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

Sample from bottle at Copenhagen Beer Festival 2013. Served too cold. Black colour, moderate beige head. Moderate roasty aroma, notes of cold coffee, unsweetened cocoa and wood. Very dry roasty flavour, coffee notes. Some hops in the finish. Not very complex, but nice enough to drink.

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

500 ml clear bottle, from Systembolaget, thanks to OleR! ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden colour, big white (possibly slightly off-white) head. "Skunky" aroma when opening the bottle, not unpleasant though. Nice hoppy aroma in the glass, grassy and slightly woody notes. Light mouthfeel, moderately hoppy flavour with hints of toffee. "Dusty" and moderately bitter finish. No masterpiece, but refreshing and highly drinkable.

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

500 ml clear bottle, bought at Systembolaget. ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden to amber colour, big head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma of floral hops, hints of grass. The flavour has pleasant Goldings hops throughout, on a relatively dry and biscuity background, with just a slight fruitiness. There are definitely worse summer ales than this one around. Highly drinkable.

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

Sample from bottle at Copenhagen Beer Festival 2013, served a bit too cold. Deep golden to brown colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of "dusty" hops, a hint of toffee in the background. The medium dry flavour has a distinct and sharp hoppy bitterness throughout, but I get little hop flavour besides the bitterness. Not that great, really.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle). Exquisite aroma, beautiful colour, very bitter aftertaste (perhaps too bitter?) Rerate: I regret part of my first comment: The flavour is NOT too hoppy - it’s just an acquired taste. And the aroma IS exquisite!

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

At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Dark brown (nearly black) colour, moderate tan head. Lightly roasty aroma and flavour, also some floral and fruity notes, hints of chocolate. Light bodied, but nice and drinkable.

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

Cask conditioned this is just an excellent ale. Enough said. Rerate May 14 2002: Had this one again today from can + bottle (bottle slightly better) in Norway, not nearly as good as cask conditioned, but still a very drinkable ale. Could use a little more aromatic hops. Rerate 2: I take back what I said about can vs. bottle. I found a retailer who stores the cans cold, and they're a helluva lot better than the frequently skunky (clear!) bottles, which are stored warm at my other retailer's. Well kept, I just love the nutty freshness of this ale.

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

Sample from 500 ml bottle, Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay Organic Ale, ABV 4.5%. Courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Beautiful deep amber colour, low head (the bottle had been open a while, though). Malty aroma with toffee and caramel notes. Mouthfeel has a bit too much carbonation for my taste. Flavour has fairly bitter hops throughout, which dominate whatever maltiness there might be. Fairly dry and "dusty" finish.

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

Cask halfpint at The Last Post, Guernsey. ABV is 3.9%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Nice malty aroma. Smooth to drink, a slight fruitiness, malts, nuts and a hint of toffee. Very moderate hops.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken (n/a dpt.). ABV is 0.5%. Clear and very pale straw colour, sparkling, no head. Aroma of cider apples and eating apples, a hint of sulphites. Citric mouthfeel. Flavour of fresh apples, not too sweet. Some sulphites again. Fairly nice for a nearly n/a cider.

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

Oct. 2013: 500 ml clear bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.8%. Pale golden colour, pours sparkling with a shortlived white head. Pleasant light aroma of cider apples and eating apples, hints of oak and sulphites. Medium dry and crisp flavour of cider apples, light bodied. Hints of oak and sulphites again.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Clear golden colour. Pours fizzy & sparkling, but carbonation in the glass is moderate. No lasting head. Oaky aroma with hints of leather, dominant late harvest fermenting apples, notes of apple cider vinegar. Flavour is oaky, medium dry. Quite pleasant and refreshing. A decent cider

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

Nov. 2021: 750 ml bottle, vintage 2019, from Vinmonopolet Sola. ABV is 7.4%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, pours moderately sparkling with a small and shortlived white head. Pleasant aroma of perry pears and dessert pears. Medium dry flavour of perry pears, some tannins.

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

330ml bottle, as Tamamura Honten House IPA, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.0%. Deep golden to brownish orange colour, moderate white head. Aroma of earth, wood and slightly stale orange marmalade, fruity and resinous hops. The flavour has first a rich malty and fruity sweetness, then powerful American(?) hops take over with loads of resinous and grapefruity bitterness. Enough sweetness remains to balance some of the bitterness. Clearly a real treat for the hopheads.

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

330 ml bottle, as Tamamura Honten Miyama Blonde (Harvest Brew - Fresh Hop), courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.0%. Pale straw coloured beer, hazy. Decent white head. Moderate but nice aroma of Belgian ale yeast and citrus, hints of mild spices. Fresh and zesty flavour with distinct spicy notes, hints of citrus. Peppery and hoppy bitter finish and aftertaste.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, as "Tamamura Honten Nøgne Ø Not So Mild Ale - Harvest Brew Fresh Hop" (the rest of the info on the label is in Japanese). Murky dark brown colour, moderate to low greyish beige head. Nice but moderate aroma of mild ale malts, chocolate malts and some fruity hops. The flavour is fairly fruity, but has also a moderate roastiness with mild coffee and chocolate notes. The finish has sufficient hops to make it "not so mild". No masterpiece perhaps, but highly drinkable.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, in the Houston tent at the ONS 2008, Stavanger. Brown colour, moderate creamy head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of malts, hints of caramel. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is moderately malty and bready without any offensive sidenotes, but not exciting either.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at the GBBF 2008 for takeaway. Amber colour, big head. Aroma of Fuggles hops, but surprisingly moderate. The flavour is dominated by Fuggles hops as expected, but there is also a noticeable malty sweetness. Some fruity notes and a piney and slightly soapy finish. The bitterness is fairly subdued for an American IPA.

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

On tap at Oakland Intl Airport. Pale straw colour, white head. Typical witbier aroma and flavour of coriander and citrus / orange peel. Very refreshing, would be happy to drink this again. I suspect that it is underrated due to the ownership of the brewery - I was not aware that this was an AB InBev product, so I rated the beer for what it is.

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

Bottle, at RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Golden colour. Nice hoppy and spicy aroma. Hoppy and fruity flavour, a bit unbalanced. Still nice to know that the South Africans can brew better stuff than pale lagers.

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

Bottle, at RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Very cloudy straw coloured beer. Nice fruity / citrussy and hoppy aroma and flavour, also notes of yeast and oak.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Bottle at Schouskjelleren, Oslo. Amber colour, moderate but lasting off-white head. Aroma of ripe berries, tobacco and resinous hops, hints of ashes. Infected? Fruity and acidic flavour, resinous hops. Tastes clearly infected.

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

Bottle, at local tasting, as Shorts Brew Ginger in the Rye, Imperial Rye Munich Ale. Orange to amber colour, large white head. Strong sweetish aroma of stale jam and ginger. Medium sweet and spicy flavour, with a moderate ginger burn in the finish.

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

355 ml bottle, shared with OleR at Olympen, Oslo. American Wheat Ale with orange zest, lemon zest, coriander and peppercorns. Hazy golden colour, low white head. Sourish bread dough aroma, also hints of citrus and coriander. Sourish (house character?) flavour with notes of citrus. Could use more coriander, and definitely more hops.

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

355 ml bottle, shared with OleR at Olympen, Oslo. Red colour, moderate pale pink head. Strong aroma of ripe and over-ripe berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) - the raspberries come out up front. Fairly dry and slightly tart and mildly sour flavour, with a distinct presence of said berries. Does not feel as strong as 9%.