighboring Flanders. In his book The Beer Companion, Michael Jackson speaks of a light golden, refreshing ale with low alcohol versions around 3% to stronger versions around 5% to 6%. The latter he refers to as Saison de Mars, and these would be brewed in the cool fall and winter months and conditioned en bouteille until spring and summer. Saison is spicy either from the addition of spice or yeast character, or both. It is dry and refreshing. Saison Dupont is the first example of the style cited by The Beer Hunter.
The only notes I have on Saison Dupont prior to the ones you are about to read are from 1997, and then only that I enjoyed Truite a la Saison DuPont at Monk’s Café in Philadelphia. It was excellent.
The brewery says:
The Saison Dupont is a top fermentation beer with refermentation in the bottle. Since 1844, this beer has been brewed in our farm-brewery, during the winter time. Then this beer became a second refermentation in the barrel. During the next summer, this very thirst-quenching beer was served to the “saisoniers” which were working on the fields.
Surely therefore, our Saison Dupont is considered as “the classic” among the Belgian season beers! Coppery blond, the finest aromas and a strong bitterness transform this beer into a thirst-quenchener (SIC) with no equal, just the way it was created. Our selection of yeasts is the perfect base for these typical aromas and ditto taste. A real refermentation in the bottle, which will continue for a long time in your cellar, result into this complex and particular aromatic beer.
Saison Dupont has an alcohol content of 6.5% by volume and runs a pricey $14.99 for 4 11.2-ounce bottles or $14.99 for a 750ML bottle in my neck of the woods.
Saison Dupont pours to a hazy blonde color (hazier still after I roused the yeast and added to the bottle) with a tart spicy nose and a towering head of rocky foam. Taking a sip, the beer has a soft fruitiness (white grape and a hint of green apple come to mind for me) and a gentle tartness with drying spice (light clove, pepper) from the yeast. It is clean with drying spice and perhaps a hint of herbal hop character and a mild bitterness.
Saison Dupont is the classic, definitive example of the style. It is crisp and refreshing yet flavorful in its spicy complexity. You can’t be a seasoned beer enthusiast without trying it. Or maybe I should say a “saisoned” beer enthusiast. Either way, Saison Dupont is not to be missed.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft