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

750 ml corked "champagne" bottle. Bought in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Pours very fizzy, moderate carbonation in the glass. No lasting head. Hazy golden colour. Intense aroma of cider apples, notes of barnyard, hints of ammonium, oak and leather. Fairly mellow flavour of cider apples, hints of oak, sweeter than expected from a brut. OKish and easy drinking, but lacks "bite". Bottle might have been over the hilltop.

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

750 ml corked bottle, bought in France. Golden nearly clear colour, large lasting white head. Pleasant flowery and fruity aroma, also notes of honey and leather. Flavour is spicy and somewhat alcoholic, with a peppery finish. Well worth sampling.

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

750 ml corked bottle, bought in France. ABV is 4.8%. Pale straw coloured, a faint haziness, large white head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Very nice aroma of yeast, herbs and spices, hints of oak and alcohol. Very refreshing flavour, mild spices (coriander), light bodied. Pleasant beer.

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

500 ml can, bought in France. ABV is 7.5%. Deep amber colour, nearly clear. Large off-white head. Pleasant malty aroma with notes of aromatic hops, leather and oak. Malty and oaky flavour with tolerable hops, notes of toffee and caramel. Not bad at all for a canned beer!

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

500 ml can, as George Killian’s Bière Rousse (Bière Spéciale de Tradition Irlandaise), bought in France. ABV is 6.5%. Reddish amber colour, large off-white head. Moderate malty sweet aroma with notes of caramel and fruit. Flavour is also moderately malty with some caramel, very moderate hops. Little complexity. Drinkable beer, but nothing to get excited about.

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

"Siphon" swingtop bottle/growler, bought at the brewpub, courtesy of my wife. Deep golden/amber colour, a faint haziness, rich head. Lovely floral aroma with notes of honey and butterscotch. Moderate carbonation, fairly malty flavour with moderate notes of toffee and butterscotch. Mellow mouthfeel, very moderate hops. Slightly acidic aftertaste. The bottle was near its "best before" date, I have a fresher bottle too, will rerate if there’s any significant difference.

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

330 ml green bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). Pale golden colour, decent head. Fruity sweet aroma, notes of grass too. Flavour is unremarkable, but there’s a distinct bitterness of not-too-good hops in the finish and aftertaste.

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

375 ml capped and corked bottle, as Gueuze Foudroyante, bought in France. ABV is 4.0%. Hazy dark amber colour, large to moderate off-white head. Sweet and sourish aroma, reminiscent of some cheap white wines, hints of oak, cider apples, rotting berries and barnyard too. Flavour is very sweet, sweeter than any other gueuze I’ve had (not that I’ve had very many), strong notes of rotting fruits and berries, sourish but not astringent. Short sourish-sweet aftertaste. Worth a try, but won’t buy again.

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

250 ml bottle, bought in France. Amber colour, large off-white head. Strong sweetish aroma with notes of whisky (or rather: whisky liqueur). Flavour is very sweet and sugary, the notes of peat-smoked malts are there, but seem somehow displaced in this sugary environment. Besides the sweetness and smoked malts the beer is relatively light-bodied, without much complexity. Won’t be my favourite tipple this one, but it is not undrinkable. A 250 ml bottle is enough, though.

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

330 ml bottle, labeled Pietra Bière Ambrée, bought in France. My first Corsican beer. Amber colour, large head. Nutty aroma with toffee and undefined herbal notes. Flavour is moderately malty with not-too-good hops, the chestnuts shine through. Chestnut powder in beer, WTF? Some strange medicinal character and a bitter finish and aftertaste. Not my favourite this one.

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

330 ml clear bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. Beautiful golden brown colour. Large and creamy off-white head, long lasting, decent lacing. Unusual aroma and flavour, very woody, Scotch whisky elements, but also notes of toffee, vanilla, cinnamon - and even shrimp and the dark meat of crabs(!). Relatively sweet, but the finish and aftertaste are woody, dry and hoppy. Something out of the ordinary, and I have trouble deciding how well I really like this beer. Definitely worth a try!

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

500 ml bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 5.2%. Pale yellow colour, crystal clear like the name says. Large to moderate head. Typical weissbier aroma, fruity with bananas and cloves, but the the aroma is not as strong as you’ll get from a hefe-w. Crisp and spritzy mouthfeel. Moderate cloves and tolerable hops in the flavour, but boring compared to the hefe. Why filter away the goodies? Short aftertaste.

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

330 ml blue bottle, bought in France. Hazy pale golden colour, large to small head. Pleasant aroma of coriander and citrus. Flavour is very citrussy (lemons) with moderate coriander notes, fruity sour more than sweet. Refreshing. Sourish dry and short finish. Okay.

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

250 ml bottle, bought in France. ABV is 4.6%. Golden colour, decent head. Grassery and flowery sweet aroma, hints of honey. Light bodied, bland pale lager flavour, not much nor very good hops. Some metallic notes. Not a beer to search out.

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

250 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Hazy pale golden colour, large foamy and lingering head. Very nice fruity, yeasty and spicy aroma, hints of oak and barnyard. Light bodied, initially fruity (citrus) and peppery flavour, then a distinct wormwood-like bitterness takes over, and dominates the finish and aftertaste.

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

300 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Golden colour. large head. Fairly malty aroma for a pilsener, flavour is also relatively sweet for a pils, there’s some unpleasant cardboard / boiled vegetables hints in the background, tolerable hops in the finish. A drinkable pils after all, but it can’t match the best Czech and German pilseners.

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

330 ml green bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Crystal clear pale golden colour, large and lasting head, leaves a nice lacing. Aroma has surprisingly much (for a pilsener, that is) malty sweetness, some aromatic hops too. Notes of grass, hay and honey. Flavour has distinct and very good hops, balanced by a mellow maltiness in the background. Bitter aftertaste. A very good pils in my book, as far as pilseners go. The multinational brewers of cheap pale lager swill have something to learn here! Like all beers from Neumarkter Lammsbräu, it is organic.

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

500 ml can, bought in France. Pale golden colour, decent head. Weak aroma, some faint fruity and flowery notes. Fairly clean and "neutral" pale lager flavour, which means that there is not much taste, but not too many offensive off-flavours either. Some bitterness in the finish, becomes metallic in the aftertaste. This is swill for the South Pacific heat, not something for beer lovers to search out, unless you want another country in your ratings list.

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

500 ml clear swingtop & silk print bottle, bought in France. Deep golden to amber colour, decent head and lacing. Unusual sweetish fruity and candy aroma, notes of cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, herbs and boiled vegetables too. Sweetish and sugary flavour, notes of vanilla, cinnamon and other spices. Lagerish mouthfeel. I don’t quite know what to make of this beer - it’s something out of the ordinary, but in the end it’s just too sugary and weird for my taste.

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

650 ml swingtop bottle, named "Fischer Tradition", bought in France. Golden colour, large head, leaves a nice lacing. Nice fruity sweet aroma, notes of grass too, hints of spices. Flavour is your average pale lager with some alcoholic sweet notes added. I might have guessed that the ABV was even higher than its 6.0%. I have definitely had better beers, but I’ve had worse too! Not a beer to search out, but the empty bottle will be useful for your homebrew.

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

650 ml swingtop bottle, bought in France. Called a "bière blonde" on the bottle, not a "bière de garde". Golden colour, large head. Moderate yeasty and fruity aroma. Tastes like a well-balanced golden strong lager, pleasant sweetness, tolerable hops. La Réserve may not be a true masterpiece, but I’m still surprised that this very drinkable beer has that many low ratings on other websites.

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

330 ml bottle, at de Klomp, Nice, France. Deep ruby colour, large head. Malty sweet aroma, notes of caramel. Malty sweet flavour, notes of molasses and sweet wine.

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

Draught in Nice, France. A standard pils. There’s not much more to say. Drinkable, but does not stand out in any way. If you are looking for pilseners with a lot of character, you'll have to look elsewhere.

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

250 ml bottle, named "Belzebuth Pur Malt Extra Forte", ABV was 13%. In Nice, France. Deep golden colour, low head. Malty sweet and alcoholic aroma, notes of molasses. Flavour is sweet and alcoholic, but the beer is not undrinkable.

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

375 ml bottle, corked champagne style. In France. Brown colour, large head. Aroma of barnyard, ensilage and red wine vinegar. Sour & sweet flavour with notes of claret and red wine vinegar. The recipe includes maize (corn) and ascorbic acid. A drinkable gueuze, but I’m not impressed.