Saison Dupont Cuvée Dry Hopping 2016 (Brewer's Gold)
Brasserie Dupont sprl

Bought in Juni 2013. Best before March 2016.
This big bottle, 150 cl/50.7 fl oz, has been resting in my beercellar for 9.5 years.

Decided to open it together with friends on the last night in December 2022 just before the new year kicks in.

I'm aware of that the dry hopping is long gone but what about the beer? Is it any good? Is it drinkable?

Hazy yellow - orange with a white, smooth, creamy head.

It looks very good!

Nose of hay, honey, Belgian yeast, citrus and orange.

Taste: Sweet honey, orange, Belgian yeast, herbs, caramel make and white bread.

Mouth: Medium body with a soft carbonation.

Very balanced an great tasting beer. Smooth and soft, almost creamy.
So good! The years in the cellar has been good to this beer

Shared 375 ml green bottle. Golden colour, large white head. Very nice yeasty, spicy and bretty aroma and flavour.

2016 vintage - 750ml bottle - poured into a fancy tulip at 50°F. Obtained for free via the distributor, but retails for $10 locally.

Pours a crystal clear deep honey golden colour, topped with three large fingers of rocky off-white head with remarkable retention. Lots of streaming effervescence. Incredible globs of lacing left behind. Beautiful.

Nose: Very classic Dupont. Grainy wheat lends a rustic sweetness to the base, with round malted barley contributing some fullness. Plenty of classic Belgian saison yeast esters with notes of bubblegum, ripe pear, green apple, a hint of pineapple, and some black pepper. There is just a subtle whisper of gentle funk. There could be a touch of tartness here, but if so, its restrained. The hops are apparent, but at 4 years old, definitely restrained. Some classic European-style spice and herbal notes, a hint of earthiness, a green leafy hop note, and of you dig deep, a faint hint of blueberry. Very nice, very rustic, very classically "saison".

Palate: Saison Dupont greets the palate with a quick little zip of acidity. It's not exactly "sour", but I'd say it has just made it into sour ale territory. First, soft, slightly sweet, slightly bready malted wheat, nutty barley, and an immediate yeast ester presence with notes of bubblegum and peppery spice set the stage, followed by plenty of citrusy lemon and tangerine complimenting the tartness. There's a raw floral component that reminds me a bit of dandelion. This is highlighted by both the peppery notes, and the bitterness that the hops contribute. The hops definitely show dry-hopped characteristics that arent generally found in saisons with boiled hops - fresh tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, unripe berries, and some resinous hop oils, finishing with that signature dry-hopped fruitiness and a little bit of ripe apricot. The bitterness is mild to moderate, showing up early, and peaking in the finish before quickly retreating.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is soft, round, and medium-bodied. The ultra fine effervescence makes it foam up in your mouth and creates a very fluffy feeling. Some initial malt sweetness, but the light acidity and hops makes for a pretty dry, slightly drying finish. Clean. Residual hop oils do linger.

Overall: Saison Dupont is basically the gold standard of classic Belgian saisons that are widely known and accessible. It's just a great saison. Is this dry-hopped variant better? I wouldnt say so. It definitely distinguishes itself from the base beer, and if you're in the mood for a hoppy saison, it ticks all the boxes. It's a great beer. The hopping itsnt overdone, it lends a ton of fruitiness, and ghe base beer is perfectly intact. I just prefer the classic, subtle original Dupont. For a hoppy saison, while hoppier and more bitter, i think I prefer the Blaugies/Hill Farmstead La Vermontoise collaboration, but this is still a great saison at a great price, and the hops have held up nicely for a 4 year old bottle,

Poured from a caged and corked 1 pint 9.4 ounce bottle, the "brewed on" date is "06 2016".

APPEARANCE: pours a dense, hazy, golden color with three fingers, billowing off-white head that slowly receded until a thick cap of small bubbles remained, there is abundant lacing on the glass, highly carbonated.

SMELL: bread, banana and a faint orange citrus note.

TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially bread and then a pleasant citrus hop profile and finished with a banana note and a little farmhouse funk, the 6.5% ABV is imperceptible.

PALATE: medium body and highly carbonated.

OVERALL: this is a beautiful looking beer and very different from the usual Saison because of the more pronounced hops and the farmhouse funk is far less pronounced, it's not too boozy either, I enjoyed this and would buy again no problem, would recommend to anyone who enjoys the style.

Pours a relatively clear straw color with two fingers of bone white head. There is some light citrus sap on the nose with an otherwise very saisony smell peppery phenols, nice spice. The taste has an herbal bite with a crisp mineral flavor, the phenols bloom in the finish, spicy, lightly boozy. A very nice beer to begin with, with a little punch from the hops.

 

 

-hazy to cloudy amber bottle pour with 2cm of foam. There is some citrus and a touch of pepper in the nose. The flavor is delicate and complex. There is some lemon, some berry and the spice note is oaky even though this is not barrel-aged. The saison yeast flavor persists through a dry finish.
This is always a special brew and I will try the Brewer's Gold hop variety in a future brew session.

 

 

 

 

A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2016 cork with a best before date of July 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku.

Appearance: It was a hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left nice lacing.

Aroma: Sweet juicy mandarin, orange, lemon, grass, yeast and pepper spice.

Taste: Follows the aroma closely with citrusy mandarin, orange, lemon, hay, grass, yeast and pepper spice. Starts sweet, ends lightly bitter.

Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with high carbonation.

Overall: Another great, easily drinkable Saison from Dupont.

Hazy orange hue with a tall, sticky head of rocky foam. Lovely aroma of spicy yeast esters, yellow cake, peppery citrus, and grassy, floral hops. Flavors of hay, dough, flowers, bubblegum, peppery esters throughout the middle, finishing with a citrusy sweetness. Frothy medium body finishing nicely dry. Good stuff...

 

Tarnished platinum with lumpy loose white froth. 4
Flowers, pears, + pencil erasers - fragrant. 4.25
Cracker pils malt, tart little bite, juicy nectarine rind, some waxy lemon rind, chalk, white pepper and burnt grass. 4
Crisp, fizzy, light. 4

Signature Dupont nose always attracts (even without any hop aroma.) Taste is the same, maybe pushed to extreme - doesn't have the easy roundness of ALBV. Hops don't show huge, either, especially with Brewers Gold + in spite of carbonic bite. Nice, but probably not necessary. 4

Pours a hazy apricot color with a fat good head of off white foam that lasted very well. Nose is sweet mango. A little tart funk and hop pepper. Crisp malt, like honey on a cracker. Drinks dry bubbly and malty. Hops are not as prominent ont he palate but some of that peachy stone fruit fills up the middle. Floral and a tart bit of barnyard. The funk has a sharpness and that is why i called it barnyard. Bubbly but not fizzy. melon.

 

Fully opaque, golden burnt orange, 3 fingers of foamy head.

Awesome aromas of honey, Belgian spice, yeasty hop. Melon. Peach.

Yeasty, smooth, with grapefruit pith and lemons. Lightly bitter with some piney notes and Belgian spice. Light bubble gum notes. Oaky and woody and stiff. Gets in the way.

Feel is sharp and smooth with lots of carbonation and biting dryness.

Overall I'm not really a fan, count me in the minority. May seem blasphemous by some, but it just wasn't enjoyable to me. No balance.