Nøgne Ø #500 (Batch 500) Imperial IPA

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

500ML bottle from BCLDB Nordel Crossing. Dark brown, cloudy pour under a foamy ivory head. Powerful aroma, mostly malt and perhaps a dark fruit note as well. Most un-DIPA like, much more like a barleywine. Not as is that's a bad thing. Flavour had me convinced that I'd uncapped a barleywine, strong malt along with a hint of coffee. 10% ABV was not obvious, nor were the 100 IBU's. So, nicely done. Slightly sweet at the finish. Solid mouth. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled on 7/7/2012. This imperial IPA pours a medium to dark copper gold color from a 500ml bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity, caramel and sweet with a hint of orange peel. A medium bodied Imperial India Pale Ale. The malts are caramel, bready, fruity and sweet. The hops are citrusy and piney. Decent carbonation. This beer is starting to make its way toward being a barley wine as its not quite an 2X IPA anymore, but its not quite a Barley Wine yet. Sort of right in between, so it’s more of an American Strong Ale at the moment. Still a solid beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Cloudy brown with a 1" creamy thick cap. Thick aroma, caramel, pine, nondescript citrus, raisins, and mild hints of coffee. Very spicy flavor with a big earthy finish. Don't really notice the 10%. This beer reminds me more of an American style B-Wines then an IIPA. So thick and malty, biscuits, wet grass, lots of prunes. Very sweet but balanced. Getting the odd note of vanilla but its not consistent. The mid-range bitterness linger long after every sip. Hints of pine, getting some oak,there are so many different things going on in this beer. Good beer, not great, just really good.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

not really what I look for in a double ipa (too sweet, too malty, too thick) but just judging it as a beer...pretty dang good. interesting interplay with the earthy sweet malt and the pine & spice character of the hops. strong aroma and flavor. nice brew, likely overpriced, though, in the bottle.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Really enjoyed, definitely norwegian, purchased from Beermongers Portland. Smells like malts, some carmel, but the dominant smells are wood and mushrooms and barnyard and herbs. Reminds me of the Haand wild hop IPA, really neat stuff going on there. Looks a dark brown in the glass. Barely off white head. Alcohol is noticeable here and there but the slight heat works well with the earthy hops. There is absolutely nothing citrus here, nothing that one would normally call pine. Some fruit, like plum and apricot--malt influenced rather than hop influenced. Might be something vauguely white wine like but I can't say for sure. Not very bitter, borderline balances sweet/bitter. Really nice. Happy Halloween!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottled@Gastropub Nordic, Tampere. Deep reddish amber colour with a small off-white head. Aroma is fruity and floral hops with also rather strong maltyness. Mild herbal and spicy notes as well. Flavour is quite similar in a quite nice balance.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. (A couple unpasteurised kegs will also be available at Cardinal.) ABV is 10%. Murky brown colour, big cream-coloured to beige head. Lovely aroma of American and New Zealand hops (Chinook, Simcoe, Centennial, Pacific Gem and Nelson Sauvin), fruity and resinous notes, hints of heather honey and orange marmalade. The flavour has of course loads of hops, but the bitterness is not too extreme. Piny, resinous and grapefruity notes. A pleasant malty sweetness balances the hoppiness. The high ABV is noticeable, but not really disturbing. A worthy brew to celebrate Nøgne Ø’s batch #500.