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

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. Dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Large and creamy tan head. Pleasant vinous aroma, notes of prunes and tobacco, hints of liquorice, chocolate and red wine vinegar. The mouthfeel is rich and creamy. Flavour of roasted malts, coffee and chocolate, a hint of liquorice. Moderate hops in the finish. Good beer!

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

500 ml clear glass bottle, at the Pushkin Restaurant stand at Gladmatfestivalen 2007, Stavanger. Served ice cold. Golden colour, minimal head. Minimal aroma, just a hint of honey. Fizzy mouthfeel. Standard industrial pale lager flavour, moderate bitterness. Not totally undrinkable, but boring.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 6.0%. Brewed by RCH Brewery, bottled by Integrated Bottling Solutions. Amber coloured beer, huge and lasting off-white head. Pleasant hoppy and fruity aroma, also hints of toffee and oak. The flavour is fruity and malty, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dry hops in the finish. A powerful extra strong bitter, but no session beer - one bottle is enough.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.0%. Beautiful deep amber colour, large off-white head, leaves a nice lacing. Sweetish aroma with plenty of malts, notes of caramel, bakery and raisins. The flavour is very rich and malty, but also fruity with well balanced hops. Not too sweet. Hoppy aftertaste. A first class premium bitter in my book.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 7.0%. Bottle conditioned. Mahogany coloured beer, large and lasting tan head which leaves a nice lacing. Excellent aroma with vinous notes, there’s oak, malts, rhum-raisins, treacle, some perfume too. The mouthfeel is (relatively) thinner than what the aroma makes you expect. The flavour is oaky and spicy with notes of dark fruits and caramel, but not exceedingly sweet. Dry finish. Good beer - recommended!

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.0%. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Large tan head. Very nice aroma of chocolate (reminds me of the Norwegian "Kong Haakon Konfekt"), roasted malts and coffee. The flavour is roasty and fruity with a moderate acidity. Notes of coffee, chocolate, prunes and liquorice. Relatively light bodied, but nice.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.2%. Copper coloured beer, moderate off-white head. Malty and fruity aroma with some flowery hops, hints of caramel and bakery. The flavour is smooth and malty with some caramel, slightly nutty, very moderate hops (I'd like some more!). Easy drinking.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 4.5%. The actual brewery, which possibly is Freeminer, is not mentioned on the label, only I.B.S. Ltd. Cloudy amber colour, moderate head. Aroma of fermenting fruits and vegetables - yes, there are notes of kitchen garbage. The flavour is yeasty and fruity, notes of rotting fruits and vegetables again, like a homebrew going bad. Dry hoppy finish. I guess they have been trying, but have not succeeded. I’m not even sure the big bad biker on the label would have been entirely happy with this brew.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger, as "Branded Drinks Old Shag". ABV is 4.0%. Amber colour, decent head. Very moderate aroma, just a hint of malt and toffee. Moderate malty and biscuity flavour, very moderate hops. Not bad, but not remarkable either.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.6%. BB date Oct 08. Pitch black colour, large tan head. Lovely aroma of chocolate, roasted malts and plums, with a hint of liquorice. Distinctly roasty flavour with notes of coffee, hints of peat, smoke and tar, bitter finish. The mouthfeel could have been fuller, but this is still a good beer!

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger, as "Branded Drinks Old Gee Spot". ABV is 4.0%. BB date Dec 08. Clear amber colour, large head. Fairly strong and sweetish / sugary fruity aroma, also notes of malts, treacle and bakery. Moderate malty flavour, mellow and easy drinking, low bitterness.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.0%. What the Football Association has to do with this beer, I don’t know - probably nothing at all. Cloudy golden brown colour, decent head. Very moderate aroma, just a hint of toffee and bakery. "Dusty" and fairly dry flavour with some malt, hints of biscuits and toffee, and moderate hops in the finish.

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

As far as I know, "Da Ru Breweries UK" do not exist as a working brewery. Dà Rü Premium Beer seems to be the conception of a marketing company in Clerkenwell (Dà Rü Beer, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, ECIV4PY, UK), and is obviously contract brewed somewhere - does anyone know exactly WHERE? (Have a look and a laugh at the beer’s ridiculous website: www.darubeer.com ). Apparently aimed at the target group of Asian-British "Bollywood" clubbers. My notes of the beer: 330 ml bottle (picture of scorpion on the label), 4.2% ABV, bought at Cardinal (pub), Stavanger, Norway. Also available in the ICA Middelthon grocery store (Middelthon imported this beer to Norway). Extremely pale yellow colour, large to moderate head. Moderate camphorwood(!) aroma. Flavour is very dry and crisp, unfortunately with a nearly non-existant malty base, and very moderate hops. Some camphorwood notes in the flavour too.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger, as "Integrated Bottling Solutions Hazy Days." ABV is 3.9%. Cloudy golden brown colour, moderate head. Moderate wheaty aroma with a hint of citrus. The flavour is also wheaty and fairly dry, but with a hint of caramel. "Dusty" finish.

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

500 ml brown PET-bottle, a gift from Germany. It is "Gebraut und abgefüllt in Deutschland" - "Exclusively for Plus" (a German supermarket chain?), "By: HGI Hanseatische Getränke-Industrie GmbH, 22755 Hamburg". ABV is 4.9%. Pale golden colour, large head. Sweetish fruity aroma, not bad. The flavour is rather moderately hopped for a German pils, there is a very moderate sweetness in the background. Not a great pils by any means, but not repulsive either. At least it is "Reinheitsgebot" ... I guess this is pretty much what you can expect from German contract brewed supermarket discount pilseners.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 5.9%. Black colour, dark brown to ruby in the highlights. Creamy tan head. Very nice aroma of dark fruits, chocolate, liquorice and roast malts. The flavour has chocolate, coffee and liquorice. Moderate sweetness. A decent stout in my book.

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

On tap in Riga Airport. Amber colour, hazy (unfiltered and unpasteurised), moderate head. Lovely aroma of butterscotch with notes of honey. Nice malty flavour with notes of toffee and a hint of honey. Not bad at all. (I was under the impression that this is a lager / Vienna, not an ale?)

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

On tap in Latvia. (I think I brought home a bottle too.) Golden colour. Moderate malty aroma. Relatively malty flavour, moderately sweet, moderate hops. Pretty average beer.

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

On tap in a beach bar in Jurmala, Latvia. Golden colour, moderate head. Distinctly malty aroma and flavour with notes of butterscotch (diacetyl). Moderate hops in the finish.

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

On tap in a beach bar at Jurmala, Latvia. Pale golden colour, moderate head. "Neutral" aroma. Clean flavour, with a moderate hoppy bitterness on a pleasant but very moderate malty base, with some nice notes of fruit (pineapple). Easy drinking.

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

500 ml bottle, in the café at Stockmann, Riga. ABV is 5.2%. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Sweetish and fruity aroma. Moderately malty flavour, moderate sweetness, low bitterness.

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

On tap in Riga. Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate pilsener aroma. Typical pilsener flavour, maybe slightly more malty than the bulk of them, with a certain hoppy bitterness.

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

On tap in Riga. Cloudy golden colour, moderate head for a hefeweizen. Not served in appropriate glass. Basically a typical hefeweizen aroma and flavour, with strong notes of cloves - but the flavour is somewhat less fruity than many other h.w.s. Nice enough, but the finish is rather bland.

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

500 ml can, on the Air Baltic flight from Stavanger to Riga. ABV is 4.8%. Amber colour, large head. Pleasant fruity and malty aroma. Relatively malty flavour with low bitterness. This is supposed to be a "live beer" (= unpasteurised).

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

275 ml clear slimline bottle with twist-off cap. Extremely pale straw coloured, fizzy. Moderate apple aroma and flavour (of eating apples, not cider apples), not very exciting but not offensive either. Fizzy and watery mouthfeel. An okay refreshment, no more than that.