Trois Dames Saison Houblon

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

Bottled, thanks Bov! Cloudy golden, airy head. Perfumy hoppy spicy nose. Lies rounded, lively and spritzy in the mouth. Estery flavour of winegum mixed cith citric hops. Intensive but in superb balance. Combines a perfect saison with an IPA, kind of what many Belgian brewers been trying to do, but this art is now perfected in Switzerland instead.

sampled at the Solothurner Biertage 2007 - cloudy dark orange colour with a solid creamy foam and a nice lace; very aromatic hoppiness, grapefruity, perfumy with notes of cream; medium-bodied, robust late bitterness, very dry and bitter, long finish - a wonderful beer

(Bottle, thanks omhper!) Pours hazy golden amber with a big white head. The aroma is of citric orange-like hops up front alongside some floral/perfumey and grassy notes. Yeasty, ester-ish fruity and subtle spicy with just a whisper of coriander, white pepper and nutmeg. Undertones of toasted white bread and vanilla ice cream. Light woody. The flavour is floral, grassy and citric hoppy, light to medium malty, light yeasty and light acidic. Medium bitter and light sweet but otherwise quite dusty and dry. Some fruitiness in the background. The mouthfeel is clean and light crisp. Medium bodied. Very nice.

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.

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.

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.

Second tasting, of many bottles this time, in 2009; obviously, a different batch:
The hops are much more subdued and the juicy fruitiness provided by the yeast profile dominates the silky body. The spiciness of the hops, the expressive yeast, the iron twang, the quenching tartness and the inherent rusticity of it all makes it an amazingly authentic Saison. This is not anything like the Saison/IPA hybrid it was two years ago though...

FIrst tasting, in 2007:
My Bottom Line:
A tantalizing grassy, herbal perfume flies alongside juicy oranges into a heavenly world of fluffiness and freshness. This is a beautifully drinkable dry-hopped Swiss Saison which matches some of the great ones you can find in Belgium.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam covers the cloudy orange.
-The fruity yeast apport works wonderfully with the chosen hoppiness.
-Finish is lengthy, and moderately bitter; a very pleasant continuation of what the aroma had announced.
-An underlying citrusy tartness seems to emanate from the fruitiness.
-The combination of festive hoppiness, fruity and spicy hoppiness, comfortable carbonation, and lean body create an immensely refreshing experience.

Bottle at the Mondial de la Bière.

Bottled 75 cl (BB 10/2008)
Orange color, huge cloudy white head. Very fresh piney and fruity aroma - huge nose. Propably American hops are used. Very crisp carbonation. Now flavor has saison-like barnyard, but mainly this brew is very hoppy - very IPA-like. Also grain, pineapple and resin. Nice mix of Belgian Saison and American IPA. One of the better Swiss beers.