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

RBESG 2006, Grand Tasting. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black, low tan head. Sweet bakery aroma, oaky and vinous notes. Flavour is malty sweet with a subdued roastiness, a bit too sweet for me to give it a definite top rating.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Madla. ABV is 6.3%. Hazy yellow colour, moderate white head. Pleasant aroma of citrus, also pineapple and other tropical fruits. Citrus and tropical fruits in the flavour too, not too sweet, but the bitterness could with advantage be firmer. Still a nice and refreshing beer.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Herbarium, Stavanger. ABV is 8.0%. Hazy / opaque yellow colour, moderate white head. Aroma of citrus and melon, also various tropical fruits, like mango, papaya and guava. Citric and somewhat fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is quite sweet and juicy, with notes of said fruits. A bit too far out on the sweet side, but still a good beer.

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

October 2015: 330 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.8%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, moderate to low white head. Moderate aroma of floral and herbal hops. The flavour is herbal, medium dry and quite crisp, with distinct bittering hops in the aftertaste. Refreshing. Fair enough.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

440 ml nitro pour can, as Sullivan's Black Marble Stout, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 5.1%. Black colour, creamy beige head. Aroma of roast malts and mild coffee, hints of dark chocolate. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium dry flavour with the same elements as the aroma, noticeable bittering hops.

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

440 ml can, as Sullivan's Irish Gold Ale, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 5.2%. Clear and deep golden colour, moderate to small white head. Aroma of malts and grain, hints of caramel and bread, some earthy hops. Malty and bready flavour, hints of toffee and caramel, mid between dry and sweet, very moderate earthy hops.

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

Cask conditioned at the Lord Moon of the Mall, London. Pale golden colour, low head. Moderate aroma, a hint of fruit. Moderately hoppy flavour, some bitterness in the finish. Okay, but not very impressive.

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

Cask (hand pump / beer engine) at the GBBF 2008. Deep amber colour, minimal head. Interesting fruity and spicy aroma. Fruity and herbal flavour, slightly spicy, quite nice.

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

On tap at the Suomenlinnan Panimo brewpub on the island of Sveaborg/Suomenlinna at the seaward approach to Helsinki (a UNESCO World Heritage site). This is an English style ale, golden to amber colour, slightly cloudy, moderate to low head. Moderate yeasty and hoppy aroma, some yeastiness and cloves in the well rounded flavour. Sufficient body to be a treat, light enough to be refreshing. Pleasant bitterness in the aftertaste. I'd say the brewer has done a good job with this one.

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

On tap at the brewpub, which is situated in a listed building at the former Swedish (later Russian and Finnish) military island stronghold Sveaborg (since 1918 Suomenlinna) near Helsinki - now a UNESCO world heritage site. As I had this porter after the good Coyet Ale, my expectations were high (which normally, as in this case, leads to disappointment). Good to moderate head, pitch black. Coffee aroma with hints of fruit. Strangely sweet and fruity flavour. Some roast bitterness in the aftertaste.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

330 ml can, bought in Tenerife. ABV is 4.8%. Very pale golden colour, decent head. Weak aroma, some sweetish notes of maize (corn). Spritzy mouthfeel, moderately sweet, minimal hops. Thin. Typical run-of-the-mill contract brewed industrial lager.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Madla. ABV is 6.5%. Murky orange colour, moderate white head. Aroma of yellow stonefruits, pine / resin and stale orange marmalade. Medium sweet flavour with notes of malts, pineapple and citrus / grapefruit, hints of pine needles. Moderate bitterness.

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

Avdelingen for sære ølnavn! Også denne fikk jeg tatt en bitteliten smaksprøve av i dag, og kan love at den ga mersmak. Tydelig aroma av havre (Kjell mener den lukter kraftfor!), rund smak av havrekjeks også, samt innslag av mild kaffe, rosiner og sjokolade, men uten å bli sjenerende søt. Rerate, sampled on tap at Mandag i Annen, Cardinal, Stavanger. Smooth and pleasant to drink, definitely not too sweet. A nice oatmeal stout!

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

440 ml can, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Hazy yellow colour, large white head. Aroma of yellow stonefruits, citrus, tropical fruits and sprucetips. Light bodied for its strength. The flavour is not too sweet, but has the same elements as the aroma. A moderate bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

440 ml can, as Sureshot Milson Pale Ale, from Vinmonopolet Sandnes Kvadrat. ABV is 5.2%. Hazy / murky yellow colour, moderate white head. Pleasant aroma of mixed tropical fruits, also some citrus and sprucetips. Light bodied. More distinct citrus in the flavour, also hints of apricot, sprucetips and tropical fruits. Not too sweet, but the bitterness is too low.

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

Bottle, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Pitch black colour, low brown head. Complex aroma, chocolate, coffee, soy sauce, prunes. Full and rich flavour, loads of malty sweetness, also some fruitiness, loads of chocolate and caramel, notes of coffee.

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

Shared bottle, RBNAG 2011 in Oslo. Dark brown colour. Sourish aroma and flavour, farmhouse notes, lemony and gueuze-like despite the darker colour.

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

750 ml bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV was 8.2%. Black colour, moderate beige head. Smoky aroma, notes of tar and bonfires at the seaside. Smoky flavour, notes of smoked meat and roasted malts.

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

Cask 1/3 pint, gravity dispense, at the 16th Twickenham Beer & Cider Festival, Golden colour, white head. Moderate malty aroma, some toffee, a little fruit. The flavour is nice enough, but not very special - probably got the Gold award in the CBoB 2016 for not being offensive in any way.

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

330 ml can, No. 11735 / 13000, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 9%. Reddish brown colour, moderate off-white head. Aroma of bourbon and oak, notes of fusel alcohols. Sharpish oaky flavour, notes of bourbon, hints of fusel. Not entirely successful.

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

June 2020: 330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.0%, IBU 26. Hop is Centennial. Malts are pilsener, wheat and caramel. Golden colour, moderate to small white head. Aroma of wort and stale jam, a hint of caramel. Medium sweet flavour, grainy with hints of jam, moderate bittering hops in the finish. Not impressive.

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

June 2019: 330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Kvadrat. ABV is 6.5%, IBU 29. hop is Centennial, malts are pilsener, chocolate and caramel. Dark brown colour, large and lasting beige head. Aroma of dark malts, caramel and brown bread. Smooth flavour and mouthfeel, moderate roast malts and caramel again, moderate but noticeable hops. Okay.

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

June 2017: 330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7%. Deep golden to orange colour, slightly hazy. Large white head. Moderate aroma of fruity and piney hops. Slightly dry flavour, with a very distinct and resinous hop bitterness from start to finish.

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

330 ml can. ABV is 4.7%. Reddish brown colour, slightly hazy. Moderate to small off-white head. Moderate aroma of malts and caramel, a hint of over-ripe redcurrants. The flavour is malty but not too sweet, just a hint of caramel, raisins and herbal hops.