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

330 ml can, bought in Tenerife. Pale golden colour, decent head. Sweetish fruity and grassy aroma, notes of maize (corn) too. Flavour is watery and "neutral" with some tolerable hops in the finish. Acceptable as a thirstquencher, but not much more.

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

(700 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Murky brown colour, large tan head. Surprisingly weak initial aroma - Hallertauer with faint notes of malts, spices and brown sugar. Improves a bit as the beer warms up. Flavour is much stronger, fuller and richer - but unfortunately also too sweet. Spices (coriander, aniseed, cardamom and more?), molasses and plenty of malts. The brewers have obviously used far too much brown sugar. They have also missed the target completely with their choice of hops - Hallertauer Mittelfrüh in a strong Belgian ale, WTF? I’m not a hops expert, but this beer obviously needs hops with more character, and in larger quantities. And PLEASE, less sugar to get rid of that syrupy mouthfeel!! Acceptable as a dessert beer, but not with the main Christmas meal. Incredibly, Carlsberg claim (on the rear label) that this beer has a "DRY(!!) and light ACIDIC structure". Who wrote that? Winnie the Pooh? Better luck next year, Carlsberg!

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

(500 ml can, bought in Sweden). The Falcon Bayerskt version with the lowest ABV. Dark golden / amber colour. Malty, refreshing, decent for a beer as low as 2.8%.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Not bad - not outstanding. Amber colour, malty sweetness in aroma and flavour, not very complex, a drinkable Christmas beer but no masterpiece.

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

330 ml can, bought in Tenerife. Named Wuld Pilsen, Quality Premium Beer. Crystal clear and very pale golden colour, lasting foamy head and nice lacing. Fruity and grassy aroma. Soft mouthfeel with a very subdued flavour, very moderate hops. No offensive side-flavours detected. A tolerable industrial pale lager for the Spanish sun.

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

330 ml can, bought in Tenerife. Apparently Estrella del Sur originally was brewed (since 1959) in Sevilla, in one of the breweries bought and closed by the Damm group. Damm have kept the brand. Not to be confused with the 0.9% stronger Estrella Damm. Extremely pale crystal clear straw colour. Large and lasting foamy head. Pleasant fruity sweet aroma. Bland and uninteresting flavour, some faint unpleasant "boiled" sidenotes. Forgettable.

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

2 liter mock ceramic (glass, actually) swingtop siphon ("growler"), as "Neuschwansteiner Das Echte", bought at Ole Simon, Sandnes, Norway. Pale golden colour, a faint haziness. Large to moderate head. Pleasant aroma of aromatic hops. Flavour is a typical standard helles: moderate malts, moderate hops, grainy notes, easy drinking, nothing unpleasant but nothing really remarkable either. Nice enough, but the siphon was more impressive than the beer.

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

750 ml corked "champagne" style bottle, packed in metal gift box. Now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Very dark reddish brown colour, slightly hazy. Moderate tan head. Very nice aroma of Christmas spices, oak, raisins, old sherry, toffee and treacle. Flavour is very malty sweet, plenty of caramel and some spices, hints of smoke, tart/bitter finish. Fizzy mouthfeel - due to the aggressive carbonation and tart finish this beer was not a "silky smooth" experience for me. I actually preferred du Bocq’s Regal Christmas to this one (haven’t tried them side by side, though). R.C. is also somewhat less expensive.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 5.6%. Golden colour, large to moderate white head. Nice grassy aroma of aromatic hops (in America it would probably be known as "skunky", sic), some flowery notes too, hints of honey. Easy drinking, the pale malts are fairly well balanced with the moderate hops, some alcoholic sweetness. Does not carry its 5.6% supremely, but this is another OKish German beer - not one I’ll search out again, though.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 6.9%. Orange to amber colour, large off-white head with an orange hue. Moderate aroma of malts, some fruity hops and bakery, notes of alcohol. Flavour is fairly malty and bready, some caramel sweetness, alcohol is evident but not too much. Some hoppy bitteness and slightly burnt notes in the finish. OKish, but not my favourite bock.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Chestnut coloured, decent light tan head. Rich malty aroma with notes of moderate roastiness, caramel, marzipan and bakery, hints of red fruits. Flavour is malty sweet but not overdone, notes of caramel and dark bread, but a decent hoppy bitterness in the finish makes it very drinkable and moreish. Good beer!

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Brown colour, large off-white head. Malty and fruity sweet aroma (raisins), some caramel and spices too. Pleasant flavour with vinous notes, hints of oak, malts are well balanced with the hops. I won’t need wood cutting as an excuse to drink this beer. Very nice!

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

500 ml heavy dark green swingtop bottle, cool. Bought in Bier Spezi, Hamburg. Amber colour, large to moderate off-white head. Lovely hoppy aroma when pouring, not equally impressive in the glass. For something from Germany called "Bitterbier" I kind of expected a hoppy explosion, but the bitterness is actually very moderate. Still, some hops are around, and they are quite well balanced with the malts. Hints of caramel and a certain herbal spiciness too. Unusual style for Germany, but not really remarkable.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Typical hefeweizen enormous head which lasts "forever", very cloudy golden. Typical h.w. aroma of cloves and ripe bananas. Flavour is relatively dry with the typical hefe character, notes of cloves and herbal spices, moderate hops. Another very nice and refreshing h.w.!

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. My first Faroese beer. Closest style for this bottom fermented beer would be Baltic Porter, but it's a rather poor example of the style. Deep reddish brown colour, large light tan head. Very moderate aroma, some lightly roasted malts, hints of plums. One-dimensional flavour of roasted malts and coffee with a strange sourish and slightly metallic finish. Coffee and sourish metal (does that make sense? - battery acid?) in the aftertaste too. Weird. No masterpiece this one, but they have been trying.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Reddish brown colour, large off-white head. Malty aroma with notes of caramel and bakery, some fruity hops too. Malty flavour with caramel and bready notes, not very sweet, spicy and fairly hoppy bitter finish. Dusty aftertaste. Okay.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. ABV is 7.5%. Reddish amber colour, large orange to light tan head. Surprisingly alcoholic aroma, elements of molasses, caramel and syrup, hints of dried dark fruits, port wine and oak. Flavour is also rather alcoholic, malty sweet (a little too sweet for me) with plenty of caramel and molasses, a herbal spiciness and moderate hops in the finish. Not nearly as good as the much darker Weltenburger Kloster Asam Bock, but still a very powerful beer in any way. Definitely a "winter warmer".

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Large and lingering greyish tan head, nice lacing. Pleasant moderately roasty aroma, also notes of dark fruits, chocolate, Schwarzbrot and coffee. Very nice flavour of roasted malts perfectly balanced with the hops, not too sweet, notes of coffee. Moderate roasty aftertaste which lasts "forever". A very good Schwarzbier!

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hoheluft, Hamburg. Some sediment in the bottle. Hazy golden colour, large and lingering off-white head. Pleasant aroma of aromatic hops, notes of citrus, flowers and honey, hints of oak and leather. Flavour is fairly malty and relatively sweet, well balanced with pleasant hops, some oaky and spicy elements. This is what a golden lager SHOULD taste like! Industrial junk pushers: See, smell, drink and LEARN!

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 4.9%. Beautiful reddish brown colour, large and lingering greyish light tan head. Moderate malty aroma with some caramel and spices, some flowery aromatic hops too. Flavour is moderately malty and herbal with moderate hops, a little burnt caramel too. Easy drinking, but not one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. ABV is 4.9%. Typical dunkel clear reddish brown colour, very good and lingering light tan head. Very nice aroma of moderately roasted malts, flaked nuts, caramel and bakery. Flavour is malty and nutty with notes of dark bread and caramel, not too sweet. German dunkels are not "big" beers, but are, when well made, a truly enjoyable drinking experience. This is one of them.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Clear brown to copper coloured, large light tan head. Pleasant aroma of lightly roasted malts, caramel, chocolate and bakery (including rye bread and Danish pastry). Lightly roasted malty flavour, fairly mellow, bready notes, some caramel but not really sweet, decent hops for a dunkel. Mouthfeel could have been fuller. Moderate but pleasant aftertaste. Okay.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. ABV is 2.7%. I had no raspberry syrup available, so I drank it straight. Extremely pale straw coloured, nearly clear, just a very slight haziness. Enormous to moderate head. Unusual funky aroma - sea water / seaweed, notes of barnyard, horseblanket and rotting citrus. Very sour / acidic flavour, but not as extreme as I expected. Lemony notes. Light bodied, watery mouthfeel despite the acidity. Refreshing, but I find very little complexity here. Moderate lemony aftertaste.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Very dark colour, nearly black. Large brown head. Delightful aroma of roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee, prunes, caramel and oak. Flavour is not quite as complex but still good, bitter roasty and coffee notes combined with bittering hops dominate, on a background of dark bitter sweet chocolate, hints of English liquorice. Roasty bitter aftertaste. I’d say Imperial Stout is the closest style here - but maybe it’s not extreme enough. Anyway, this is a very fine effort from Haandbryggeriet. Not a beer for the traditional Scandinavian Christmas dinner, but try it if you have chocolate pudding for dessert - or simply enjoy it on its own!

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

330 ml bottle. This is the grocery store version of Hansa’s Julebrygg (Yule/Christmas Brew - not to be confused with their Juleøl - Yule/Christmas Beer). Very nice appearance - dark reddish brown colour, large and lasting creamy light tan head. Moderate malty aroma, notes of caramel and toast. Flavour has wort sweetness with next to nothing to balance it, notes of sweet bread, caramel, dark syrup and molasses. Tastes too much like "vørterøl" (unfermented wort "beer"). Definitely not my first choice for Christmas.