Troll Stella di Natale Vieille Cuvée

Brewed by Birrificio Troll
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Vernante, Italy

Draught. OK vinous aroma, sweet and slightly yeasty. Very dark brown colour. No head. Good sweetness in the flavour, fat yeast, plenty of christmas spices.

Objectively speaking: Dark, very strong and yet thin Italian strong ale.
I like: Jammy fruit notes cover a decent range. Not very sweet at all for such a strong ale.
I dislike: Feeble body. Fairly aromatic, but really faded taste in mouth. More or less convincing spice blend feel rather bitter, drying out and astringent. Mineral and metallic and not only in the finish.

Verre de dégustation, provenant d’une bouteille de 750 ml, au Mondial de la Bière 2008 (Montréal, QC). Arôme: Odeur d’épices avec une pointe d’alcool. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée foncée. Présence d’un mince col beige mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût fruité avec une pointe d’épices. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement fruité. (Rating #1730)

My Bottom Line:
Rubbery growths mar the sweet blueberry fruitiness while a muddled spiciness battles earthy issues. This spicy Belgian-style Strong Ale cannot be in its best form.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-There is barely a ring of foam to crown the dark brown.
-The bottle we had was not the same as the picture on the left, so I suppose we did not get the same batch.
-Hoppiness is feeble and disappears into the flat Cola-like spiciness.
-The finish is somewhat dry and mostly flaccid.

Bottle.

Bottled 0,75L. Bought in Torino. Extremely bulky and creamy head, good persistence. Much dark brown color and impenetrable one. Dense and decidedly syrupy. Complex and much alcoholic aroma. Notes of liqueur, braced malt, spices and must. Medium pungent, overbearing and bitter taste. Alcohol and aromatic herbs in height with fresh anise and licorice rumors. Lightly unbalanced and long final.