Photo courtesy of http://mustlovebeer.com/Mark/blog/522/
Round #2 of Wednesday night’s extended drinking session with Limpd and The Wookie was a Saison/Farmhouse Ale by Brasserie Dupont called Avec Les Bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont. Since I don’t speak French, I’m not even gonna try to pronounce it, but I will share with you the origin of this beer from Brasserie Dupont’s website:
“Since 1970, the brewery has been brewing a special beer to give as a New Year’s present to their best clients. The name of this beer “Avec les bons Vœux de la Brasserie Dupont” means “With the best wishes of the Brewery Dupont”. Because of the increasing success, they started to commercialize this “cadeau” but kept the name. Although the demands were considerable, only a small quantity was brewed, so they had to make a reservation list, even months before New Year.”
- Appearance: Golden yellow. Very cloudy. Incredible head retention! Like a thick, fluffy cloud that dissipates very slowly.
- Aroma: Citrus and spice aromas.
- Taste: Very well carbonated. Smooth and creamy texture. Similar to the regular Saison Dupont, but with a bit more spice and a much higher ABV (6.5% for the Saison Dupont vs. 9.5% for the Avec Les Bons Voeux). Dry finish which is reminiscent of champagne.
I’d love to say that we were unanimous in our feelings for this beer, but sadly, that wasn’t the case, and I was left with the very pleasurable task of drinking at least 60% of the bottle (I’m sure Limpd and The Wookie will post their comments later). I found the Avec Les Bons Voeux De La Brasserie Dupont to be a very smooth and easy drinking beer which does a great job of hiding its 9.5% ABV. I would describe it as a Saison Dupont on steroids, and I think that it would go incredibly well with a plate of fine cheese and cured meats. I give this beer an A-.
Categories: Brasserie Dupont, Brew Review
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
A-? Hardly! To my taste buds there was something out of balance with this brew. Great body, mouth feel, and appearance but the finish was too tart and astringent. Maybe that was the point of this brew but to my taste is was anything but smooth and easy drinking.
While were tasting this beer we also had a few bottles of Avery Brewing Co.’s White Rascal (Blog post to follow). By comparison the Avery Belgium Style Unfiltered White Ale was lighter in body but the taste was more in balance. I would go with the White Rascal over the Avec Les Bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont.
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A very fair criticism Herr Wookie. I think it comes down to personal taste on this one. The things that you disliked about the Dupont are the things that I liked about it.
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It looks and sounds incredible. The way you describe it reminds me of my favorite beer- the New Glarus Dancing Man Wheat. And not too far off from the Schlafly Christmas Ale, which I also dig to a lesser degree.
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If you like Farmhouse Ales, Brasserie Dupont makes some very tasty ones. Next to IPA, it’s one of my favorite styles of beer.
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YUM!! I had the pleasure of recently enjoying this when I needed a break from the vino.
I agree with the Wookie that this stuff is acidic, but it’s not a razor blade.
Still, I can see how its acidity might be off-putting (it tends to be a Dealbreaker and a dividing line among wine folks as well).
You could probably also rock this with some Vietnamese food. Those vinegary sauces and fresh herbs might set this off like a rocket.
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Vietnamese! Depending on the day, it’s either my favorite or second favorite asian cuisine (it’s neck and neck with Japanese). This beer would probably work best with the grilled dishes, like a big bowl of vermicelli with grilled chicken and lemongrass. Those sticks of pickled carrot and cucumber, the fresh cilantro and thai basil, a squeeze of lime, the fish sauce. This could be a really interesting pairing.
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