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

Cask conditioned. Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature). Pitch black. Low (natural) carbonation. Lovely aroma, smooth roast malt and coffee flavour, with some acid side notes that I'm not entirely happy about.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Aroma is very malty with notes of oak. Flavour is malty and rather boring. Not the highlight of the festival.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Dark brown colour. Aroma of dark fruits / prunes, flavour is fruity and rather sweet. Nice. A decent mild!

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. No head, very little carbonation. Deep amber colour, hazy (I poured the yeast in). Aroma is hoppy, oaky, slightly spicy. Well balanced flavour, just the right blend of fruitiness, hoppiness and maltiness. Nice hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. A good beer!

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. Very dark brown colour, cloudy (I poured the yeast in). Very low head. Lovely "old" aroma of leather, oak, coffee and dark fruits. Flavour is fruity and vinegary, roast notes. Acidic finish. Not bad.

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

Bottle conditioned, batch no. 040812arw. Bought at Memorable Cheeses in Ipswich. This fruit beer is an unfiltered and bottle conditioned wheat lager, not an ale. Cloudy golden colour (I poured the yeast in). Aroma and flavour are prickly and tart raspberries on a wheat background, not too sweet. Rather bitter finish. Not bad.

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

(33 cl bottle). Golden colour, good head and lacing. Nutmeg, cloves and oak in aroma and flavour, aftertaste a bit short, but not bad for a blonde. Some sweetness, but not too much. Decent.

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

(33 cl bottle). Beautiful reddish colour, good head. Surprisingly weak initial aroma, improves as the beer warms up - toffee, caramel and oak. Malty caramel flavour with some cloves, a tad too sweet for my taste. Needs some more hops to balance the sweetness. Malty, rounded aftertaste.

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

(33 cl bottle). Golden beer with a slight yeast haziness, large head. Very weak initial aroma, improves as the beer warms up - I get caramel, oak, honey and apricot. Very sweet fruity and honeylike flavour, next to cloying, low bitterness - a dessert beer, I'd say. Overall I'm a bit disappointed with this one, you expect more from the Belgians.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, as Primátor Premium Dark. ABV is 4.8%. Will be imported to Norway. Mahogany coloured beer, big beige head. Nice aroma of brown bread and caramel. Malty flavour with notes of brown bread and caramel again, slightly roasty, low bitterness. Original rating: (500 ml bottle, bought in Sweden). I somehow managed to delete my original comments here, damn! But this is still a nice dunkel, deep reddish brown colour, decent head. Flavour is malty and bready with a moderate but nice roastiness, notes of caramel, moderately sweet. I would like some more hops in the finish, but that’s the Czech dunkel style, I guess.

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

(500 ml bottle). Black (= very dark brown) colour, moderate tan head. Aroma of lightly roasted malts, tar and dark chocolate. Notes of smoke and woodwork. Flavour is rich, malty and full of molasses. Very sweet, too sweet in my book - nearly sticky. The 10% ABV is extremely well hidden behind the overwhelming sweetness, could (nearly) pass for a 1.7% ABV Danish "hvidtøl"! The Danes might use it to put hyper-active children to sleep on Christmas eve! Despite the sweetness, I kind of like it, due to its very full mouthfeel. A love-hate relationship, you might say.

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

(500 ml bottle). Golden colour, good thick head. Aroma of molasses and alcohol, hints of oak. Flavour is very sweet and alcoholic, a decent hoppy bitterness in the finish can’t save this beer from being too cloying sweet in my book.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml, bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. Batch No. 040510atpp. Pours with next to none head, beer is totally flat with no carbonation whatsoever. Very dark reddish brown colour. Nice aroma of roasted malts, coffee and leather. Flavour is lightly roasted malts and lemons. Acidic and thin mouthfeel. Unremarkable aftertaste. Drinkable, but disappointing.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Very dark colour, nearly black, reddish brown in the highlights. Decent tan head with good retention, leaves a nice lacing. The aroma has loads of malts, also chocolate, dark fruits, caramel, rye bread and coffee, hints of oak too. The flavour has much of the elements as the aroma, plenty of malts, chocolate and fruit, but also decent hops in the finish. A brilliant porter, and a true classic. Original rating: (Cask in England). A beer for... well, old growlers, like me. Definitely not for beginners! There's an "old man" feeling throughout, but also a fairly complex malty and fruity flavour with hints of spices and oak.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Black (= very dark brown) colour. Interesting and unusual aroma: Ensilage, fresh mown grass, candy ("Kongen av Danmark"), hints of old ladies with a questionable personal hygiene. (Bordering on vomit, according to chris_o, but I liked it.) Flavour is grassy, citrussy, green apples. Easy drinking. Fruity finish.

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

Nice brown colour and a thick head. Some hoppy initial aroma that doesn't last for long, just a hint of caramel in an otherwise weak aroma as the beer warms up. Flavour is weak, fairly bland, one-dimensional and uninspiring. Drinkable, but not much more.

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

(500 ml bottle, European version, bought in Denmark). Pale golden colour, like a pils. Good to moderate head. Pleasant fruity aroma. Flavour is smooth, mellow and clean, hops are subdued. Easy drinking. Nice beer, but hardly worth a fest in its own right.

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

375 ml corked bottle. Large head, disappears rapidly. Deep golden colour, cloudy when the yeast is poured. Heavenly aroma of barnyard and ensilage with white wine vinegar elements. Flavour is crisp and very dry, reminiscent of a very dry white wine or brut champagne. Not as complex as I expected. Really a beer for the "Champagne Brut" people.

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

Fairly dark golden beer, apparently made with some caramel malts / colour malts. Pleasant, slightly sweet flavour, a bit thin. Could use more hops. The old Viking king or earl or whatever pictured on the can would want something more powerful than this.

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

Rich and sweetish Norwegian dark bock, spicy, hints of coffee and caramel. Not a bad bock this one, but not as good as Aass Bock. Brewed by Borg Bryggeri in Sarpsborg, which survived by merging with Hansa (Bergen) and CB (Kristiansand) into the Hansa-Borg group.

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

A very pleasant dunkel, despite the relatively low ABV. Much better than Carlsberg Lagerøl. Beautiful colour, malty flavour. It's a shame that Carlsberg (who owns Tuborg) retired this beer.

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

Pleasant but not very strong aroma, malty flavour characterized by caramel and spices. More hoppy bitterness than other Norwegian bayers. An excellent accompaniment with beef and game dishes, also as an ingredient in the very same dishes!

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

There are, at the present, only 4 Norwegian standard strength bocks (alphabethical order is identical with my quality ranking): Aass, Borg, Frydenlund and Mack. However, they are all well worth sampling. Frydenlund has a good head, pleasant oak and nut aroma (but not as good as Aass), malty flavour, acceptable aftertaste. The Frydenlund brewery was bought and closed many years ago by Oslo rival Ringnes, who continue to brew their beers.

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

Brewed for every Christmas since 1999, this year (2002) unbelievably is the first (but definitely not the last!) year I have had this excellent beer. The recipe this year is supposed to be slightly less sweet than in 2001. Dark reddish brown colour, low head, pleasant but initially surprisingly weak roasted aroma (improves as the beer warms up). This is par excellence the most flavourful beer in Norway for nearly a century (between 1909 and 1999 max. ABV was 7%). Not as subtle and complex flavour as Aass Bock, but robust as hell. Roasted malts and coffee abound, Christmas spices and decent hops are balanced by a sufficient sweetness. Alcohol (9,9%) is well hidden. Robust aftertaste. Now THIS is a beer for the big boys! (OK, for big girls too.) Rerate Christmas 2004: Still excellent! Robust and "raw" in the edges, but I love it!

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

A middle-of-the-road, reasonably decent Danish pilsener. Not very different from its "økologisk" (organic) counterpart. A good regional alternative to Carlsberg and Tuborg. Rerate on tap: Drinkable but always served too cold. Generally Danish beers are served ice (and I mean ICE) cold, even if Danish summers normally are far from hot.