REVIEW #53: Moinette Blonde (Brasserie Dupont)

Pours a glorious yellow-gold with a dense white head that's well maintained by some vigorous carbonation. Yeast, candi sugar and fresh hay can be discerned in the nose. In the taste: Fresh green apples, pears and grapes - packed full of pungently fruity esters that persist into the finish. The use of candi sugar (a type of invert sugar) to increase attenuation (amount of sugars converted into alcohol) influences the taste of many pale Belgian ales and this is no exception. It results in a sweetness that can take time to get used to but is never cloying. Moinette Blonde finishes medium-dry with wheat and vinous estery notes (probably contributed to by yeast escape from the bottle) coming together with the strong alcohol. The mouthfeel is syrupy and firm.

Brasserie Dupont is located in Tourpes, West Hainaut, Belgium. It was founded in 1950 and remains independent to this day. The brewery keeps its recipes and ingredients tightly under wraps; the Dupont yeast strain for example has been the source of much conjecture, due to the complexity of the resultant beers. Their Saison was exported to America in the 1980s and they are still one of the most well known and respected Belgian breweries among US beer enthusiasts. Moinette Blond was first created in 1955 and remains their flagship beer to native drinkers. The ale was originally known as 'Abbaye de la Moinette'. The word Moinette derives from old French for 'swamp' or 'wet place', which describes the way Tourpes and much of Belgium once was. Moinette Blonde has won too many awards to list here and is ranked 98/100 on Rate Beer and 93/100 on Beer Advocate, giving you an idea of the esteem the beer is held in! They also brew a Moinette Brune which I have yet to come across but would love to try.

• MALTS: ?
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 8.5%`
• bOTTLE-CONDITIONED

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