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

From 2005 brewed at Berentsens Brygghus' own facilities in Egersund. My comments while it was still contract brewed by Aass Bryggeri in Drammen: (330 ml bottle). Deep copper brown colour, darker than most Norwegian "klasse D" grocery store juleøl (Christmas/Yule beers), moderate head. Malty aroma. Clean malty flavour, not too sweet, thin mouthfeel as expected, not very complex. OKish.

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

Now brewed in Egersund. My comments while it was still contract brewed by Aass Bryggeri in Drammen: (330 ml bottle). Typical fizzy pale Norwegian "sommerøl / summer beer". Maybe slightly sweeter and a tad maltier than most of our "sommerøl" - a pale lager style which is the work of the devil, aimed at people who think (or are fooled into thinking) that an ordinary pilsener would be too heavy (sic!) for them on a warm summer’s day. Oh well ... I will rerate when they actually have started brewing this beer in Egersund, but I don’t expect too much - style considered.

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

This beer is now finally brewed in Berentsens Brygghus' own facilities in Egersund. My comment while it was still contract brewed by Aass Bryggeri in Drammen: (330 ml bottle). Rogalands Pils is a new beer, temporarily brewed by Aass while Berentsens in Egersund are setting up their own brewing facilities. (Aass also brewed another Rogalands Pils a few years ago, for the Stavanger firm Middelthon). The beer has a typical pils golden colour, moderate head, quite strong fruity, flowery and slightly yeasty aroma. Flavour is clean, fresh and rather "neutral", just a hint of fruity sweetness. Moderate bitterness (too moderate). Average.

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

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway (grocery stores). The "little brother" of the ordinary Singha, which also is available here (at Vinmonopolet). Pale golden colour, large and lingering head, very moderate carbonation. Tolerable fruity and grassy aroma. Fairly "neutral" lager flavour, some malty sweetness and moderate hops - not a great beer, but fortunately without the nasty "industrial" and metallic sidenotes that so many pale lagers are cursed with. Drinkable swill for the beach in Thailand.

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Lightly roasty aroma with notes of coffee and dark chocolate, hints of dried fruits. Flavour is fairly dry with a roast malts base, notes of coffee. Moderate carbonation. Nice.

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Lovely hoppy aroma (Cascade?), notes of grapefruit and very subtle oak. Flavour is somewhat less impressive, fairly light bodied and bitterness is not overwhelming - still, this is another decent beer from Haandbryggeriet

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Murky dark brown colour, lots of sediment. Yeasty aroma and flavour, some cloves.

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Murky / cloudy pale brown colour. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Typical hefe aroma, cloves and ripe bananas. Yeasty flavour with cloves, a bit more hops than in many other hefes.

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Golden colour, low head. Yeasty aroma, notes of fruits (esp. raisins) and oak, flavour is oaky and raisiny with a certain alcoholic punch. Not bad at all.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Clear golden colour. Tolerable hops aroma, hints of elderflowers. Also some strange hints of ammonium cleaning fluid in the background. Flavour is kind of lagerlike. I probably drank it too warm, though. Fairly dry mouthfeel. A drinkable beer, but no masterpiece this one.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Brown colour. Yeasty, nutty, caramel and toffee aroma with hints of white pepper and ammonium in the background. Flavour is nutty with moderate hops, quite nice, a bit thin mouthfeel though.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Hvide Sande, Denmark. ABV is 6.5%. Nearly black colour (= very dark brown to ruby), large tan head. Roasty aroma, notes of coffee and chocolate, hints of leather and liquorice. Roasty flavour with coffee and chocolate, smoother and sweeter than expected. Some bitterness from the roastiness, but the hops are not plentiful. Not very complex, but it’s a nice and very drinkable porter. Does not quite live up to the high price, though.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 6

500 ml, bottle conditioned, incorrectly labeled as 700 ml. Very cloudy amber colour, large fizzy head that soon subsides, low remaining carbonation. Initially lovely yeasty and fruity aroma with notes of rye bread, oak and leather, but as carbonation dies out, some strange detergent notes remain in the aroma. Flavour has notes of rye bread and yeast, with some strange soapy notes in the finish / aftertaste. Dead yeast? Seems to me the brewers have been working on a really good brew here, without succeeding.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Very cloudy golden colour. Very fruity and malty aroma, notes of oak and blackcurrant leaves. Flavour is quite spritzy with a sufficient maltiness and tolerable hops. Not bad.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 5.9%. Pale golden colour, large and lingering white head. Fruity and grassy aroma, some malty sweetness too. Soft mouthfeel, moderate carbonation, moderate but decent hops well balanced with the pale malts. I am rarely "swept away" by a helles (nor by any other type of pale lagers, for that matter), not by this one either - but the Andechser Spezial is a well made and very drinkable helles, as far as helles go. Kloster Andechs is probably one of Germany’s best breweries overall.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany, named "Fürst von Louny", must be the same beer, but ABV is 5.4% - one rater has had one in Germany at 4.8% and brewery website says 5.1%, seems to vary quite a bit. Very dark brown to ruby colour, large to moderate light tan head that doesn’t last very long. Aroma is malty sweet with notes of caramel, chocolate, schwarzbrot and leather. Flavour is strangely sweet for a "Reinheitsgebot" schwarzbier: malts, syrup, molasses and caramel, just a faint hint of roastiness. Too sweet for me, very little hops to balance the sweetness. I could swear some kind of syrup had been added to the brew, but they say no. Despite the sweetness and the ABV, mouthfeel is a bit thin. Not my favourite schwarzbier this one.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 5.4%. Hazy amber colour, large slightly off-white head. "Absolutely fabulous" aroma, orgasmic in its abundancy of fruitiness and spiciness. Notes of leather too. Flavour is bit more restrained, still very nice with all the traditional hefe characteristics, wheaty and yeasty with cloves but also some caramel and brown bread. Aftertaste is, like with most wheat beers, very moderate but nice. Can you expect a hefeweizen to be much better than this?

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Strong burnt caramel aroma, nice. Flavour is again burnt caramel, but well balanced with the malts and hops. A top notch dunkel this one.

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

500 ml, bottle conditioned. Dark brown colour, no head, minimal carbonation. Delightful, intense and complex aroma with strong fruity and roasty notes - plums, prunes, coffee, chocolate, leather. Also hints of oak and spices. Nutty and roasty flavour with a pronounced bitterness from the roastiness and the hops. Hoppy bitter finish / aftertaste. Interesting beer, even historically.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 5.0%. Cloudy dark brown colour, enormous thick and creamy light tan head. Lovely aroma of brown bread, yeast, cloves, banana and caramel. Flavour has malts, caramel, chocolate and cloves, some hops in the fairly dry finish. I had it on its own, must be good with food too. A very fine dunkelweizen.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. Brewed in Oettinger’s brewery in Schwerin. ABV is 4.9%. Hazy brown colour (looks like muddy water), large off-white head. Typical dunkelweizen aroma of yeast, rye bread, cloves and banana. Slightly sour and lemony flavour, light bodied, thin mouthfeel, notes of bread and cloves. Drinkable, but there are better dunkelweizens around.

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

500 ml bottle. Golden colour, slightly hazy. Decent white head. Lager-like aroma with notes of flowers, hay and honey. Flavour is sourish and thin with some citussy notes. Short sourish aftertaste with metallic notes. Disappointing.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. This beer is brewed in Oettinger’s brewery in Schwerin. Pale golden colour, slightly hazy (less hazy than many other hefes), large and fluffy white head. Aroma and flavour have some some of the traditional hefe characteristics (banana and cloves), but to a weaker degree, and there are also some soapy elements in the aroma. I tend to like nearly all hefeweissbiers, but this one definitely belongs in the lower end of the scale. Still drinkable and refreshing.

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

(33 cl can, bought in Greece). Pale golden colour, low head. Very weak grassy aroma, hints of citrus. Fairly fresh and clean flavour, rather neutral but not unpleasant.

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

(33 cl can, bought in Greece.) Made with hop extract. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Moderate grassy aroma. Typical industrial lager with too little of everything. Drinkable, but not much more.