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

300 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 6.0%. Nice amber / redddish brown colour, decent off-white head. Pleasant aroma of lightly roasted malts with some caramel, fruits and spices. Rounded and lovely flavour, again lightly roasted malts with a subtle touch of fruits and spices, hints of yeast. Moderate bitterness. Easy drinking, impossible to dislike. However, you might want MORE of the pleasant aroma and flavour elements.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.4%. Clear reddish amber colour, decent off-white head. Moderate aroma, some malts and caramel. The flavour has quite a bit of caramel with moderate hops, some grain and fruit. Hints of alcohol. Not too bad, but Palm Dobbel was more to my liking.

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

Can, ABV 4.9%, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Pale golden colour, low head. Sickly aroma of over-boiled vegetables and wet cardboard, some sweetish maize notes. Boring pale lager flavour, some sweetish maize notes.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

355 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark, simply named Palma Louca. I felt compelled to sample this beer - Brazil is such a big country, and I was kind of shameful for not having sampled any of their beers previously ... ABV is 4.5%. Very pale yellow colour, moderate white head. Sweetish, sugary and grainy aroma, hints of maize - but not awful. Bland and "dusty" flavour, fairly dry and thus kind of refreshing when ice cold, but the bitterness is very low, and there are hardly any flavour elements worth mentioning. Utterly forgettable. For the sake of Brazilian beer entusiasts, if they exist: I do hope you have access to better beers than this!

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Deep golden colour. IBF programme said "hoppy & fruity throughout", and I can’t object to that. Not impressive, though.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Brown to copper colour. The aroma has grain and butterscotch. Fairly watery and thin mouthfeel. The flavour has some malts with caramel, and "dusty" hops in the finish.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Dark brown colour, nearly black. Very nice roasty aroma with notes of oak, raisins and fortified wine. The flavour is sweet, oaky and moderately roasty, nice.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Cloudy brown colour. Strong brandy-like aroma, oaky and alcoholic like hell. Extremely oaky flavour, not too sweet. Apparently the sour version (infected with lactobacillus bacteria, available only in North America) tastes quite different, even though it is based on the same recipe.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

Bottle, RBESG 2006. Cloudy golden colour. Funky aroma with notes of wine vinegar. Tastes like ... duh, sour horsepiss and horse droppings (not that these are part of my staple diet, but this is what I imagine they would taste like, when fermented), some woody notes too. Not my cup of tea (uh, beer) this one. Sorry.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2006. Hazy brownish amber colour. Made with 5% grape juice (and fermented with wine yeast?) Vinegary aroma with strange notes of horsepiss and rotting garbage. Woody and funky flavour where the grape juice barely shines through, without the necessary freshness. If I want a sour beer, I’d rather have a gueuze, thank you.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Pale and hazy straw coloured beer. Unusual farmhouse aroma, hints of oak. The flavour is slightly woody and alcoholic, with noticeable hops. Not undrinkable.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Cloudy pale golden colour, decent head. Intense aroma of farmhouse, fermenting fruits and sweaty socks. Fruity and cidery flavour, quite nice.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Hazy golden colour. Moderate farmhouse aroma. Sweet fruity flavour, notes of cheap white wine. Not that special.

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

330 ml bottle, from a Bali supermarket. ABV is 5%. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Large to moderate beige head. Aroma of dark malts, mild coffee, caramel and palm sugar. The flavour is medium dry and only mildly roasty, again notes of mild coffee and dark malts, hints of caramel and palm sugar. Slightly acidic and thin finish. I cannot say that I am able to identify the ginseng.

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

Bottle, as Panther Fine Extra Stout, in Bali. ABV is 5%. Very dark brown colour, moderate beige head. Moderate aroma of brown malts more than dark malts, notes of mild coffee and caramel, a hint of dark fruits. Thin mouthfeel. The flavour is moderately malty with only a very moderate roastiness, notes of mild coffee again, a hint of caramel, low bitterness. Has very little to brag about. This is a weak porter more than an "extra stout".

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Dark reddish brown to ruby colour, large & thick tan head. Aroma is surprisingly moderate: some malts, porridge, hints of roastiness, caramel. Flavour is more impressive: an immediate malty sweetness hits the tongue, followed by a pronounced roastiness with coffee elements. A robust & warming mouthfeel, alcohol is evident but not unpleasant. Roasted malts and quite a bit of hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. Not bad.

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

500 ml bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 6%. Deep golden colour, large white head. Moderate pilsener aroma, some floral hops. Standard pilsener flavour, acceptable hops. Decent enough.

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

On tap at Mandag i Annen, Cardinal, Stavanger. Moderately hazy pink colour, moderate head, slightly off-white. Strong aroma of raspberries, tea and lactic acid. Sour flavour, notes of raspberries, lemons and lactic acid, just a hint of tea.

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

75 cl bottle, at Delirium Café, Göteborg. Dark brown colour. Aroma of dried fruits, leather and oak. Sweet and moderately malty flavour, hints of woodwork.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Slightly sweeter than I expected (and would have preferred), this is still a very drinkable Hefe. Lovely aroma, generally a good beer but somewhat overrated.

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

Original rating: Sweeter than I expected, this is still an attractive and refreshing Hefe-Weissbier. Started drinking it with a warm meal, not a good idea - much better on its own or with a light snack. Enormous long-lasting head, pleasant but not very strong aroma. Flavour has all the good elements a beer of this style should have, a bit too sweet though. Rerate: Sweetness does not come through quite as much this time. Lovely aroma. A good hefe!

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. Pours cloudy brown with an enormous offwhite head. Intense banana aroma with notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate and cloves. Refreshing hefe-weissbier flavour, with some extra notes of malts and dark bread, but light-bodied - if blindfolded, I might mistake the flavour for a pale hefe. I wouldn’t mind having this beer as one of my "regulars".

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.0%. Colden colour, big to medium sized white head. Nice aroma of fruity German hops and sweetish malts. The flavour is fairly sweet and malty but still smooth and easy drinking, with decent hops in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, from Rewe Getränkemarkt, Erding. ABV is 5.0%. Fairly dark reddish brown colour, big to moderate beige head. Aroma of brown bread / bakery, some caramel. The flavour is fairly malty with notes of caramel and brown bread, not too sweet, a hint of "dusty" hops in the finish. Pleasant to drink.

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

On tap in a beach bar at Jurmala, Latvia. Pale golden colour, moderate head. "Neutral" aroma. Clean flavour, with a moderate hoppy bitterness on a pleasant but very moderate malty base, with some nice notes of fruit (pineapple). Easy drinking.