Moinette Brune (and how to brew it?)

Damn. This was a good pick. Bought this in LA, meant to drink it there, ran out of time, and smuggled it back to NY. A big, pillowy, off-white head settles atop a beer that is a nice, deep, ruddy amber--on the light side of brown. It's the least characteristic of the Dupont beers, seeing as how all the others are really pale. Aromatically, however, it fits the bill, hitting most of the notes that fit with their house yeast character: huge spicy herb thing (thyme, a little sage), cedar, cork, apple/pear fruitiness, and suggestions of the toasty malt that dominates the palate. It tastes of toasty, nutty malt with subtle hints of caramel and more subdued fruit. The finish balances malty sweetness with a lingering touch of hops--also picks up the wood-shop-ish element from the nose.

In keeping with my project to brew seasonal beers, I think something like this would make a kick-ass beer for autumn, that I could trot out for a Thanksgiving party and so on. I already made one for that purpose, but for future reference, I think around 12-14 SRM would be an appropriate color, emphasizing red-tinged malts. Alcohol is 8.5% with a relatively dry body. Hopping should be moderately high, probably Goldings. The malts should emphasize toastiness. A touch of aromatic malt would not be out of place, but not much. I'd use mostly Munich, Biscuit, and maybe Caravienne or a 1/4 lb of Special B, tops.

One other thing about Belgian beers. How awesome is their glue? The label of this just basically feel off as the bottle sweated. Add one more corkable bottle to the collection. Woo-hoo!