Saison Man
Trinity Brewing Company

Saison ManSaison Man
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From:
Trinity Brewing Company
 
Colorado, United States
Style:
Saison
ABV:
4.9%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.74 | pDev: 14.44%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
70
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 08, 2017
Added:
Oct 25, 2012
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  8
A 'Pre-Industry Session Saison', brewed with pilsen, rye, flaked wheat, flaked oats, spelt, coriander and grains of paradise. Fermented with a blend of Farmhouse yeast and Brettanomyces, dry hopped, and aged in Chardonnay barrels.
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Rated: 3.93 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Jun 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.94 by Beerbom from California

Apr 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by erk0607 from Colorado

Mar 18, 2017
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Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A 'Pre-Industry Session Saison', brewed with pilsen, rye, flaked wheat, flaked oats, spelt, coriander and grains of paradise. Fermented with a blend of Farmhouse yeast and Brettanomyces, dry hopped, and aged in Chardonnay barrels.

Getting back to basics, the brewers at Trinity look to the past farmhouse flavor for inspiration. Choosing a rustic blend of malts with earthy spice and rounding the character of fermentae with wild yeast harks back to the ale of two hundred years ago; but the slumber in chardonnay barrels brings the taste into the present.

Pale gold and crowned with a loosely knit and short lived froth, the ale swirls about the nose with a stern peppery twinge, tangy white wine and a brisk scent of sea air. Grainy sweet on the tongue, the taste of slightly stale bread, husken rye and sourdough has a whole grain gritty taste.

Light honey and powdered sugar are soon offset by the peppery spice that accumulates on the middle palate. Fresh cracked peppercorn, spicy rye and perfume complement the estery mix of pineapple, orange, lemon and grape to near perfection. As the taste of oak, chardonnay and grassy hops rise in finish, the ale takes on a spice forward balance with the mild funk of worn cork and burlap on the after palate.

Medium bodied but on a drying track, the hay-like hops, moderate alcohol, oak tannins and wine acidity all aid in a dry, crisp and digestible texture to close. The ale finishes oaky, briny and vinous with a medium long linger of citrus and spice.
Mar 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by Mattias from Sweden

Jan 21, 2017
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Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.72/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
375ml wax capped bottle - 'Saison Man' reminds me of 'Sugar Man' by Sixto Rodriguez.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, pale golden yellow colour, with one very skinny finger of wispy and bubbly off-white 'head', which blows off in mere moments, leaving a bit of low-rise mitochondrial lace in places around the glass.

It smells of musty white wine, mixed grainy and crackery malts, muted generic citrus rind, black pepper and coriander spice, a touch of wet woodsiness, and a relatively subtle earthy Brett funk. The taste is dry, gritty, and chaff-like malt (almost like a true gluten-free character), lemon and dried orange peel citrus, a surprisingly tame barnyard funkiness, sort of exotic rainbow peppercorn spice, a further earthy yeastiness, and some subdued white wine barrel wood (with very little butter or vanilla).

The carbonation is quite understated in its wan-seeming frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and sort of smooth, that is if you've come to terms with the required cognitive dissonance here. It finishes rather dry, the mutt malt having pretty much bled out long ago, while the funk and spice keep on churning out the hits.

Overall, this is a fairly agreeable rustic Saison, with the added spices enhancing the base yeast/infection essences. However, I think the Chardonnay barrel gets lost in the mire, and thus doesn't pull its weight when considering the added shelf tag 'value'.
Nov 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by thinwhiteduke from Illinois

Sep 06, 2016
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Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
BOTTLE: 2015 vintage. Crown cap is waxed over as is usual with Trinity. Brown glass.

4.90% ABV. Session saison. Brewed with pilsen, rye, flaked wheat, flaked oats, spelt, coriander and grains of paradise. Aged in Chardonnay barrels.

Regrettably brief notes below:

APPEARANCE: Gorgeous 3-4 finger head of white colour. Fluffy and soft looking with a good consistency. Lasts a good 8 minutes, leaving no lacing as it recedes.

Body colour is a clear vibrant cider gold. For a beer aged on lees and brettanomyces, it's surprisingly clear and obviously filtered.

Not the usual hazy look of a proper saison, but it's inviting outside of strict style conventions.

AROMA: Very inviting. Crisp red apples, wine-like acidity, obvious chardonnay wine character, pilsner malts, grains of paradise (when I look for them), wheat, coriander, clean brettanomyces-induced funkiness. There isn't much farmhouse twang to this nor are there any really overt barnyard notes (lemon, lemongrass, hay/straw, etc.), but there is a hint of leather and, surprisingly. some sourness - maybe lambicus was used in addition to bruxellensis?

Suggests a clean, balanced, refreshing brew with plenty of interesting flavours.

Aromatic intensity is mild.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Soft yet acidic, with a definite sour bite to it (it's maybe a 4-5/10 in terms of sourness, but the acidity amplifies it). Clean funkiness dominates the brew, bending those easily-imposed-upon pilsner and flaked wheat malts to the funky side. Crisp orchard apples. Coriander spice. Slightly earthy farmhouse yeast.

No straw/hay here, nor is there the leather from the aroma - and the chardonnay is quite restrained (some might even say reticent or shallow). Speaking of shallow, this doesn't boast the best depth of flavour, but it gets the job done. Complex to style, though it doesn't adhere strictly to style conventions, venturing well away from safe shore into the far-out waters of sour ales and American wilds; I'd care a lot more if it wasn't so tasty.

Adding the remainder of the bottle to my tulip does make the colour a bit more murky and the flavour slightly doughy (indicating yeast).

I do find some slight starchiness (possibly from the oats) but it's minor.

Texture is smooth, wet, aptly medium-bodied, and almost perfectly carbonated. Refreshing, approachable, and luscious. This will please any fan of the style.

In short, it's exactly the balanced refreshing brew the aroma promises, and I find it hard to put down. The low ABV seems to make this quite a drinkable brew, and in that respect I can see what they're getting at with the otherwise dubious "session saison" label.

OVERALL: More solid work from Trinity that I won't be buying again in spite of its high quality merely because the price just isn't justified in comparison to other beers in the same market. That aside, it's damn drinkable and I'd definitely recommend others to try it once. Nitpicking, there are missed opportunities in terms of intricacy of build and depth of flavour, and I'd like to see the wine barrel brought out more, ideally with some accompanying oak presence.

High B- (3.50) / WORTHY
Aug 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by fosters9 from New York

Aug 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.85 by Inglewood from Illinois

Jun 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.74 by bman13 from Ohio

Jan 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.9 by rsquared59 from Indiana

Dec 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Kuges from Texas

Oct 13, 2015
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Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

3.69/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the small bottle in a snifter. This Saison pours a dark straw color with a nice head of white foam that dissipates to a thick ring and light pooling layer with spotty lacing. Nose of crackers, light tropical fruit, white pepper, and yeasty funk. Flavors follow the nose with pineapple and citrus notes to the front, saltine cracker and funky earthy yeast tones to the mid and rear with lemon peel and grain notes that are peppery and tart with a chardonnay background featuring grapes and subtle oak . Finish is a lingering tart with mild carbonation. Nice but not my standard saison cup of ale.
Sep 07, 2015
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Reviewed by MakeMineADoubleJack from North Carolina

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was a very pleasant saison. Low abv, very drinkable. Funkier than others, but still approachable. Price point was a little high, though. And I'm not a big fan of waxed caps. Anyway, overall a good beer.
Aug 27, 2015
 
Rated: 3.74 by Jhfinn from New York

Aug 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.72 by acurtis from New Jersey

Aug 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.67 by Zonian1 from Ohio

Aug 09, 2015
 
Rated: 4.06 by MDDMD from Pennsylvania

Jul 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Hohnbaum from Kansas

May 24, 2015
Saison Man from Trinity Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 70 ratings