Malthus Birolla

Brewed by Il Birrificio di Como
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Como (CO), Italy

Thanks to PilsnerPeter for sharing this one. Deep amber beer. The aroma is really rich and smoky. Rich and sweet with a softly honeyed maltiness. A little bit fruity and spicy as well. The fruitiness is quite nice, sort of like dark berries. A hint of clove and more sweet chewy smokiness. Rich and toffeeish flavour with a long lingering sweetness. This is a very tasty brew.

Pours amber/brown with a tan head. Smells nutty with some notable honey hints. Tastes spicy and very gruit like. Very palatable.

500 ml. Deep garnet with a one-finger creamy and lasting head. Smoked dark fruit, clove, honey and wheat aromas. Flavors of fig, tart cherry, clove, earth, smoke, cedar, oak, and toffee. Medium-heavy body is a little too fizzy, but nicely balanced between sticky and dry.

This is my first Italian Chestnut ale so I will probably come back and re-rate again when I have more experience with the style. Poured from a bottle to a snifter. Poured dark semi opaque “chestnut” brown with a cream colored head made of a mix of tight and larger sized bubbles. Nose is smoke with a sweet undertone very complex but the smoke is dominant. Mouth feel is wondrous: seems almost still when in the mouth but once you swallow the tight carbonation is revealed. Taste is sweet smoke, caramel and Turbinado. Chestnut is present in the palate like the smell of roasted chestnuts from a street vendor. I would drink this beer any day but come Autumn I think it just might be elevated to liquid bliss.

Thanks to Redlight for sharing. Liht smoked sausage aroma (didn’t expect that!) along with a strong roasted nuttiness. Flavor is malty and smoky, with a smooth and easy, slightly caramelized finish. This is one strange kitty.

Bottle... Clear caramel-colored ale with an orange tint and a small, creamy, off-white head. Decent retention. The nose is an intermingling of dark malts and roasted nuts (think chestnuts roasting on open coals in mid-town Manhattan around Christmas time); very rauchbier-like. Full-bodied with moderate carbonation. Sweet, but not cloyingly so. Chestnuts, toffee, caramel and a puff of campfire smoke. Nutty, sweet, smoky finish. What’s up with Italians knowing how to brew?

Bottle at JoeMcPhee’s tasting. Deep amber in color with a little head. Nice smokey malty aroma. Toffee notes. Rich smokey caramel sweet flavor. Smokey honey notes. Finish is smokey and sweet. Medium to full bodied. Very interesting. Very drinkable.

Bottle. Tons of smoke and honey in the aroma. Really flavorful with a fuckload of smoke, maybe that’s why I like it so much. Rich smoke in fact. Nice, lively carbonation. The honey is in the finish. Nice stuff!