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.

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

330 ml clear bottle. Berentsens surprise us again - they have made a slightly mellower version of a Baltic porter as their "klasse F" (Vinmonopolet) Yule/Christmas beer. Dark brown colour, nice and creamy tan head. Very nice roasty aroma with notes of oak, leather, dark bread and coffee. Flavour is moderately roasty and well rounded, elements of coffee, dark chocolate and oak. Tolerable hops. Could use a little more "bite", but this is definitely not a bad beer!

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

500 ml twistcap bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Typical dunkel reddish brown colour, decent pale greyish brown head. Pleasant malty sweet aroma with notes of caramel, toast and bakery. Mellow nutty flavour with notes of dark bread and caramel, tolerable hops for a dunkel (Hallertau, Spalt and Tettnang). Nice.

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

330 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Germany. Golden colour, fizzy, large head. Fairly strong sweet and alcoholic aroma, notes of molasses and ammonium, hints of oak and fermenting fruits, not very pleasant. Flavour is malty, too alcoholic and sweet, low bitterness. Pale strong lagers rarely make me happy, and this one is no exception to the rule. Still drinkable - I’ve had worse.

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

330 ml clear bottle. Ringnes intend to present a new recipe for their Bryggerimester Spesial each year, and the 2005 edition is definitely VERY different from the 2004 edition (each vintage is listed separately at BeerPal). Beautiful deep amber colour, decent head. Aroma is dominated by strong anise / cough medicine notes, not a perfect marriage with the weaker notes of caramel malts. Hints of thyme. Flavour is also dominated by anise, vanilla notes are much weaker. Fairly light bodied, malts do not come up front. Some faint hops and anise again in the aftertaste. The 2004 edition was quite good for its moderate strength, the 2005 is not. Definitely not my cup of tea, sorry: beer. Experiments are okay in the world of beer, but there’s no guarantee that they will be successful. This one isn’t. To be avoided. Better luck next year.

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

(Bottle). Ringnes Bryggerimester Spesial Julen (Yule/Christmas) 2004 has replaced the old Ringnes Julespesial. Bryggerimester Spesial is darker - a beautiful copper colour, and retains a good head. Caramel, hops and spices in the aroma. Flavour is well balanced between the malts and hops, and there are distinct hints of Christmas spices (cardamom, ginger?). This is one of the better Yule brews in the grocery store "klasse D " segment.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi, Hamburg. Very pale golden colour, large head. Moderate aroma of grass, fruits and pale malts. Flavour is surprisingly bland, some grassy and sweetish notes. Low bitterness. ABV is well hidden. Drinkable, but I expected more than this. Confirms my theory that the Octoberfest is a ridiculously over-hyped event for American and German binge drinkers, and has very little, if anything, to do with a great beer selection or beers out of the ordinary.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Black colour, no head, moderate carbonation. Roasty aroma with notes of tar, liquorice / aniseed dominates. Distinct heavy roastiness from start to finish, bitter and dry, notes of strong coffee. Mouthfeel could have been fuller.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub, on the day of its release for the Christmas season 2005. I think the waiter might again have screwed up the samples here ... Golden colour, much paler than the description. Hints of vomit in the aroma, not very pleasant. Tastes like a reasonably hoppy pale bock / premium lager, nothing Christmasy about it.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Also known as "No. 1 IPA", waiter said it’s the same beer. Menu said it was "brewed by the craft brewers of Skagen". The waiter might have screwed up the samples, the one I got was deep copper coloured. Moderate hoppy aroma with notes of caramel. Flavour is reasonably hoppy but not really impressive. Relatively dry.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle,bought at Føtex or SuperBest, Aalborg. ABV is 5.5%. Dark reddish brown colour, big cream-coloured head. Aroma of spices, malts and caramel. The flavour is malty with plenty of caramel, moderate spicy notes, hints of honey. Low bitterness, the finish is a bit bland. Still a drinkable beer. Original rating:Sample + full size glass on tap at the brewpub. I think the waiter must have mixed up things here - the sample was deep golden and spicy, while the full size was copper coloured (like their IPA), hoppier and less spicy. Comments sample: Aroma of incense and Christmas spices (ginger, cardamom, cloves). Spicy sweet flavour, unusual, interesting.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Amber colour. Very moderate aroma, hints of honey and caramel. Just a little fuller mouthfeel and flavour than their Jomfruhumle, seems reasonably well hopped.