It’s always nice to find a lesser known product from the brewers of one of your favorite brews. Moinette Brune is just one such brew from Brasserie Dupont, the makers of Saison Dupont (as well as another hard to find favorite in Avec Les Bons Voeux).
Moinette Brune is more famous in the company’s home of Belgium, and I’ve only recently started seeing it in shops around the homestead. It’s a top fermenting beer that’s also bottle conditioned and uses a blend of four malts to attain its color and flavor profile.
Appearance
Pouring a beautiful reddish, dark amber in color, the beer has a decent sized off white head. There’s a good bit of initial bubble activity in the glass, but it slowly settles to a stillness.
Aroma
The malt blend really comes through on the nose along with herbal notes, light Belgian funkiness and a little hop fruitiness.
Taste
This medium bodied brew is much fuller than the Saison the brewery is known for. The malts dominate the palate with a nice bit of toast and caramel. The herbal spiciness comes in along with some dark fruits as the initial malt sweetness starts to pass. The beer finishes dry and refreshing.
Overall
At 8.5% ABV this one is sneaky. There’s not much of an alcohol presence on the nose or in the taste, but it’ll catch up to you as you make your way through this tasty brew. I don’t think it’ll knock the Saison off its high pedestal, but Moinette Brune will definitely make another appearance in my house — hopefully soon.
Rating: 3.75/5
