Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

500 ml can, bought in Poland. Golden colour, large white head. Flowery sweet aroma, candy notes too. Flavour is unusually sweet for a pale lager, sugary and artificial candy notes. Hardly any bitterness. Barely escaped being poured down the drain.

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

330 ml clear bottle, bought in Germany. Every big German brewery seems to be squandering their reputation these days by making a "Gold" beer - pale tasteless lagers with normal ABV, for people who really don’t like beer, but want the buzz. You think "normal" Becks has too much taste(!)? This one’s for you! Pale golden colour, low head, fizzy. Weak aroma with faint notes of grass. Flavour is boring as hell, but there are at least some hints of dry and dusty hops, so the beer is not COMPLETELY tasteless ...

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

500 ml bottle, as "Duckstein Rotblondes Oberbräu", bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Seems to be brewed at Holsten Brauerei, Hamburg (my bottle), as well as Feldschlösschen Braunschweig (both Carlsberg owned). Amber colour, large and lasting off-white head, some lacing. Caramel aroma with some flowery aromatic hops, notes of brown bread too. Moderate carbonation, soft malty flavour wth some brown bread notes, decent hops in the finish. Pleasant and easy drinking "altbier" (well, it’s top fermented, and it’s German).

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

500 ml can, a "summer beer" brewed for the Norwegian market. ABV is 4.5%. Somehow macro brewers have managed to convince Norwegian swill drinkers that they need "summer beers" that are even paler, thinner and more boring than their standard pilseners. And the Tuborg brand is Carlsberg’s "discount" brand in Norway, so you know what to expect ... Very pale yellow colour, low head. Grassy and artificial candy notes in the aroma. Flavour ... well, what flavour? This beer is nearly void of any flavour, there’s just a faint acidity to let you know that you’re not drinking water. Not worthy of the name "beer".

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Murky brown colour, large off-white head (but relatively moderate for a hefeweizen), does not last "forever". Moderate carbonation. Lovely cloves and banana aroma, hints of dried fruits, oak and fresh brown bread. Flavour is bready and fairly dry, moderate notes of cloves, mouthfeel is relatively watery and bland. Does not quite deliver what the aroma promises. Probably better with food than on its own.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin, as Herrnbräu Hefe Weißbier Hell. Hazy pale golden colour, enormous lasting white head. LOVELY cloves aroma, notes of citrus and banana too. Flavour has distinct cloves notes, moderate lemony notes too. Moderate body but decent for a hefe, refreshing. An excellent beer for a hot day.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Ingredients include maize (corn) and rice. 10.8 degrees Plato. ABV is 4.3%. Very dark colour, nearly black, ruby in the highlights. Low head. Very moderate malty aroma, hints of coffee. Flavour is surprisingly watery and bland, drinking it after the excellent Nøgne Ø and Nørrebro beers obviously didn’t help. "Boiled" notes, wet cardboard and dust abound. Disappointing.

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: 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.