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Olivier Dedeycker of Brasserie Dupont collaborated with Tomme Arthur of The Lost Abbey on Saison, Deux Amis, a saison based on Saison Dupont, but with American hops that Arthur selected before brewing in Tourpes, Belgium. He appeared at several L.A. beer destinations. I met Dedeycker at The Phoenix, and he shared insights into Deux Amis and beer in general.
Josh Lurie: How did the collaboration for Saison, Deux Amis come about with Tomme Arthur?
Olivier Dedeycker: The brewery had the idea to do this sort of collaboration. They proposed me a selection of different brewers. I was really interested to work with Tomme because of course he does great beers. Also, he knows a lot about our beers, Brasserie Dupont. It could be interesting to work with someone who knew how we worked and knew the yeast we use, to find something interesting.
JL: What was the process?
OD: We had some e-mails a few months before the collaboration brew. We spoke about different things that could be interesting to do. I proposed to do a saison, like we do Saison Dupont. The same recipe and same yeast, but the idea was to totally change the hops. The idea was to totally remove the hops we use. We replaced these hops with a selection of American hops. That was the idea of the collaboration. Tomme was in charge of the selection.
JL: What hops did you end up using?
OD: I didn’t know which hops he chose. He shipped the palettes to Tourpes. We didn’t open the palettes, and the day of the collaboration brew, we pulled the carton away from the palettes and opened it together. We discussed this day what was the selection Tomme did. Tomme made suggestions for the moment, the ratio, the quantities, the bitterness. It was a great decision. The hops he selected were Amarillo, Simcoe, Mosaic, and Hallertauer Magnum.
JL: Did you always want to brew beer?
OD: It’s my passion. I’ve worked in Tourpes for 26 years. Before I worked full-time, I was a student and working each summer in the brewery. I had no interest to change my job.
JL: What’s the first beer you ever remember brewing?
OD: When I was a student, we brewed a lot of Moinette Blond.
JL: How did the first beer turn out? Was it good?
OD: Of course.
JL: How did you start working with Brasserie Dupont?