Back in April 2022 I had the trip of a life time to see one of my best buddies in Europe. We travelled all over Netherlands and Belgium trying out great beers along the way. When it came time to go home I needed to take some beer back with me, so he took me to his favourite local beer and wine shop - Wijnhuis Eindhoven in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The staff were great and had lots of recommendations but when I asked about what kind of Saisons they had.. their stock didn't have that many at the time so they took me to one of their shelves and recommended Dieu du Ciel's Isseki Nicho, which is an interesting beast itself, a dark ale take on a Saison - not really what I was looking for but I was still absolutely excited to see it as I've been to Dieu du Ciel's taproom more times than I can count and it was something I could easily get as a special order back in Manitoba. I looked around for a few more minutes and Brasserie Dupont's Bons Voeux popped out at me. Corked and caged? SOLD! I've been keeping it in my fridge since then but its best before date is still 11 months away so it's time to finally come out and drink it - better now than never.
From their website: Nothing beats seeing in the new year with the best wishes (“bons vœux” in French) of the Brasserie Dupont. The “Bons Vœux” was born in 1970. Back then, if you were lucky enough to taste some on New Year’s Day, you must have been a very loyal customer! Exclusive and highly sought after, this beer was brewed in limited quantities. It would be pre-ordered months in advance by its most passionate fans. It is now available to buy in shops… because it has to be said, best wishes are only worth something if they are shared!Appearance: Very murky with a dark rusty/orange kind of hue to it. The head has a good amount of off-white head on top but diminishes pretty much immediately leaving just a bit of foam clinging the rim of the glass.
Aroma: This one was a bit complex but straight forward - I get a bit of a brown breadiness to it, notes of apple, a bit of plum, a surprising citrus presence of orange zest. Pretty much sweet, bready and citrusy.
Taste: My initial sip gave me the "wow, this is a strong one", it's definitely got a bit of a booziness right from the get-go with it being 9.5% ABV.. I can feel it warming my bottle pretty much immediately. There's a brown bread taste to it again, followed by a good amount of sweetness of apple and plum. There's a bit of citrus presence to it - bit of lemon but not really getting that orange zest this time around. Don't take too big of a sip because it's a bit heavy on the stomach and you may need to burp a couple times to feel normal. As it warms up a bit, I get some notes of Belgian spice and a hint of banana at the end.
Overall Thoughts: First off, check out my review of Dupont's Saison Dupont from nearly a decade ago. This is a beast of its own.. it's 9.5% ABV, so is it a Double Saison or an Imperial Saison? I have no idea. It definitely gave me memories of various Belgian Tripels once it warmed up a bit. Should I have reviewed this 3 years ago? Probably but it's still got it going on!
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