In 1955 Sylva Rosier, the grandfather of current Dupont chief Olivier Dedeycker, launched a stronger version of the Saison Dupont and christened it Moinette. It is an artisan beer, brewed using the same ingredients as the well-known farm beer.
However, owing to its higher strength the beer is brewed with a higher proportion of some raw ingredients, and it ferments in a slightly different way, leading to the formation of different esters.
The end result is a beer that is gentler and also fruitier than the original saison beer.
Moinette is a degustation beer that is eminently suited for laying down.
In 1990, Dupont started brewing organic beers in response to a request from the Malterie de Beloeil, a local malting works. So was born Moinette Bio, to be closely followed by its Saison Dupont Bio cousin.
Brewed with organic ingredients only, Moinette Bio also uses different hop varieties to those used in the classic Moinette.
It requires a great deal of discipline to brew organic beers, but this does not faze a brewery such as Dupont, with its deep roots in brewing tradition. Organic beers now account for around 30% of Dupont’s total production.
The Dupont brewery produces Moinette Blonde and Moinette Brune, Saison Dupont, Redor Pils, Bons Voeux, Monk’s Stout as well as five other organically produced beers.