Troll Saison Dau

Brewed by Birrificio Troll
Style: Saison
Vernante, Italy

In short: A weird musty, spicy and dry Belgian Blond Ale of some kind. Light but kind of fun.
How: Sample at Mondial de la Bière 2008
The look: Cloudy golden Blonde body with almost no head
In long: Pleasant and surprisingly strong wild fruity nose of tangerines on a horse blanket. Flavour and mouthfeel is kind of weird, like oily and dusty at the same time. Rather yeasty, lots of dust, lemon skins, some “yellow” flowers, tangerines, strong unsettling unidentified dry herb/spice sensation, apricots in the finish. Something here reminded me of some of the absinth beer I’ve had. Body was pretty slim. A tough one to judge from a 5oz sample, I’ll need to drink at least a full bottle to really make up my mind about it. One thing for sure despite its below 4% abv this is not boring beer. Whether an annoying forum poster or a Saison beer, a Troll sure ain’t classy but it can be entertaining.

2008-06-01. Hazy golden amber body with a small quick head. Interesting spice in the aroma, sharp at times, not entirely pleasing. (6+) Spice is back in the flavour, sharp, ginger? Bitter slightly astringent finish. Average palate. Not loving it but its interesting. Bottle, Mondial, Montreal, 4T

Objectively speaking: Remarkably bland ale in every aspect.
I like: This was a mess for such a dull and light beer. Dry palate.
I dislike: Fair wheat potential is not used at all. Muddy looks, headless, poor tiny-bubbled carbonation. Not very fresh. Dull old spice bag nose. Empty wateriness in the finish. Powdery texture.

Bottle at O’briens. Pours with a slightly cloudy, pale yellow body topped by a medium thick white head with a good amount of lacing. Wow...the aroma is full of spice...coriander, ginger and lots of pepper. The flavor is similar with more ginger notes and less pepper notes. Not as intense as the aroma. Light bodied, crisp and smooth.

750 ml bottle; this one arrived as a bonus (!!) from mgumby10. Awesome.

Cap pops with a burst of seeming sour, lemon aroma. I pour it into the glass -- lighter, straw colored,the first pour clear, with a huge meringue head, and the sour aroma has more or less disappeared as I sniff the glass. Instead I get mild grassiness, light malts, and lots of spice. Not knowing what was in here, I was sure we were dealing with cloves and/or nutmeg from the aroma. Instead it was just the very strong coriander.

The ginger and pepper are quite strong on the flavor, which again is spice-dominated. I don’t let nearly as much funk or yeast character as I’d hoped for (especially given that first release of vapors from the bottle); there is a bit of wet wool in here but that’s about it. Instead we’ve got a rather light, mild, but heavily spiced saison without all that much rustic character. The coriander absolutely dominates, and is simply way too much for my taste. Shortly after opening, relatively cold and highly carbonated, almost prickly, the combination of the mouthfeel, the ginger, and the other spices reminds me of nothing so much as the Verners soda that was so popular when I was kid in Michigan and with which I had a sort of love-hate relationship. Later as the beer warms to well above the suggested serving temperature and the carbonation fades, it gets substantially better. Reaching deeper into the bottle to a hazy sediment-rich level (the initial pours were very clear) certainly helps the flavor and mouthfeel as well.

This is a hard one to rate. I appreciate the effort at <4% beer. I like the fact that it’s an interesting saison. And yet it just isn’t working for me in terms of being a beer that I enjoy drinking. I’ll finish the bottle later tonight, but halfway through the 750, I moved to on to something else; not a good sign. A mixed bag, this one. Interesting enough that I’m glad I tried it.

Bottle from State Line. Pours turbid medium gold with 3-fingers of fluffy, white head. Aroma is dry floral spices, some honey, tangerine, and white pepper. Tastes dry, floral, spicy, with noted tangerine, ginger, white pepper, and some floral dry notes throughout.

Bottle. Poured a medium and hazy golden color with a large sized white head. Lots of small floaters. Aromas of citrus, yeast, grassy, and spices. Tastes of spices, yeast, and a little fruity.

Poured a hazy, pale golden color with a large, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of earth, citrus, yeast, anise, grass, and floral hops. Taste of more anise (eek!) ginger, coriander, earthy, yeast, lightly doughy, and a somewhat thin mouthfeel.