Troll Saison Dau

Brewed by Birrificio Troll
Style: Saison
Vernante, Italy

The beer looked quite clear before I popped the cap, but when I did the beer was well carbonated enough to actually start to foam out of the bottle. A careful pour yields an initial four-fingers of head which quickly grew to an additional three-fingers in height above the rim of my glass (quite a structural masterpiece as it has not actually run down the sides of my glass. The beer, now very hazy from all the stirred up yeast, is a bright, yellow, straw-gold color while the head is just off white in color. I wasn’t expecting it, but am definitely happy to report that the aroma smells quite funky; initially I thought for sure it was Brettanomyces, but upon further inspection I am not sure it just isn’t the choice of interesting spices. Woody, sharp, funky, lots of woody pepper, slight lemon zest, hints of sweet ginger, the aroma is actually quite piquant in character.

Quite light feeling, but with an ample, zesty carbonation, the beer is light and airy as it crosses the tongue, but at this point does not feel overly carbonated for a Saison (that 5 minute rest seems to have made the carbonation manageable). The spice notes, while present, are not as omnipresent as I had thought they would be. The spices are one of the biggest parts of the flavor profile, but somehow the individual spice notes are not overly noticeable. Woody black pepper, lemon zest, and a bit of biting ginger and piquant pepper in the finish are all fairly noticeable. The beer has a nice malt character to it that provides a touch of sweet grain, and a chewy, somewhat grassy, cracker like grain character towards the finish. This is eminently quaffable, as one would expect from a beer of this strength, but it still has lots of character & flavor that keeps it interesting.

The second pour even has more sediment to it; it is much more murky, picks up some yeasty flavors that provides a hint of texture and a bit of a yeast bite, but the overall effect is fairly minimal. The ginger and pepper seem to provide the most influence here, but it is hard to divorce the two to see which is contributing to the interesting piquant flavors here. The woodiness from the pepper is a nice, noticeable addition though.

I really like the levels & combination of spices used here; they are evident, but not overwhelming and all together they seem to boost the naturally funkiness of the beer (even at first making me thing that there was Brett here). I really like the use of coriander here, they seemed to have used it subtly and of a quality that did not contribute that green, stalky, earthy note that is found in lots of beers that use coriander. A fantastic, low alcohol (which is staunchly traditional) Saison, the likes of which you can no longer get commercially until now. This is so drinkable that a 750ml is really not even enough. I will say that the time it has spent in the bottle has probable muted the spice effect quite a bit, which is perfectly ok by me.

Forse la migliore birra che ho assaggiato del Troll, una saison variopinta ed estremamente beverina nonostante la considerevole complessità. Da abbinare con una zuppa di legume.

A Mes rate: bottle at GBBF.
Lemony brown colour with an excellent head and really well conditioned. Sweet, fruity aroma with lovely spice and lemon notes. Really adorable and perfectly balanced and juicy. The flavour is equally gorgeous. I could drink and drink this stuff. Wonderful fruity and juicy hops, fantastic dry lemon and glorious spicy notes with delicate hints of ginger. The coriander and pepper notes are superb. So very well balanced. Absolutely fantastic.

Bottle at GBBF 2008 Pours hazy golden. The aroma is a bit green nutty like a filbert nut maybe with some soft citrus there as well, strangely I also get a waft of cooked pasta and a bit of perfume. Lovely fresh spritzy, zesty refreshing flavour, great taste nice soft malty flavours but quite drying and citrusy as well, I liked this a lot and would regard this as one of my beers of the festival.

One of the best saisons I’ve tried. Black pepper and cloves on the nose of the hazy yellow beeer. Solid body with similar flavor and a lot of yeast.

Shared by brewfiend and scluffman at Cellar’s WIne & Spirits. Pours a hazy blonde pale brew with a fast dissolving white head. Aroma of banana esters, cloves, yeast and a touch of pepper. Taste is light bodied, very little carbonation with flavors of yeast, black pepper, coriander and some earthy spice. Finish is slightly bitter with a pepper spice aftertaste.

Small to no head; clear golden beer. Clear pepper; obvious with a lot of citrus, and half the peppermill - sneezing coming up. Dry taste with beeswaxed oakwood en pepper, displaying a shocking full taste despite the low gravity. Apt light body, not affecting anyway the taste. Good, original, great exercise.

(750ml bottle) Pours a clear golden body with a small white head. Aroma of ginger, orange peel, lemon, anise, toasted biscuit, dusty, pepper, and yeast. Flavor of ginger, coriander, cereal, grass, and pepper. Refreshing session beer.