Trois Dames Saison Houblon

Brewed by Trois Dames
Style: Saison
Sainte-Croix, Switzerland

Bottled (Thanks Bov!). Golden colour, huge white head. Aroma is huge hoppyness, tropical fruits and some barnyard. Flavour is grassy and fruity hops with some barnyard. Aftertaste is mainly grassy and barnyardy.

75 cl bottle (with just about 33 cl left after turbulent flight). Poured cloudy orange with a medium head. Complex piney hop nose as well as sour fruit. Sour fruit flavours gradually giving way to a good bitter finish. An impressive Swiss take on a Belgian beer style.

Sample, at the Mondial de la bière 2007, savoured June 2 2007; eye: burnt caramel, no effervescence, clear, no head; nose: floral hops, dry hopping, grapefruit, caramel; mouth: less hoppy than the nose lead to believe but nice, nice hops-caramel balance, dry hopping, floral hops, grapefruit, light malt, creamy texture, medium body, average carbonation, mildly bitter; overall: quite fine FRANÇAIS Échantillon, bue au Mondial de la bière 2007, savourée le 2 juin 2007; oeil : caramel brûlé, pas d’effervescence, claire, pas de mousse; nez : houblon floral, houblonnage à cru, pamplemousse, caramel; bouche : moins houblonnée que le nez laissait présager mais très bon, belle balance houblon-caramel, houblonnage à cru, houblon floral, pamplemousse, léger malt, texture crémeuse, corps moyen, carbonatation moyenne, amertume moyenne; en résumé : très bien

Pours a cloudy peach color with a thin white head. Good aroma of green hops with yeast. Good flavor of green hops, yeast, spices with a dry and mild bitter finish, also, it’s mildly sour. I like that the hops are present but don’t dominate the other elements of this beer. The body is light to medium with a creamy texture and medium carbonation.

Bottle. Pours a clear golden body with a white sudsy head. Sweet fruit hop medley in the aroma - orange skins and tangerines. Notable lemony/orange hop flavour with somewhat brash carbonation. Pretty solid and quenching.
Sampled at Mondial on June 2, 2007.

Sampled at the Mondial, hazy honey golden hue, with a rocky white head, nice nose of yeasty fruitiness, with flowery bouquet accent, some hops grassiness, with a citrus note, and a faint spiciness in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, fruity floral character, with kind of mimosa flowery accent, with a mild citrusy tartness, a faint hop leafiness, with a hint of black pepper spiciness, leading towards a zesty fruity, hop bittering finish.

Verre de dégustation, provenant d’une bouteille de 330 ml, dégusté au Mondial de la Bière 2007 (Montréal, QC). Arôme: Odeur de fleur et de zeste d’orange. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée orangée voilée. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de foin, de fleur et d’agrumes. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. (Rating #1074)

Slightly cloudy golden-copper with a medium off-white head. Fruity yeast and citrusy hops on the nose. This one seems to be built on the same foundation as their equally excellent Récolte Saison with the addition of a lot of hops essence. This adds juicy citrus and orange flavours, a pleasant tartness and a mild juicy bitterness but crushes the yeast flavours. Like the Récolte this is not an intense beer, it is a refined and delicate beer that can be drunk on a daily basis. I’m not sure I understand why it is classified as an IPA. Yes it is hoppy but an unaware North-American buying this european IPA will be as unsettled as an unaware North-American buying a ticket for an european football game.