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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Hazy brownish pink colour. Overwhelming aroma of ripe raspberries. Flavour is moderately sweet but not sour, slightly stale raspberry jam dominates.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Brandy coloured. Spicy aroma (nutmeg, ginger?). Oaky and spicy flavour, quite dry. A bit thin mouthfeel for a beer this strength

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Dark reddish brown colour. Fine malty aroma with strong notes of oak and woodwork. Hints of tar. Oaky flavour with notes of tar and smoke. Low bitterness, fairly dry. A good strong mild!

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. ABV was 5.5%, apparently the b.c. version is quite a bit stronger than the cask version? Clear cognac-like colour. Fine complex hoppy aroma, some fruitiness too. Distinctly hoppy flavour with a hint of oak in the aftertaste.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 5.2%. Hazy golden colour, large head. Lovely weissbier aroma, plenty of cloves, some banana too but not as much as in some other hefes. Cloves also in the flavour, which is light bodied, refreshing and not too sweet. A slightly lemony finish. A very enjoyable hefe!

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

550 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Nearly black (= very dark brown with a reddish hue) colour, thick tan head. Moderate roasty aroma, notes of coffee and chocolate. Strong roasty flavour with coffee and bitter chocolate elements, dry roasty finish. Clearly a good beer.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. ABV was 8.1%. Hazy brown colour, no carbonation. Interesting aroma of bread yeast, brown sugar, rye bread, fermenting fruits and pigshed(!). Flavour is sweet and fruity and rather alcoholic. Hints of juniper berries.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Dark brown colour, nearly black. Pleasant roasty aroma, notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Flavour is roasty and smokey, notes of tar. A solid beer!

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

Bottle, at Den Tatoverede Enke, Copenhagen. Incredibly intense farmhouse aroma combined with an equally intense sour fruitiness. Intensely sour gueuze flavour, lemony as hell. Funky and lemony aftertaste.

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

Bottle, at Plan B, Copenhagen. Cloudy golden colour. Funky and sour aroma and flavour, feels quite strong. Some hops too (more than in other gueuzes, anyway).

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

Corked and capped "champagne" bottle, vintage 2002, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Hazy red colour. Sour cherries and horseblanket aroma. Flavour is sour, oh so sour - very sour cherries dominate, but there are lemon and grapefruit notes too. Spritzy. Sour aftertaste. Moreish indeed - one of the few beers at the tasting I found hard to leave for the next sample.

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

Bottle, vintage 2002, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Golden to amber colour, no head. Overwhelming barnyard aroma, hints of lemons too. Sour flavour with lemony notes.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Cloudy reddish colour with brownish tones. Intense barnyard and "fruits of the forest" aroma. Intensely sour flavour, lemons with notes of raspberries and blackcurrants. Overpowering and delightful at the same time.

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

Bottle, under its alias "Goliath", RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Sweetish malty aroma and flavour, not that remarkable. There are better Belgian beers to be had.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Very dark brown colour. Malty and roasty aroma. Very roasty flavour, a bit too sweet. Really not that much above average.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Initially large head. Interesting saltwater / "low tide" aroma. Wheaty, citrussy and moderately salty and sour flavour. An interesting experience! I won’t mind sampling the Gose again.

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

1.5 liter magnum bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. ABV was 10%. Intense oaky and malty aroma. Flavour is also intensely oaky and moderately sweet. I probably drank it too warm, will need to rerate when available at cellar temperature. As it was, it’s not my definite favourite, but obviously a well crafted beer.

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

Cask conditioned at Charlie’s Bar, Copenhagen. Fullers have finally "discovered" that golden ales have been in demand for a number of years. This is their attempt at this style. Golden colour, low head. Moderate hops in aroma and flavour, but nothing special here. Disappointing. Rerate, 330 ml brown bottle, from Maxi Stormarked, Sandnes. ABV is 4.2%. Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate fruity hops in the aroma, some notes of toffee and buttered toast too. The flavour has moderate malts and fruity hops (hints of oranges), with just a very moderate bitterness in the finish. Nothing wrong with it, but doesn’t blow your socks off.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. This is an autumn seasonal from Fullers. Clear amber colour. Citrus and nuts in the aroma. Nutty flavour and aftertaste. Not bad for a pasteurised bitter.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Very dark (black) colour, decent head. LOVELY aroma: roast malts, sherry, plums. Flavour is VERY roasty, notes of espresso coffee, but not much beyond that. A bit too fizzy.

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

Bottle, vintage 2001, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Hazy brown colour, malty sweet (far too sweet) flavour. Haven't had the ordinary Kloster yet, but this stronger Christmas special is too sweet to go with any traditional Scandinavian Christmas fare, except cakes, cookies and dessert.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. My first faro. Clear brown colour, caramel and barnyard in the aroma. Flavour is sour and sweet, hints of Norwegian "Flux Soda" soft drink. Hints of dark crab meat(!) too.

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

Bottle, labelled "Imperial Porter". Is this really the same beer? RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Pleasant sweet malty and roasty aroma with notes of chocolate and molasses. Flavour is malty sweet with chocolatey and oaky notes. Aftertaste is malty sweet and fairly unremarkable. Strangely sweet for a porter, but no doubt a craft beer.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

Bottle, labelled Legends Export. RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. My first Barbados beer. Typical pale lager appearance. Some hops in the otherwise "industrial" aroma. Terrible industrial metallic flavour.

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

Bottle, vintage 1990, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Intensely vinous oak and sherry aroma. Flavour is also intensely oaky and old sherry-like, incredible alcoholic punch, very sweet. Mature flavour, but no sign of it being oxidised. Will probably be good for another 15 years (at least).