Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

330 ml clear bottle, ABV 5%, bought at Vinmonopolet, Norway. Surprisingly strong aroma of yeast and artificial candy. Light golden colour, moderate head - and then: nothing. Blurk! As if the ordinary Bud wasn't tasteless enough...

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

One of my favourite English session bitters (had it from cask in London).

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

Cask conditioned at The Marquess of Anglesey, Covent Garden, London. Served at cellar temperature. Amber colour, low head, moderate malty aroma with some oak, mellow rounded flavour, moderate but decent bitterness. A good pint!

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

(500 ml bottle, ABV 5,2%). Black (actually very dark ruby) with a good tan head and nice lacing. Aroma is all chocolate and roasted malts. When you expect something cloyingly sweet (chocolate in beer - "uff da"!): Surprise! - a perfectly rounded and well balanced flavour, loads of chocolate but never sickly, just the right roasted bitterness in the aftertaste. This beer is a real treat - I would be happy to drink it each and every afternoon, but just one bottle a day!

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

275 ml bottle, unfortunately served far too cold at The Marquess of Anglesey, London. Amber colour, moderate head. Sweet alcoholic (despite ABV only 5%) candylike aroma. Flavour is a bit sweet with hints of nuts and cherries. Not my favourite this one.

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

More flavour than the other Dutch macrobrew lagers, still I'm far from ecstatic. Clearly on the bitter (hoppy) side (too much bitterness for me), some sweetness too. Not as easily drinkable as Dommelsch. I had it on tap (in Holland) as well as can (have sampled the original bottle earlier), it didn't improve much from tap, unlike most beers.

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

Among commercial pilseners from giant breweries, this is one of the best. Very drinkable.

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

An acceptable lager, but not as good as the best Czech, German and BeNeLux varieties.

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

The thinnest of Norwegian 'bayers' (Munich Dunkel) I've had so far. This is a style I appreciate - it's a pity that the Kristiansand brewery couldn't make a better show of it. This beer has just too little of everything the style should have. (For a few years, before the Hansa-Borg partnership, CB made Tou Bayer, which again originally was made by Tou Bryggeri in Stavanger, now part of the Ringnes group. Alas, Tou Bayer exists no more - but I remember it, right or wrong, to have more flavour than the stuff CB makes now.)

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

This is a light golden coloured Norwegian pils with a pleasant, fruity (but not very strong) aroma, easily drinkable, too lightly hopped (even for me, who's far from being one of the extreme 'hopheads'), hardly any aftertaste.

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

(330 ml bottle, airborne from Praha/Prague). Reddish brown colour, deep ruby when held to the light. Very good and thick tan head, good lacing. Roasty and malty aroma, hints of coffee, caramel and toast. Roasted malty flavour, hints of brown sugar but not really sweet, dominant coffee-like bitterness. Difficult to tell how much of the bitterness is from the roasted malts and how much is from the hops. Extracts and artificial colouring, hmm?? This is a tasty brew anyway.

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

(500 ml brown bottle). Typical pilsener golden colour, large frothy head. Lovely Saaz aroma, the flavour has sufficient malts to balance the irresistibly crisp hoppy bitterness. This is another evidence that pilseners / lagers from big breweries do NOT have to taste like ...nothing. A great refreshment beer from our friends in Brno!

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

Amber/deep golden colour, good head. Smells and tastes like a cross-breed between an ale and a lager. Flowery perfumed aroma (not unpleasant), malty flavour (a tad too sweet), plenty of bitterness in the aftertaste - but COMPLEX is not the word I would use. Decent (and of course infinitely better than the BMC stuff), but I'm sure there are better American beers out there.

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

This is a decent pils - lovely hoppy aroma (Saazer and Hallertau?), distinct but not unpleasant bitterness in the flavour (and I'm not a fanatical "hophead"), aftertaste OK. Very refreshing. I'm sure it's even better on tap. Recommended!

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

I expected more than I got from this beer, and was a bit disappointed. Low head, clear golden colour, pleasant hoppy aroma. Strong alcohol presence. Bitter flavour, close to tart. Far from outstanding. I guess I'm a "Bocks are dark"-guy.

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

Better than the Urbock hell. Low head. Pleasant malty / toffee aroma. Slightly nutty flavour. Strong alcohol presence, fairly well balanced with the malts and hops. A decent bock, but not as good as the Norwegian ones (esp. Aass).

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

Reddish brown colour, bread yeast and just a hint of coffee in the aroma. Flavour leaves you with the impression of drinking this beer in a bakery (this is not necessarily an insult to the beer - it's probably an OK accompaniment with a few sandwiches or even Danish pastry). Drier than I expected. Not as good as the Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel (and not nearly as good as Aass Bock, which I enjoyed 1 hour earlier) - a bit watery, but still a drinkable dunkel that won't offend anyone.

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

(Bought in Sweden - not in Systembolaget's ordinary selection, listed as "coincidentally in store"). This beer has a deep golden colour and pours with a good head. It has a lovely fruity aroma - there is some oak and spices too. Flavour is malty and rounded, still with a great bitterness. This is quite simply a good beer - wish it were imported to Norway!

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

(330 ml bottle, ABV 6,2%). This fine beer is cloudy deep golden with an enormous creamy head. It has an intense, overwhelming but lovely aroma of ensilage, horse stable, leather and spicy fruit cake. The flavour is complex and spicy, hops stand out, the aftertaste is dry but could have lasted a little longer. Still, this is clearly a world class beer. Definitely moreish!

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

(330 ml bottle). Pours with an enormous and thick light tan head, beer is cloudy, very dark brown colour. Heavenly complex aroma: oak, port wine, dried fruit and spices. 10 points for aroma is not enough! Flavour is complex, spicy and oaky - toffee sweetness is well balanced with hops. Warming mouthfeel, otherwise the high ABV is well hidden. Long lasting aftertaste. Can't find any faults with the beer - therefore a straight 10. Does that imply that any "perfect" beer has to be as strong as Rochefort 10? Certainly not - but in the strong division, this one is in the lead, at least untill I have sampled Westvleteren... (But the price in Norway is outrageous: USD 9 for a small bottle - in the store!)

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

(330 ml bottle). This superb Trappist ale pours with an enormous thick head, colour is cloudy dark brown. It has a lovely aroma of oak, leather, dried fruits and a hint of cigar tobacco. Flavour is malty and spicy with a warming mouthfeel, otherwise alcohol is well hidden. Dangerously drinkable! Moderate bitterness, rounded aftertaste. This ale truly belongs in the Premier League of Beers

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

I actually prefer the Dubbel to this one. The Tripel is nonetheless a great beer. Colour is blonde and hazy, beer pours with an ENORMOUS head - too much, really. Lovely aroma of spices and citrus, flavour and aftertaste is spicy and quite bitter, not as complex and rounded as the Dubbel. Very potent with its 9.5% ABV, but the alcohol is relatively well hidden for a blonde. Like all trappistes well made, but not quite in the class of Rochefort

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

ABV was 7% (bottle bought in Finland). This beer pours with an enormous lasting head, cloudy brown colour. Lovely aroma of oak, leather and spices. Well balanced spicy flavour, slightly bitter finish. Aftertaste could have lasted a bit longer, but this is still a thoroughly well made beer.

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

Sampled 500 ml can, later also 500 ml bottle (now available in Norway). Advertised as 'Das Schwarze mit der Blonden Seele' (= The Black with the Blonde Soul). Dark brown to ruby colour, nearly black. Large brown head. Fairly weak but decent aroma, smells like German Schwarzbrot. Roasted malt flavour with coffee and burnt toast. A bit watery mouthfeel. (Is that what the brewers refer to as the 'blonde soul'?) By all means, this is a very drinkable Schwarzbier, but the style unfortunately seems to lack the rich velvety mouthfeel of a good stout or a Baltic porter. Still, this is a beer well worth sampling!

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

My can (bought in Norway, ABV 4,8%) says 'Premium Irish Beer', but surely this must be more or less the same thing?? An easily drinkable ale, perhaps not all that much character, but good, GOOD (not great). I don't hate nitro cans, but would like to sample this one on tap. (Maybe I have, without noticing....) Rerate: ABV 4.2% version, 440 ml can says "Premium beer" but this is clearly the same stuff, just a little more watery version. Very smooth.