Posca Rustica from Brasserie Dupont

Every year we get a list of "Holiday Beer Offerings" and I peruse through them like a kid picking out his Christmas list. One that really caught my eye this year was the Posca Rustica, brewed at Brasserie Dupont.  The Saison Dupont has been one of my favorite brews for a couple years now, and I'm very curious about this brew I've never heard of.

Described as a Herbed/Spiced Beer on beerAdvocate, I'm not really sure what to expect.  But of all the beers on the Holiday offering list, this is one of the few with a very good review/score on Advocate. So, we bought a case, and we'll just have to crack a bottle to see what we've got.

First off, the backside of the label tells this lengthy story about how the Posca Rustica came to be. I tried to read it all it one sitting, but had to come back to it in the morning. In any case, they weave a tale of a spiced version of a saison ale that was fed to the Roman soldiers while stationed in modern-day Belgium.

Posca Rustica pours out a darker amber color than the standard Saison.  There's a significant rusty shade to the amber color, with a nice white fluffy foam on top.  The foam is thick and long-lasting, leaving a nice amount of lacing behind. The aromas are a beautiful melting pot of bready, yeasty-ness, but much less funky than a typical saison. The herbal components are evident, but not intense.

The herbal aromas follow through on the palate, which is really cool. In body, it's fairly light like the saison, but  it's got a much creamier, velvety mouth-feel. It's got this added layer of complexity that is as much about texture as it is flavor. Right about now, I'm wishing I had ordered more than just this one case.

This is a really cool little beer, and I'm already a big fan.

Brasserie Dupont
Posca Rustica
TCSH Rating - 9.5/10
Aka - I haven't been this impressed in a while!

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum