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

Sampled bottle, at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Copper coloured beer. The aroma and flavour are very malty, alcoholic and oaky. Clearly a craft beer though.

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

375 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Also bought at Vaaland Ølutsalg, Bryne. Bottle conditioned, sediment in bottle. Pale golden colour, slightly hazy, large head. Very nice and fruity aroma, moderately spicy. The flavour has also spicy and fruity notes, slightly more rounded than their Sparkling Ale. Inspired by English (Burton-on-Trent) pale ales, but there seems also to be a "Belgian" touch here. Very nice and drinkable.

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

375 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned, sediment in bottle. In the first pour the beer is crystal clear golden, hazy in the final pour. Sparkling indeed, but when the initial huge head subsides a little, the carbonation in the glass is not too bad. Fruity aroma with notes of spices. The flavour is also fruity and moderately spicy. Alcohol is noticeable but not disturbing, the beer is fairly light bodied and easy drinking.

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

Marginally better than Budweiser. And that says the rest.

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

April 2015: Cask half pint at the New Inn, Gloucester. Served a tad too warm. Copper to brown colour, minimal head, slightly off-white. Nice lacing. Malty aroma with hints of toffee, some fruit. Malty flavour, nutty notes, a hint of caramel but not really sweet. Definitely drinkable, but not great.

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

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Hurrah. ABV here is 4.5%. Crystal clear pale yellow colour, big to moderate white head. Weak grassy aroma, not unpleasant though. The beer is wet and cold, with minimal flavour, just a little sweetness. No aftertaste. The good thing is that there are no offensive off-flavours - just plenty of Rocky Mountain water ...

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.0%. Amber colour, moderate white head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of malts and toffee, hints of herbal hops. Zesty flavour of malts, nuts, fruity and herbal hops. Bitter aftertaste. Not really remarkable, but a decent enough bitter.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at ICA Middelthon, Stavanger. Probably not bottle conditioned. ABV of the bottled version is 4.0%. Very dark brown colour (nearly black), creamy beige head. Moderate but pleasant aroma, fruity (plums/prunes) with a moderate roastiness, notes of mild coffee in the background, hints of chocolate. The flavour is smooth and nice with subtle notes of roast malts, chocolate and mild coffee, balanced by a certain fruitiness and moderate hops in the finish. A decent dark mild this one.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.8%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate but pleasant fruity aroma of Challenger(?) hops, also notes of butterscotch and fudge, hints of candy. Light bodied, thin mouthfeel. The flavour belongs to a standard bitter (in a blind test I would probably have guessed that the ABV was closer to 4.0% than 4.8%), moderate malts and hops, slightly fruity - but the hops are certainly not plentiful enough to justify the label "IPA". The troops in India in Victorian times would probably not recognise this as an IPA - but the average bitter drinker in a modern English pub will probably be satisfied with this one as a "somewhat-stronger-than-average" session bitter.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Looks filtered, but I don’t know if it is pasteurised. ABV is 4.0%. Golden colour, moderate white head, good lacing. Moderate sweetish aroma of toffee, candy, some fruit and "dusty" English hops. Flavour of a standard English bitter - a slight fruitiness, highly drinkable, with decent hops in the finish, but not really very exciting. Must be worth sampling cask conditioned, though.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV of the bottled version is 4.2%. Extremely pale and crystal clear yellow colour, moderate white head. Very nice hoppy aroma with strong notes of oranges and tropical fruits. The flavour is zesty and well hopped throughout, with a nice grapefruity bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. A typical "summer ale" which I, however, was quite happy to drink on a dreary January night.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at ICA Middelthon, Stavanger. ABV of the bottled version is 4.4%. Clear amber to brown colour, moderate off-white head, leaves a nice lacing. Fruity hops in the aroma, notes of berries and toffee / some caramel. The flavour has a moderate malty sweetness, some fruit and notes of caramel. Fairly dry hoppy finish. Not exceptional, but definitely very drinkable.

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

330 ml bottle, from a minimarket in Funchal. ABV is 5.1%. Golden colour, small white head. Fairly malty aroma and flavour, nothing special here, but drinkable.

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

250 ml green bottle, from a minimarket in Funchal. ABV is 5%. Golden colour, small white head. Clean pilsener aroma and flavour, no off-flavours, fair enough.

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

250 ml bottle, from a minimarket in Funchal. ABV is 4%. Golden colour, moderately sparkling. Aroma and flavour of real dessert apples, with some sugar added. Nice enough.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

250 ml bottle, from a SPAR shop in Funchal. ABV is 4%. Clear pink to red colour, pours moderately sparkling with a shortlived off-white head. Aroma of artificial raspberry candy. Flavour of artificial “julebrus” (Yule pop / soda). Sugary and not good at all.

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

500 ml on tap at The Pub, Funchal. Black colour, moderate beige head. Moderately roasty aroma and flavour, not very sweet, hints of coffee and dark chocolate, fairly smooth and nice to drink.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

Shared bottle at RBNAG 2011. ABV 5%. Reddish brown colour, huge white head. Aroma of malts and lactic or vinegar infection. The flavour is infected as hell, undrinkable.

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

330 ml clear bottle, from Coop Extra Sauda. Clear and pale golden colour, moderate to low white head. Sweetish aroma of maize, malts and newmown grass. Tastes like sparkling water with a little maize, malts and sugar added, a hint of citrus. Minimal hops. Gets a couple points for not tasting awful. An alternative to water when you have to drive.

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

Over-priced pale Mexican beer with a silly lime-slice gimmick to attract stock-broker wannabes and other idiots. No reason to stick with this one. Pass.

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

355 ml clear bottle, ABV is 3.9%. The Norwegian supermarket scene has now been blessed with this masterpiece, hurra. Very pale yellow colour, moderate white head of poor retention. Fairly strong sweetish aroma, notes of maize, artificial candy and grass. Soft mouthfeel. Citric and refreshing flavour (kind of), a little hops in the finish. Thin and uninteresting as expected, but not disgusting.

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

330 ml bottle, named Corsendonk Agnus - Tripel. ABV is 7.5%. Courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Very pale clear golden colour, huge head. Sweetish and fruity aroma, both fresh and fermenting fruits, slightly yeasty, hints of spices. Flavour is moderately sweet and spicy, there’s an unusual element of saltiness / sea water. Light bodied for its strength, but the alcohol is noticeable. Low bitterness.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml corked "champagne" style bottle, packed in metal gift box. Now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Very dark reddish brown colour, slightly hazy. Moderate tan head. Very nice aroma of Christmas spices, oak, raisins, old sherry, toffee and treacle. Flavour is very malty sweet, plenty of caramel and some spices, hints of smoke, tart/bitter finish. Fizzy mouthfeel - due to the aggressive carbonation and tart finish this beer was not a "silky smooth" experience for me. I actually preferred du Bocq’s Regal Christmas to this one (haven’t tried them side by side, though). R.C. is also somewhat less expensive.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Named "Corsendonk Pater - Dubbel". ABV is 7.5%. Bottle conditioned. Deep brown colour, large beige head. Pleasant aroma of dark fruits, caramel, candy sugar, spices and oak, a hint of smoke. Pleasant flavour of oak and malts, some candy sugar and caramel but not too sweet, moderate hops. Nice.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml corked & caged bottle in metal cylinder, from Løvbjerg Brønderslev. ABV is 6%. Clear reddish brown colour, large to moderate head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma of malts, caramel, brown kandij sugar, Belgian ale yeast and mild spices. The flavour is moderately sweet, with the same elements as the aroma. Moderate hops.