Cuvée des Trolls Belgian Blonde Ale

Cuvée  des Trolls Belgian Blonde Ale.

This is why I hang on to beer glasses for over a 
dozen years, you never know when you'll
need them again. 

7 % ABV, 19 IBU, Brasserie Dubuisson, Leuze-Pipaix, Belgium. 

Scanning this blog, I am disheartened to note that there are only three appearances by the Brasserie Dubuisson here, and they are Scaldis Tripel, Scaldis Noel, and Cuvee des Trolls Speciale. Over on BeerAdvocate.com, I have reviewed a few more: Bush de Noel Premium, Péche Mel, Scaldis Amber, and this very beer in question, the Cuveé des Trolls. There are other of their beers that are available to me now at the retail store where I work currently, but they are on the expensive side. 

Back in 2009, I had a keg (or maybe more) of the Cuvée des Trolls on tap at the Blue Nile. I'd never heard of it, but, hey, it had to be good, right And it was, and I was happy to pour it. And now it's back in the market, and I picked up a 4-pack for merely $15.49 to enjoy at home. And I will do what I do, which is reuse those old notes and see how they stack up against the one I'm drinking now. And here we go...

In the extra-cool frosted troll tulip... hazed, golden appearance, beautiful, bone-white, creamy cap.

Muted nose, mild and mellow, floral, soft citrus, light spice, lively, lovely.

Soft and mellow in the mouth, as well. Minor carbonation. Smooth and scrumptious. This doesn't explode with flavor, dazzle, titillate, or turn you inside out. It's just good drinking beer. Crisp, clean, and cool. 

Alcohol level is good for a blonde ale, small for a Dubuisson beer. But they want to sell to more than hardcore beer geeks, and hardened alcoholics, I guess. And using miniature mythological creatures is one way to do it. 

Not the sort of thing I would normally go for, but good for what it is.. .may they sell many a Troll... as long as it keeps 'em making Scaldis.

What did I miss? Notes of honey and stone fruit. Quite tasty, actually. I'm liking it more than it seems from those 12-year old notes. Maybe it's better in the bottle, over time, than fresh on tap? One never knows. 

Cuvée des Trolls was created in 2000 in the tanks of microbrewery Le Brasse-Temps, which was established in Louvain-la-Neuve by Brasserie Dubuisson.

It is an unfiltered blonde beer with a natural cloud. The beer is produced using only yeast, malt, hops, sugar and water and has an alcohol volume of 7%.

Thanks to the addition of dried orange peel during the boiling process, the beer has very pleasant fruity aromas that are in beautiful harmony with its delicate, fully rounded taste.