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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.5%. Cloudy dark brown colour, big to moderate beige head. Lovely aroma of American hops, fruity, piney and resinous notes. The flavour is extremely hoppy from start to finish, but has also a substantial malty sweetness. A bit too much of both sweetness and hops, IMHO. Still, clearly a craft brew well worth samling.

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

Bottle, as Tomislav Tamno Pivo, ABV 7.3%, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Dark reddish brown colour, low tan head. The aroma has notes of berries, lightly roasted malts and mild coffee. The flavour has notes of roasted malts, black bread and mild coffee, some fruit too.

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

Small sample from 330 ml bottle, as Tongerlo Blond, at Vectura-messe. Pale blonde colour. Light and fresh aroma and flavour, notes of mild spices and a little fruit. Nice and refreshing, will sample again.

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

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.0%. Clear deep golden to brown colour, high level of carbonation, large white head. Aroma of malts, brown kandij sugar syrup, Belgian ale yeast, mild spices, herbal hops. The medium sweet flavour has the same elements, also hints of dark dried fruits.

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

330 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 9%. Fairly clear yellow colour, huge white head. Strong sweetish aroma of ripe bananas, coriander and Belgian ale yeast. The flavour is spicy and rather sweet, okay but not really remarkable. A hint of anise in the aftertaste.

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

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Very pale blonde colour, slightly hazy. Huge white head. Very pleasant aroma of yeast, fruit and spices. The flavour is spicy and peppery, also notes of yeast, fruit and moderate hops. Alcohol is evident, but not dominant. Nice one.

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

750 ml bottle, corked "champagne" style. A beer brewed with algae, what’s next? This one pours deep amber / orange with a large pale orange head. Pleasant fruity aroma (oranges, apples), also notes of honey, flowers and hay. Flavour is also fruity / slightly acidic with some strange notes I can’t identify, probably the algae. Acidic and salty finish / aftertaste. Not the best beer I’ve had, but interesting. At least it’s something out of the ordinary ...

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

Shared can at local tasting. Cloudy yellow colour, full of yeast, white head. Intense aroma of piney and grapefruity hops. Intense hoppy flavour too, very bitter. Over the top for me.

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

473 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.8%. Hazy yellow colour, large white head. Strong and pleasant aroma of various citrus fruits, yellow stonefruits and tropical fruits. Rich and medium sweet flavour with the same elements, but unlike many double NEIPAs there is also a respectable bitterness. Not overdone, though.

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

473 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7%. Hops are Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Sabro. Hazy orange colour, large white head. Distinct aroma of pine and spruce, also hints of orange peel, grapefruit and herbs. Citric and fizzy mouthfeel. Flavour of oranges, grapefruit and tropical fruits, followed by a distinct resinous bitterness. Good beer.

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

My 500 ml bottle (brewed and bottled in Slovakia, purchased in Finland) just says Topvar Marina Schwarzbier - with an ABV of 5%. I'm slowly getting the idea that the high % in the Slovakian name of all Topvar beers is NOT the ABV, but the malt content or something. This is a delicious Schwarzbier: Black to mahogany colour, good head, oily garage aroma with coffee notes ("coffee break at the garage"). Well balanced malty roast flavour with just the right sweetness - not very complex, but this proves that a well balanced beer does not necessarily have to be complex to be GOOD. In other words - a very drinkable and refreshing Schwarz. A nice roast finish makes you want another one. Yes, please!

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

473 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.0%. Slightly hazy and very pale golden colour, moderate white head. Distinct aroma of ripe yellow plums. Fruity and refreshing flavour, notes of yellow plums and citrus, a moderate piney bitterness in the finish.

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

473 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 5.4%. Very pale golden colour, large to moderate white head. Nice aroma of grapefruit, honey melon and pine, hints of menthol and camphor. The mouthfeel is a bit thin. Flavour of citrus, moderate to low bitterness. Fairly refreshing.

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

473 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.2%. Hazy orange to pale brownish colour, moderate white head. Aroma of pine, spruce, yellow stonefruits and grapefruit. Citric flavour, some sweetness, also notes of yellow stonefruits, a moderate bitterness in the finish. Pleasant to drink.

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

November 2022: 330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6%. Hazy brown colour, large off-white head. Aroma of malts, raisins, oak and old sherry. Fizzy and sourish mouthfeel. The flavour is drier than expected, but has the same elements as the aroma.

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

One of the best Norwegian lagers. Moderate carbonation, head disappears quickly. Even though the pilsnermalt is dominant, the use of münchener- and whiskeymalt adds some interesting notes to the aroma and flavour. Malty sweetness is quite well balanced by the hops.

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

Was brewed by Tou Bryggeri in Stavanger, a Ringnes subsidiary which they closed. As with other brewers, I hate it when they call something "draught beer" ("fatøl") when it actually comes out of a can. This beer differs only marginally from Tou Pilsner, hops are slightly more accentuated. Not too much flavour except for the hops. I find nothing 'unique' about the head! Drinkable beer, after all.

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

Copper coloured Christmas beer, brewed for the Norwegian grocery store market when the traditional "klasse F" Christmas beers could be sold only through the government owned Vinmonopolet stores. This beer is an example of the fact that the Juleøl style NEEDS an ABV of 6,2% - 7% to be decent. The beer looks good, but that's all. Bland metallic flavour, just a hint of caramel. It's stunning how little taste they have managed to put into this beer. Low score in all Xmas beer ratings in Norwegian newspapers - well deserved. BTW, like (nearly) all Norwegians, I believed that Norwegian Juleøl was a style in its own right - I actually learned from RateBeer that they could be classified as Vienna. (I don't know if people living in Vienna would agree.) Fortunately, the best "klasse F" beers are a lot better than this.

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

This traditional 'klasse F' (strong) Christmas beer has the last years been given the lowest or second lowest 'klasse F' rating in Norwegian newspapers. I can understand why - it's now too lightbodied for its strength, flavour is slightly metallic, a substantial bitterness is not balanced by an equally substantial malty sweetness like a real 'Juleøl' should have. Colour is reddish brown, low head. I think this beer was considerably better 20 - 30 years ago, before Tou Bryggeri (Stavanger) became part of the Ringnes group.

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

This used to be my local pilsner before Ringnes closed the Tou brewery and moved production to Oslo - I wish I could give it a higher rating. It was probably the most bitter of all Norwegian pilsners, which may be said to give it some character. Fizzy carbonation, head disappears quickly. Good from draught in summer, otherwise you will find that the new Tou Blå (Blue) has a lot more going - if it is still available. I have stubbornly refused to drink even a drop of Tou Pilsner after production was moved to Oslo.

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

Cask conditioned at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Golden colour, low head. Moderate pale malts and some fruit in the aroma and flavour, tolerably well hopped.

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

330 ml bottle, batch #001, from Vaaland, Bryne. ABV is 4.7%. Moderately hazy pale golden colour, some floaties. Shortlived white head. Very moderate aroma, but I had a cold, so my sense of smell might not be right. Sour flavour, notes of lactic acid and sour green gooseberries.

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

Shared bottle at RBNAG 2011. Still cider. Pale straw colour. Strong and nice aroma of cider apples, oak and sulphites. Medium dry flavour, same elements as the aroma.

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

355 ml can, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.2%, IBU 31, OG 1049. Golden colour, moderate white head. "Dusty" aroma, only a hint of honey. Slightly sweet and floral flavour, with notes of honey. Moderate bittering hops in the finish.

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

On tap at the brewery. Deep golden to amber colour. Pleasant aroma and flavour of fruity (citrus, tropical fruits) and piney (pine needles, resin) American hops. Still fairly smooth to drink (for a DIPA). Enjoyable