A crisp beer for the holiday

Yesterday we tasted a Saison Dupont with dinner. Named the Best Beer in the World by Men's Journal in 2005, this one is highly recommended. I will not go as far as calling it the best in the world, but it is definitely up there. I am also not sure which one Men's Journal choose as the Dupont brewery has several styles including some dark ones and some that are only available locally.

We had the Vieille Provision, a beer described as crisp and well balanced, with a hint of citrus and a slightly bitter finish. It is a blonde ale -Like all gentlemen I prefer blondes.

Saison means season in French and Saison beer was traditionally a low alcohol beer brewed in Walloon farm houses  in Spring to refresh the farm workers during the upcoming harvest season. Traditional Saison is a 3.5% beer but the Vieille Provision we tasted was more at a more typical -for Belgian beer that is- 6.5%. Still the alcohol is not very noticeable and the beer goes down smooth and easy.

Vieille Provision is an unfiltered -hence cloudy- bottle conditioned brew that looks just great in my opinion. This is the ideal refreshment after a long ride through the country side. I also found it a fitting reward for finishing my 2X20 interval workout.