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

500 ml screenprint bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 4.5%. Filtered, but not pasteurised. Strange pale greyish brown colour, moderate white head. Strong sweetish aroma of malts, ginger, honey and cooked vegetables. I drank it too cold - but found an initially sweetish pale lager flavour with ginger, and a very dry finish with a hint of lemons. Minimal bitterness. Thin mouthfeel. Still quite refreshing and drinkable.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga, as "Bauskas Alus Tumsais Specialais". ABV is 5.5%. Copper coloured beer, large and lasting tan head. Malty sweet aroma, notes of caramel and bakery. The flavour is also malty sweet with notes of caramel, but is not cloying. Moderate hops in the finish. Not bad.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga , as "Lacplesis Tumsais Dzivs Alus - No Lielvardes". This beer operates on the borderline betweeen dunkel, schwarzbier, dunkler bock and Baltic porter - but it sure as hell is no Vienna!!! ABV is now 5.8%. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Creamy and lasting large head. Lovely malty sweet aroma, strong notes of Danish pastry, chocolate and marzipan. The flavour is also malty with a pronounced roastiness, fairly sweet, but not as sweet as the aroma made me expect. Hoppy finish. Not bad!

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Beautiful chestnut to ruby colour, creamy and lasting tan head. Moderate but pleasant roasty aroma, notes of bakery, coffee and liquorice. The flavour is roasty with notes of burnt bread crust and burnt sugar. Coffee and tolerable hops in the aftertaste. Not too bad for a Spanish beer.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Crystal clear pale yellow colour, fizzy, moderate head. Moderate grainy aroma, hints of fruit and honey. Fairly clean grainy and fruity flavour, moderate hops. Alcohol is noticeable, but not unpleasant. A drinkable beer, but not remarkable.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 4.6%. Is this beer possibly named after the notorious liar Baron von Münchausen? Pale golden colour, large and lasting head. Fairly malty sweetish aroma with notes of butterscotch and honey. The flavour is also quite sweet - too sweet for a pale lager, but reasonably malty with slightly metallic hops in the finish. Drinkable, but to call it a GREAT beer would be a lie, worthy of Baron von Münchausen!

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

500 ml can, bought in Riga, as "Cesu Premium Alus Limited Edition", but I suspect the "Limited Edition" only refers to the design of the can, not the beer inside! ABV is 5.2%. Pale golden colour, large and lasting white head. Fruity aroma with notes of candy. Fizzy mouthfeel, light bodied, thin. The flavour is fairly sweet with fruity notes, low bitterness. No masterpiece this one.

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

500 ml can, bought in Riga. ABV is 5.0%. Very pale golden colour, crystal clear, with a large and lasting white head. Very moderate aroma, slightly sweetish with citrussy notes. Light bodied, thin mouthfeel. Sweetish flavour, lemony notes, moderate hops. Pretty bad, but I’ve had worse pale lagers.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 4.5%. Pale golden colour, large and lasting white head. Pleasant fruity and flowery aroma. Relatively sweet pale lager flavour, light bodied and thin, hints of fruit and honey, low bitterness. Far from exciting, but not offensive either.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga, as "Piebalgas Alus Piebalga". ABV is 5.6%. This is a "gaisais alus" (= pale beer). Unpasteurised. Pale golden colour, large and lasting white head. Sweetish malty and slightly fruity aroma, hints of honey. Sweet malty flavour, too sweet for a pale lager. Notes of honey. Alcohol is noticeable. Some hops in the finish. Unusual lager, but not undrinkable.

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

Draught at Gladmatfestivalen 2007, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Black colour, moderate tan head. Moderate aroma of roasted malts and liquorice. Roasty flavour with strong notes of coffee, fairly dry. Moderate bitterness in the finish.

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

On tap at Gladmatfestivalen 2007, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Golden colour, creamy head. Moderate but pleasant Saaz aroma. The flavour has a distinct Saaz bitterness from start to finish. Probably the best (or one of the best) pilsener(s) brewed in Norway so far.

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

Draught at Gladmatfestivalen 2007, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Dark copper coloured beer, creamy head. Malty aroma with some caramel. Malty and well rounded flavour with a moderate but sufficient bitterness, which becomes very distinct in the finish.

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

This is a new beer from Grosch, February 2007. On tap at Gladmatfestivalen, Stavanger, July 2007 (at Bjørn Hansen’s stand - possibly with the aliases "Himmeløl / Hansens Specialøl"). The ABV is not mentioned in the brewery's website - it is probably around 5%. Amber colour, creamy head. Moderate malts and caramel in the aroma. Malty flavour with some caramel, smooth and mellow, low bitterness.

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

On tap at Bjørn Hansen’s stand at Gladmatfestivalen, Stavanger 2007. Pale golden colour, low head. Industrial pilsener aroma and flavour. Some bitterness. Boring.

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

This beer comes in a nifty 300 ml octagonal A leCoq brown glass bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 5.0%. Pale golden colour, large to moderate white head. Fruity and flowery aroma, quite nice. The flavour is also fruity and quite refreshing. Lemony finish. Some more malts and bittering hops might have been a good idea. Light bodied, soft mouthfeel. No masterpiece, but better than I feared.

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

500 ml green bottle, as "Golden Pheasant Premium", bought in Riga, Latvia. ABV is 5% - or that’s what the rear label reads. There is also a small white sticker in Latvian on the bottle-neck, reading a.o.: "Alkohola saturs 4%". Is the latter alchohol by weight? - or is one of the labels wrong? Anyway, the beer pours with a golden colour and a large white head. The aroma is very Heineken-like, but somewhat better: Fresh aromatic hops with flowery and fruity notes (most BMC drinkers would probably call it "skunky"). Soft mouthfeel. The flavour has moderate but acceptable hops on a background of mellow and sweet pilsener malts. There’s a hint of honey. I’ve had worse pilseners than this one.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

500 ml bottle, bought at ULTRA Stadionparken, Stavanger. Like all Neumarkter Lammsbräu beers it is organic ("õkologisch"). Cloudy straw coloured beer, large white head. The aroma has the standard n/a "boiled" notes (over-boiled vegetables, grit or porridge) The flavour has some of the same notes, but is fairly bland. Some weak citrussy notes make the beer tolerably refeshing when cold. If you MUST have a n/a beer, this one is not the worst of its kind, but it is not a beer you’ll want to go to for great taste.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 3.9%. Unfiltered wheat beer. Cloudy straw coloured beer, moderate to low white head. Strong aroma of butterscotch (diacetyl), caramel and boiled vegetables. The flavour has a certain acidity, notes of green apples, lemons and butterscotch. The most unusual wheat beer I’ve had so far, very far from being a great beer, but quite refreshing after all.

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

500 ml bottle, as Branded Drinks Rumpy Pumpy. ABV is 4.0%. Bought at ULTRA Stadionparken, Stavanger. Amber coloured beer, moderate head. Moderate aroma, malts with some "vegetable" notes, hints of caramel and flowery aromatic hops. Moderately malty flavour but fairly dry, biscuity notes, a hint of toffee. Very moderate hops in the finish. Relatively thin and watery mouthfeel. Definitely drinkable, but not a great beer.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 8.4%. Deep golden colour, huge head. Lovely aroma of hops, orange and oak. The flavour is hoppy and fairly sweet, notes of bitter oranges and spices, the alcohol is noticeable. Bitter finish and aftertaste. Must be a great accompaniment with mature cheeses. Nearly too powerful on its own.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. ABV is 6.5%. Black coloured beer, ruby in the highlights. Large to moderate tan head. Pleasant roasty and vinous aroma with notes of chocolate, coffee and claret. Full and rich moutheel. The flavour abounds with chocolate, also coffee and roasted barley. Excellent beer.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. ABV is 4.2%. Bottle conditioned. Black colour, huge tan head. Moderate aroma with some fruitiness and notes of mild coffee, hints of chocolate. Acidic / sour flavour, very strange for a stout, some coffee roastiness in the background. Did not do much for me this one. Disappointing.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 8.0%. Copper coloured beer, large off-white head. Lovely aroma, vinous and fruity, also oaky and spicy notes. The flavour is VERY oaky and spicy, fairly sweet, with a fruity finish. Salty and bitter aftertaste. Powerful stuff!

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. Mahogany coloured beer, large and lasting tan head. Malty sweet aroma, notes of port wine, oak and bakery. Excellent mouthfeel, full and rich. Flavour of generous malts, caramel, dried dark fruits, moderate but noticeable hops (Goldings and Northdown), port wine finish. Fairly sweet, but not cloying. A true classic!