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

(330 ml bottle). This beer is intended as an accompaniment with "rakfisk" (="rakaure", half-fermented trout) - I had it on its own. Golden to amber colour, good to moderate head. Aroma of hops and caramel. Flavour is well balanced, juniper contributes, together with the hops, to a nicely rounded bitterness. Not a bad lager this one. Would profit on a slightly higher ABV, though.

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

500 ml can. Contract brewed by Trio Bryggeri for Libo Trading (trade mark owner). I wouldn’t bet that this isn’t a re-label of Trio’s ordinary pilsner, but I can’t do a side-by-side comparison, so I can’t really tell. Like Trio Pilsner: Pale golden colour, moderate head. Run of the mill pils, "neutral" flavour, thin mouthfeel. Nothing to write home about.

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

(500 ml can). Golden colour, fairly malty aroma and flavour, sweet, lacks "bite". Not a favourite of mine this one. Trio Bryggeri are struggling hard to brew a decent beer - this one is not one to remember.

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

(330 ml bottle). Very pale golden colour, some malty sweetness - and then: not much more. Thin mouthfeel. Not good. Norwegian "sommerøl" (summer beers) are all uninteresting pale lagers without any character - as if our ordinary pilseners were not "summer beers" good enough!

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

(500 ml can). Golden colour. Pleasant aroma. Clean, well balanced flavour. Not a bad lager. Better than Trio Pilsner. "Fatøl" is Norwegian for "draught beer", but this beer still comes out of a can!

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

(500 ml can). Pale golden colour, moderate head. Run of the mill pils, "neutral" flavour, thin mouthfeel. Nothing to write home about. Trio Bryggeri is a former soft drink factory that started brewing a few years after the old brewery in Skien, Lundetangen Bryggeri, was closed.

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

750 ml corked "champagne" bottle. Vintage 2003. As far as I know, this is the only commercially produced craft cider from Norway (the other Norwegian "ciders" are more or less industrial alcopops made with a little apple or pear juice). Very expensive (NOK 145 at Vinmonopolet). Pours very fizzy (strong natural carbonation), no lasting head, carbonation dies out quickly. Pale yellow colour. Aroma of fresh and fermenting apples, notes of oak and apple cider vinegar. Flavour is sweet (too sweet) and alcoholic, notes of oak and vinegar, hints of spices. One small glass is enough. Apparently the 3 apple varieties used (Aroma, Gravenstein and Torstein, all good to eat) are not ideal for cider production. Overall disappointing. Will not buy again.

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

Draught at Café t'Arendsnest, Amsterdam. I expected of some reason this to be a Dutch copy of English cask ales, but it has a more yeasty and spicy flavour than any English brew I've had, and is also more carbonated. (But not as carbonated as Belgian ales). Flavour is otherwise dominated by rather bitter hops (but not as bitter as the barman made me expect). The colour is light brown, slightly hazy. You'd think the ABV was higher than it actually is. It is not a bad brew, but I'd prefer most English ales / bitters to this one. Still it's nice to find Dutch alternatives to the inevitable macrobrews

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

500 ml can, sold at Vinmonopolet. Peculiar yeasty (even though this is a filtered and pasteurised lager) sweet and fruity aroma. Flavour is nothing to shout hurrah! for (bland and alcoholic), very little aftertaste. You'll be so more happy drinking any Norwegian Christmas beer ('Juleøl') - just be sure to get the strong ("klasse F", Vinmonopolet) version. Beers like this one just aren't flavourful enough for winter, and not refreshing enough for summer!

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

330 ml bottle: Reddish amber colour, relatively pale for a dunkel, good head. Malty aroma with caramel and some aromatic hops. Light bodied but well balanced, fairly malty but not really sweetish, nutty flavour with a reasonable amount of hops which make it refreshing. Nice.