Troll Shangrila

Brewed by Birrificio Troll
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Vernante, Italy

Bouteille de 750 ml partagée avec MartinT, Rastacouere, Cathschlag et Beerbuzzmontreal. Arôme: Odeur d’épices avec une pointe d’agrume. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée. Présence d’un très mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de cumin et de poivre avec une pointe de gingembre. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Présence d’épices en arrière goût. (Rating #1462)

Bottle. Pours a clear dark copper with a two finger lasting rocky light tan head that leaves good lacing. Heavy aroma of spices with the anise really sticking out, bubblegum, and caramel. Taste is the same as aroma with a hint of spicy peppery curry goodness. Medium mouthfeel with a mild to moderate amount of bitterness and well hidden alcohol. Very good.

750. Thanks, Boboski! Pours slightly hazy, very luminescent medium amber with a thick moussy tan head that falls slowly to a thin film of mousse across the top of the beer. Red pitted tree fruit, licorice, and an intoxicating whirl of cooking spices all show up in the nose. The aromatics are really hard to piece apart, actually. Body’s on the light side of medium, not much carb. Fruity, slightly candy-like, and earthily spicy mid-palate. Somewhat bubble-gummy finish...not just your ordinary bubble gum, either, but that dry stuff ya get with Bazooka Joe that has the preservative powder in it. *That* kind of bubble gum on the finish. This is definitely a wild child.

Cloudy dark caramel. Despite being a gusher upon opening, the head settles quickly into the shape of a small off-white ring. Spice-focused, anisey and strong curry flavours with soy and sesame toast nuances. Its base is clearly Belgian, you can tell as much from the upfront yeastiness than the growing fizz of medium to big sized bubbles. Finishes with oranges, more toast and obviously lots of spices. Chaotic.

The look: Cloudy dark-orange body topped by an initially large but quickly dissipating white head.
The style: A ton of aggressive spices (way too much) on a Belgian foundation
The stuff: Smells like walking into an Indian restaurant. If there was yeasty flavours or some kind of malt character in there it was totally crushed by the exaggerated amount of spices. Light body. The aggressive carbonation just make the spices feel even more aggressive. Dry and dusty. This terrible beer was my own contribution at a tasting session where my friends brought exotic Japanese beers, Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter (ratebeer #1 beer) and Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon First Edition (ratebeer #13 beer). Ok… so… the worst the beer I bring the better the beers my friends bring to compensate… hmmm... ok then... To anyone reading, please beermail if you have 10 years old vintage Schoune or Barberie bottles.
The how: Tasting session at MartinT. Bottle from me :(
The conclusion: Never again

My Bottom Line:
Substanceless Indian curry spices are slowly overcome by fierce bubbling in this mildly fruity and somewhat frail strong ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circles the cloudy and dull amber.
-That spiciness isn’t as intense I had expected, which is a good thing, but there isn’t much else to support it I’m afraid. Addendum: a bottle aged a few more months reveals a lot more bubblegummy phenols and a lot less spice presence.
-That fruitiness is redolent of peaches, watermelon and oranges.
-There is some bitterness in the finish, but it is far from convincing.

Bottles.

ambrata buona schiuma persistente profumi tendenti al dolci in bocca ben bilanciata leggermente speziata

Name: Shangri La
Date: April 02, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: muddy amber, fine white head
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma with a very sharp spicey (cury) edge
Body: creamy body
Flavor: lots of spicy flavor, malty sweetness, great complexity, earthy balance
Overall: overall a huge spicy beer, the creamy body and the spices blend to make an enjoyable experience, a most unique beer
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4