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

Draught (pasteurised but unfiltered keg), courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Sampled side-by-side with its "sister brew", Nøgne Ø Imperial Brown Ale (bottle conditioned), see separate rating. Deep brown colour, hazy, not as dark as NØ IBA. Minimal head. Malty aroma, but the aromatic hops are not as distinct as in NØ IBA. Full and rich malty flavour with oaky elements, but a less pronounced maltiness than NØ IBA. Slightly "rawer" in the edges. Still an excellent beer.

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

500 ml bottle conditioned, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger (Norway’s best beer bar, untill someone proves me wrong). Sampled side-by-side with its "sister brew", Nørrebro Bryghus Double Knot Brown Ale (pasteurised and unfiltered keg, see separate rating). ABV is 7.5%, 19 degrees Plato, 40 IBU. Very dark brown colour, moderate head. Darker than Nørrebro DKBA. Lovely malty aroma with plenty of aromatic hops, notes of chocolate and leather too. Rich and roasty flavour, plenty of malts and oak. Roasty long aftertaste. Excellent beer!

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

Draught at Pivni Galerie, Prague. The PG beer list says ABV is 4.9%, but the brewery website says 4.5%. Plato is 11%. "Havran" seems to mean "raven" in English, acccording to the website. Black colour, moderate tan head. Nice lacing. Malty aroma with notes of leather, liquorice and tobacco. Easily drinkable, moderate but nice roastiness, hints of liquorice. A slight sweetness in the aftertaste. Very good.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 4.9%. Not to be confused with Unertl Mühldorfer Weissbier (different brewery, different town). Hazy orange-brownish colour, huge off-white head. Lovely aroma of ripe fruits with vinous notes, oak, bananas and cloves. Flavour is moderately acidic and lemony, with faint notes of wood, sour dough bread and cloves. Light bodied. Like most weissbiers a relatively short aftertaste. I drank it slightly too warm, must be very refreshing when colder, esp. on a fine summer’s day.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

500 ml swingtop bottle, under its alias "Das Echte Altbayreuther Braunbier", bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Reddish brown colour, large and lasting off-white head. Rye bread / bakery aroma, notes of lightly roasted malts and caramel too. Mouthfeel is surprisingly watery, flavour is rather bland and bready, lightly roasted malts with minimal hops. Slightly sourish finish. By all means a drinkable beer, but I expected more flavour than this.

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

500 ml can, bought in Poland. Golden colour, large white head. Sweetish fruity aroma, bordering on sugary, some aromatic hops too. Sweetish flavour with alcoholic notes, decent hops in the finish. No masterpiece, but drinkable.

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

500 ml can, bought in Poland. Golden to amber colour, large head. Fairly strong sweetish musty and fruity aroma. Flavour is fairly malty and sweet with evident alcoholic notes, partially balanced by tolerable hops. I had it on its own at cellar temperature, would probably prefer it cold with a solid Polish meal.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Poland. Beautiful dark mahogany colour, large and lasting creamy tan head. Aroma of rye bread, caramel and toasted malts, hints of leather. Flavour is very rich and malty sweet, you might say VERY sweet. Notes of caramel and plenty of lightly toasted malts. Hints of coffee. Just enough hops in the finish to balance the sweetness. Interesting beer!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

330 ml swingtop bottle, in Flensburg. Very pale golden colour, large and lasting head. Watery of course, but has a decent hoppiness in aroma and flavour, without the "boiled" character of most other n/a beers. One of the (relatively) "best" n/a beers I’ve had so far.

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

330 ml bottle. Pale golden colour, decent head. Very moderate hops in the aroma. Light bodied of course, but an unexpected hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste makes it stand above most other Norwegian "lettøl".

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

500 ml bottle, in Poland. ABV is 6%. Deep golden colour, moderate head. Fruity hops aroma. Moderately malty flavour, drinkable but nothing spectacular.

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

330 ml bottle, sampled in Germany. Also available in cans. A typical German pils, not very malty but with a distinct hoppy bitterness - not overdone, though. Reminds me of Veltins.

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

330 ml bottle, in Aalborg, Denmark. Pale golden colour, low and very short-lived head. Boring aroma and flavour, watery and sad. This light (= low ABV) beer is one to avoid.

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

On tap in Berlin, where it is widely available. Pale golden colour, decent head. Moderate flowery hoppy aroma. Average pilsener flavour, tolerable hops, but not really remarkable.

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

500 ml bottle, in Berlin. Hazy brown colour, moderate head. Moderate caramel and banana aroma. Bready and moderately malty flavour with faint hints of caramel, bananas and cloves. Relatively dry. Short aftertaste.

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

On tap in Oranienburg. Pale golden colour, decent head. Herbal aromatic hops in the aroma. Flavour is relatively rich and malty for a German pilsener. Nice.

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

500 ml bottle, in Krakow, Poland. Golden colour, low head. Moderate sweetish aroma. Average pilsener flavour, not very exciting. Not a beer to search out.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, as Zywiec Original Beer. ABV is 5.6%. Yellow/golden colour, decent head. Strong sweetish aroma, notes of candy, pilsener malts and a certain fruitiness. Soft mouthfeel. The flavour is not as sweet as the aroma makes me fear. There is a noticeable maltiness, with very discrete hops in the finish. OKish, easy drinking. Original rating: Draught in Krakow. I think it was called Zywiec Pils on the (English) drinks list, but I presume this is the same beer. Golden colour, moderate head, moderate carbonation. A fairly decent standard pils in my book.

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

330 ml bottle. Light (which in Norway means low ABV) lager with some bitterness but otherwise little flavour. Like all light beers easily forgettable.

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

500 ml bottle, in Poland. Golden colour, large head. Pleasant aroma of aromatic hops, fruity. Flavour is malty and slightly alcoholic, but nice. OKish strong lager.

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

500 ml bottle, available in Norway at Vinmonopolet (partiutvalget). This unfiltered beer is slightly hazy, pale golden colour. Huge and lasting white head. Strong flowery aroma of aromatic hops, notes of honey and grass too. Nice. Flavour is fairly sweet, notes of honey and caramel, but the beer is still fairly light bodied and refreshing. A faint hoppy bitterness in the finish. A little more bittering hops would have been nice, though.

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

500 ml bottle, batch #28. Bottle conditioned. Very cloudy brownish colour, moderate but lasting off-white head. Pleasant aroma of aromatic hops, hints of cider apples and leather, even some barnyard. Flavour has some malty and brown sugar sweetness, but also a distinct peppery and resinous bitterness. Peppery mouthfeel. Long bitter aftertaste. Will probably improve with age.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Also available in Vinmonopolet stores. Amber coloured premium lager. Decent lasting head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma, some hops with faint flowery and honey notes. Clean flavour with a decent maltiness and acceptable hops, hints of caramel, soft mouthfeel. And its organic! Not too bad, as far as Danish lagers go.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV on the label is 4.2%, also confirmed by the brewery website. (ABV of the cask version is also the same.) Clear amber colour, large off-white lasting head. Moderate carbonation. Moderate but pleasant hoppy aroma, hints of fruits, oak and leather. Flavour is mildly spicy and fruity, slightly acidic. Tolerable hops in the finish. Refreshing and easy drinking. Not too bad for a pasteurised moderate-ABV bitter.

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

Rerate, filtered and pasteurised, can: The size is not printed on the can (ommitting this is illegal in Norway), I suspect the size is 440 ml, not the usual 500 ml. ABV is 4.7%. Deep golden colour, decent head. Pleasant aroma of butterscotch and aromatic hops. Moderate carbonation. Flavour has toffee and butterscotch but also tolerable hops in the finish. Not bad. Original rating: Draught, at Cardinal, Stavanger. Unpasteurised, and allegedly unfiltered - but the beer was crystal clear. The pasteurised and filtered bottled version will be available from May 1. 2006. The unpasteurised keg was 1 week old upon sampling. Deep golden colour, like a Danish "Classic". Moderate head. Aroma and flavour of butterscotch (diacetyl), mellow and well rounded. Served by accident with a 100% CO2 carbonation, would normally be served with a 20% nitrogen and 80% oxygen mix. Will rerate if the bottled version is significantly different.