La Biere De Beloeil is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale made by one of my favorite breweries, Brasserie Dupont. At 8.5% ABV, it is certainly strong, but still in a reasonable range. To show my bias, let me start out by saying: If you happen to see any beers from Brasserie Dupont, buy them immediately. They are all delicious. They do good work.
The beer pours a chestnut kind of color. Like most Dupont beers, the nose is best described as the best kind of skunkiness you will ever experience. Part of this is from the green bottles that they use, part is from the yeast. The Dupont house yeast gives a farmy kind of smell and taste. It is funky and crisp. It may be weird at first, but I'm sure I could find a ton of people that will tell you: Dupont beers are fantastic. They have a Belgian White made with the house yeast (Foret Blanche), best Belgian White I have ever had. Hands down. Definitely get it if you see it. Buy me one too.
What is different about this beer from the rest of the Dupont family (most of which are available in any decent beer store), is the maltiness. The malt is more pronounced and the body is bigger than most other Dupont beers. For the most part it is a little bit sweeter and a little bit heavier than I would have expected, but the funkiness balances it out pretty well.
While it is categorized as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, I wouldn't necessarily call it that. It is somewhere between a Belgian Scotch Ale and a Belgian Golden. Even if you have only the slightest interest in trying this beer, I would suggest that you do so (although you probably won't be able to find it). Even so, I highly recommend any of the Dupont beers. If you try one and don't like it, then I will politely disagree with you and finish up your bottle for you.
To show you how serious I am: If I could only choose one brewery to drink beer from for the rest of my life, Dupont would be one of the top choices.
Glassware: Snifter, Tulip, Chalice
Synonym Beer: Gnommegang (just a little darker, a little maltier)
If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. You can send me cool photos too, if you like.
I agree with you on Foret Blanche. It's the best Belgian white I've ever had. I would say it's more of a saison than a white, but I'll take it. Any clue where a reliable clone recipe would be for Foret Blanche?
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