Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

A Christmas beer for the "cool" ice beer generation - oh my God! Well, it's probably not exactly an ice beer, just the average bland lager with just a little more flavour to pretend it's a "Xmas" beer. Pathetic! The ice beer generation will probably stick to ice beer or pils for Christmas anyhow, so why bother? 0,5 liter can in white and silver, commercial description in English only, even though the beer is sold primarily (or solely?) in Norway. Wow - cooool! - (can't believe there are assholes who actually think so!) Low head, golden colour, just a faint trace of spice (cardamom?) in the flavour. Aftertaste is weak but not foul, at least they have had the decency to add some hops to the stuff.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

330 ml clear bottle. Some initial flowery aroma that vanishes quickly. Hardly any flavour. Just another ice beer - the style for people who really don't like beer at all.

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

(500 ml can). A shameless effort by Mack to reach the target group underage drinkers. I didn’t translate the commercial description from Norwegian - it’s all in English ’cause that’s supposed to sound "cooler and trendier" for Norwegian teenagers. I think I’m going to be sick. The beer? Extremely pale colour, NO aroma, NO taste, NO aftertaste. Sparkling water with 4.7% alcohol. There’s not one good thing to say about this beer. Not one. If this was the best beer in the world, I’d become a tee-totaller. I swear I would.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(500 ml can). Norwegian "summer beers" are the work of the devil! While their ordinary pilseners are summer beers good enough, every brewery, of some reason, now makes a lighter and blander version for the summer months. The one from Mack is not the worst of its kind, but that doesn't mean it's a good beer. Typical pilsener colour (not as extremely pale coloured as the ones from some other breweries), very good head, weak flowery aroma, weak grassy flavour (as far as there is any flavour at all), low bitterness. This is for the target group who wants an ice cold thirstquencher without much taste.

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

500 ml bottle, at Vinmonopolet. The only commercially available Norwegian mead. Clear, nearly colourless like water, just a streak of greenish yellow. No head or carbonation. Weird strong aroma, with some good will I might say "interesting" - honey of course, lots of undefined herbs and spices, but also strong fruity (green apples) and grassy notes. Some unpleasant hints of vomit and cleaning agent. Very sweet with some honey notes, but tastes more like a sweet and really bad white wine with herbal off-flavours. Ugh. I guess meads are not my thing, and definitely not this one.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Brewed by Mack (Tromsø) to get market shares in Nordland county, when Ringnes closed Nordlandsbryggeriet. This is just another one in the long list of 'neutral' pilseners, nothing special whatsoever. Could definitely use more hops.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

A modern style pilsener, quite acceptable. Rerate (can): Very light golden colour, moderate head, very light bodied, fairly dry, distinct but slightly metallic bitterness.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Slightly lighter golden colour than Mack Pilsner, marginally darker than Mack Isbjørn. Moderate head, standard pils aroma. Light bodied, slightly metallic bitterness.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

(330 ml bottle). Amber colour, good head. Aroma is quite good, some caramel and oak. Flavour is a major disappointment, surprisingly tasteless, bland and boring, with some fusel notes (I did not have the beer as a chaser with aquavit, which is the brewery's recommended use of this beer). Aftertaste is short and not very good. Low bitterness. Not recommended!

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

Vintage 2004, 250 ml bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Bottle No. P 08270. I know I should have cellared this beer for 25 years, but I just couldn’t wait. 25 years from now - I might have been dead a long time by then. Reddish brown colour, slightly hazy. No head, minimal carbonation. Intense sweet aroma of raisins, also notes of molasses, oak and leather. VERY sweet flavour, oak, molasses and raisins again, alcoholic and "raw" in the edges, notes of pipe tobacco. Not nearly as good as the 1990 vintage I sampled at the RBESG 2005, which proves that this beer really NEEDS to be cellared for at least a decade. Its "old sherry or port"-like qualities are not there yet. The brewers are not just teasing you when they recommend cellaring - they actually mean it. But even at this "raw" and unfinished stage it is clear that this beer has capabilities. Be prepared for a substantial sweetness even after many years of cellaring, though.