I’d been holding on to a bottle of Saison Dupont I picked up just after Christmas time, looking forward to the day I’d drink it, thanks to this article which proclaimed it the best beer in the world.

Naturally, reading that one particular beer is the best, period, tends to raise eyebrows. So while I had my doubts, my curiosity was aroused, and I finally opened up the bottle.

I’ll start by saying that I don’t know if this is the best beer in the world… but it’s definitely near the top of the list. It’s a beer that reminds me that no matter how much I think I know about beer, there’s a whole different level I haven’t even reached yet. As it should be.

My notes on this are pretty feeble, for largely that reason. They’re really more impressions than descriptions.

Appearance: Very thick snow-white creamy head, very active. The beer is pale gold in color, and a bit hazy.

Smell: Tricky, because of the style. It’s a Belgian farmhouse ale, which means a lot of things, one of which is that there are unusual aromas in here. My wife couldn’t stand the smell at all; her best description when I pressed her was "apricoty-yeasty." My own scribblings include wet straw, musty, sour, yeasty. Very, very pungent.

Taste: Despite the smell, the taste is completely different and fantastic. Bready, fruity, yeasty, malty; hints of peach/apricot? There’s bitterness, but it’s not what I would call bitter. Low hops. Some sort of spicyness. Frankly, the taste is sublime.

Mouthfeel: Perfect. It’s creamy, buttery, medium-bodied which belies its appearance… just perfect. No quibbles at all.

BeerAdvocate scores it high with 90/100 and 99% approval, with many glowing reviews.

This beer is… well, to borrow my note on the taste, sublime. Amazing. I still don’t know about the best in the world—but it’s pretty darn close.