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

Cask / hand pump at Nabokjelleren, Bergen, as Kinn Vestkyst India Øl. Served too warm (new cask). Very cloudy brown colour, moderate off-white head. Lovely hoppy aroma of tropical fruits and resin. Very bitter flavour, loads of resinous hops from start to finish, bordering on "overkill". Should satisfy any hophead.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

330 ml bottle, from Joker Vatlandsvåg. ABV is 4.5%. Hazy brown colour, moderate off-white head. Aroma of malts, yeast and brown bread, a hint of caramel. The flavour is nutty, malty, bready and yeasty, hints of fruity hops / dark fruits. A bit too yeasty for me.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

500 ml bottle, at Jenny Watts, Bangor. ABV 4.7%. Unfiltered and unpasteurised. Pale golden colour, large white head. Moderate aroma of pilsener malts, some citrus and dust. Citrussy and mildly spicy flavour, fairly dry. Okay, but not impressive.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7%. Pale golden colour, huge white head. Spicy, yeasty and somewhat soapy aroma. Dry and yeasty flavour, with mild spicy notes. Moderate hops. Not bad, but a bit too yeasty for my taste.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Norway at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 5.0%. Brewed by "Wells & Young’s Brewing Co. Ltd., Bedford, UK for and under license from Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan". Website www.kirineurope.com . Crystal clear very pale golden colour, large and lingering head. Fairly strong sweetish fruity and flowery aroma, notes of artificial candy, hints of grass and honey. Fairly bland and dry flavour but not offensive, very moderate hops. Moderate carbonation, soft mouthfeel. Not very interesting.

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

The bad thing about living in Norway is the price of beer. The good thing, however, is that those of us who live near the coast and have a small boat (yes, like me) can catch our own seafood - for free. Freshly caught crab was my chosen accompaniment with Kirin lager - a good choice, I believed, as the Japanese love seafood more than anyone else in the world. I'm sorry to say that most European pilseners / light lagers would have been a better choice than this one. There is very little aroma, the beer is dry (which is a good thing when you have it with seafood) but some more flavour would have been good too! - aftertaste is metallic. Surely the Japanese can do better than this??

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

March 2021: 500 ml bottle, from Bier Huis, Ossett. ABV is 5.0%. Clear deep golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of malts and toffee, hints of caramel and earthy hops. The flavour is first malty but not very sweet, followed by fruity and earthy hops, with a rather sharp piney /resinous bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

Shared 500 ml bottle at local tasting, thanks to Holmen2. ABV is 6.0%. Clear deep golden to orange colour, moderate to low white head. Nice and "typically English" aroma, toffee, caramel and sourish hops. Much the same elements in the flavour too, but less nice - seems a bit unbalanced. Drinkable, but far from the best IPA I’ve had.

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

July 2017: Cask halfpint at The Junction, Castleford. Pitch black colour, tan head. Pleasant aroma of roast malts, red wine, liquorice and chocolate. Rich flavour, roast malts, red wine, liquorice, some alcohol, oak. Warming mouthfeel. Excellent beer.

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

July 2017: Cask halfpint at The Junction, Castleford. Pale golden colour, creamy white head. Moderate but nice aroma of herbal hops, some citrus. Lovely flavour of herbal and spicy hops, good bitterness. A beer I’d be happy to buy again.

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

Cask halfpint at The George (JDW), Croydon. 5%. Deep golden to pale copper colour, minimal head and carbonation. Moderate aroma. Malty flavour with earthy hops in the finish. Not very great.

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

Cask halfpint at the Brewery Shades, Crawley. 6.6%. Black color, small beige head. Aroma of liquorice and wood. Distinct and slightly sweet flavour of liquorice, tar and wood, also salt of hartshorn and one spice that I can’t pinpoint. The hops are too moderate.

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

Shared 500 ml unlabelled bottle. Hazy golden colour, white head. Nice grassy and spicy aroma, hints of heather honey. Strange flavour, notes of spices, heather honey and sea buckthorn berries in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.0%. The colour is not black, but dark reddish brown. Large off-white head. Nice aroma of mildly roasted malts, tobacco and toasted oak, hints of mild spices.The flavour has also mild roasty notes, mild coffee, some liquorice in the finish. Decent hops in the aftertaste.

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

650 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Brown to amber colour, large off-white head. Nice fruity aroma, pomegranate and citrus, hints of spices. Fizzy mouthfeel. Fruity flavour with notes of Belgian ale yeast, pomegranate and bitter orange.

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

500 ml can, from SPAR Aalbæk. ABV is 5.5%. Brewed for Kissmeyer Brewing Co. at Theodor Schiøtz Brewing Co., Tværgade 2, 5000 Odense C. Hops are Mandarina Bavaria, Citra, Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin and Motueka. Malts are pilsner, pale, wheat, Munich and caramel. Brewed with apricot juice and orange juice. Cloudy brownish-yellow colour, moderate to small white head. Strong and pleasant aroma of pine and spruce, apricot and oranges. Distinct fruity flavour, notes of oranges, grapefruit and apricot, also resinous hops in the finish. Refreshing beer.

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

Brewed by Anders Kissmeyer at Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Stavanger. On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Pale golden colour, moderate white head. Lovely aroma of New Zealand hops (Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka?), hints of gooseberries and tropical fruits. Fairly light bodied, like a pilsener should be. Hoppy flavour throughout, fruity notes, not too bitter. An excellent refreshment.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.0%. Hazy pale golden colour, huge white head. Distinct and unusual spicy / peppery aroma, also floral notes. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is indeed "bone dry", with loads of green peppercorns (= too much), overpowers the more subtle floral notes. Peppery and hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. Not my favourite this one.

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

Shared 330 bottle at local tasting. Got the dregs of the bottle, very cloudy with a brownish colour. Aroma of rosehips, sloe and stale hops. The flavour is not too sweet, notes of rosehips, sloe and heather.

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

440 ml can, as Kissmeyer Passion Pale Ale ("Nordic" is no longer part of the name), from BilkaToGo, Skalborg. ABV is 6.0%. Slightly hazy brownish-orange colour, moderate white head. Intense aroma of passionfruit, also notes of mango and other tropical fruits. Citric mouthfeel. Flavour of citrus and said fruits, noticeable and slightly metallic bittering hops in the finish.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Deep reddish brown colour, moderate creamy off-white head. Pleasant aroma of fruity hops, hints of blackberries and pine, with a subdued but complex malt profile in the background. The flavour has first a broad malt profile with some toasted and mildly roasted notes, a hint of chocolate, but the beer is not very sweet. Then the hops take over, with fruity and mildly resinous notes, and a moderate bitterness in the finish. Decent beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

On tap, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Black colour, big beige head. Strong aroma of smoked meat / bacon, also roasty notes. The flavour has also strong smokey notes, and moderate roasty notes. A bit too much "smoked meat" for my taste. Not very sweet. A "German Rauchbier meets Baltic Porter"-experience.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet Kvadrat, Sandnes. ABV is 7.5%. Dark copper colour, moderate off-white head. Strong aroma of smoke / smoked meat. The flavour is smoked sausage on a medium sweet and lagerish flavour, some acidity. Nope, this is not a beer for me. Fail.

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

330 ml bottle, possibly from Føtex, Ebeltoft. ABV is 9.5%, IBU 100. Slightly hazy golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of citrus, crushed gooseberries and apricots. Citric flavour, also tropical fruits and apricots. A distinct grapefruity bitterness in the finish. Nice beer.

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

330 ml bottle, from Systembolaget, shared in Oslo by my son Steinar. ABV is 4.5%. Very pale straw colour. Watered down aroma and flavour of dry apple cider, half-decent.