Thanks for checking in on another craft beer review guys.  Today I’m going to be drinking the Avec les Bons Voeux by Brasserie Dupont located in Tourpes, Belgium. 

I don’t know much about this beer to tell the truth.  I just saw it sitting on the shelf at the liquor store and decided to give it a whirl.

I wasn’t able to translate the information from the website, brasserie-dupont.com, so I gathered the commercial description of this beer from ratebeer.com.

“Les Bons Voeux” means best wishes, which is what Brasserie Dupont sends with this very special saison ale brewed only for the holidays. Redolently aromatic, rich and velvety, this is an ale to toast the season and welcome in the New Year!

Well, the holidays are long gone, but I don’t care…. let’s drink.

This brew comes in a 25.4 oz. bottle and it has an ABV of 9.5%.

It poured a very cloudy orange to honey gold color.  I could see some sediment floating about.  The cap was white, soft and billowy, although a tad bit soapy in texture.  It was of great size, the retention was good and the lacing was quite sufficient.

The nose presented tones of lemon citrus and lemon grass along with some grassy hops.  A nice yeasty and bready backbone gave the nose some solid footing as some additional hints of light pepper spice swirled around.  A white grape fragrance was noticed as the brew began to warm and I also thought it to be just the slightest bit sour.  No “funk” to speak of.  Just a very delicate, soft, clean and well balanced aroma. 

The taste brought the spiciness to life.  The peppery aspects were much more noticeable.  Fruity savors of lemon citrus, grapes and apples skins added a sweet and sourness combination.  It sort of tasted like a very subdued white wine.  It had a slight tartness as well as a mild touch of alcohol.  Like the aroma, it was very yeasty and bready.  The funkiness came out a bit more in the taste also, which led to a nice earthy and herbal flavor.  It still wasn’t real robust however.  Just enough to let me know that it was there.  A decent little snap of grassy hops and bitterness created an even more complex taste.  Pretty nice overall.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied, very smooth, dry, crisp, refreshing and thirst quenching.  A decent amount of warmth was felt as the brew worked its way down and an honest amount of flavor was left as the beer was swallowed.

Well, we have another pretty darn good brew right here.  It had plenty of character to satisfy me that’s for sure.  It was a little bit light on the funkiness however.  I was expecting and hoping for a smidgen more from this Saison, but that’s ok, I’ll take what I can get.  It was very easy to drink, and even though it’s a Winter Seasonal, I think it would pair very well with the Spring and Summer warmth.  It was rather refreshing I thought.  I would be more than happy to sample this brew again if it was offered and I would have no problem recommending a friend to give it a go too.  So, next time you see the Avec les Bons Voeux by Dupont, pick up a bottle and see what you think of it.

Thanks for reading and commenting guys.  Thanks, again, for checking in on the reviews.  It’s much appreciated.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.0 out of 5
Grade:  B+