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

Cask conditioned (hand pump) at Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, Derby, at their Heavyweight Beer Festival February 2005 (but this one is possibly one of their regular beers). Dark ruby colour, low head. Fruity, chocolate sweet aroma and flavour, moderate roastiness. Very nice.

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

330 ml bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. Black (= very dark brown) colour. Truly impressive large and thick brown head. Aroma of malts, oak, leather, coffee and dark chocolate. Flavour is overwhelmingly bitter from the roasted barley and hops, but also sweeter than regular Guinness. Elements of very strong coffee, hints of bitter chocolate. Bitterness lasts through the long aftertaste. Not for beginners. The crowd who think nitro draught Guinness is "sooo strong" should try this one!

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

Cask conditioned at the Alexandra Hotel ("The Alex"), Derby. Very dark ruby colour, nearly black. Low thick head. Aroma of leather and roasted malts. Very smooth and drinkable with a well balanced roastiness. Coffee elements. A truly enjoyable dark mild!

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

500 ml bottle, as "Black Sheep Ale" ("Black Sheep Special Ale" is the cask version of the same beer). Amber colour, moderate fluffy head. Aroma of toffee / caramel and dried fruits, hints of barnyard. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, moderate flavour of dusty malts and hops. A bit too carbonated for my taste.

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

330 ml bottle, London. Pale golden sparkling beer, poor head. Moderate hops and grass in the aroma. A tolerable amount of hops in the flavour makes this beer A LITTLE better than the average swill lager. Won’t buy again, though. I you want a good NZ lager, look for Emersons in stead!

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

33 cl bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. Beautiful brown to ruby colour, good beige head. Complex aroma of oak and sandalwood, some pine too, old sherry, leather, pipe tobacco, sour cherries, prunes, hints of smoke . Flavour is woody with a pronounced roastiness, coffee notes, strong tea, hints of bitter chocolate, excellent hoppy bitterness. A truly delightful beer!

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

Rerate, 33 cl bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, + Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger): ABV is 7.0%. Hazy brown colour, big and lasting off-white head. Spicy complex aroma and flavour, some winey and woody notes too. The mouthfeel has still too much carbonation, but this is none the less a very fine beer. Original rating: 33 cl bottle, at the White Horse at Parsons Green, London. Served in "appropriate" Chimay glass (whether those wide chalices really ARE the most appropriate for savouring complex beers, is a discussion of its own). Unfortunately served far too cold - you’d think White Horse waiters knew better. For good measure, the waiter poured the beer along the side of the glass, which prevented the beer from "opening up", the head disappeared quickly and the beer kept too much carbonation. The beer has a brown colour, aroma of leather, balsamico vinegar and barnyard. Flavour is quite dry, well hopped, elements of leather and tobacco. Hints of cardamom and ginger. Aroma and flavour improves somewhat as the beer slowly warms up, but altogether this remains my least favourite of the Chimays - give me a Bleu, please! Still a decent beer, but with the Trappists I expect more. Will re-rate when I personally control the temperature and the pour.

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

330 ml bottle, at The Beehive, Brentford, London. Copper coloured, moderate head. Malty sweet aroma with hints of dried fruits, oak and sherry. Flavour is malty sweet with oak, dried figs and dusty hops. Warming mouthfeel. Interesting.

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

Draught (keg) at Hogan’s, Darlington. Named "Camerons Creamy Bitter". Amber colour, creamy nitro-head. Not much going here in terms of aroma and flavour. Very low bitterness. Slightly dusty aftertaste. Easy drinking. Must be somewhat better cask conditioned?

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

500 ml bottle conditioned real ale, bought at Selfridge's, London. Enormous thick tan head. Pitch black colour, even when held to the light. Very possibly the darkest beer in the world. Wonderful aroma of roasted malts, dark bitter chocolate, oak and cedarwood. Flavour is all smoked and heavily roasted malts and oats. A world class stout.

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

330 ml bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. Label says for some reason "Lion Dark Beer" in stead of "Lion Stout", but there’s no doubt that this is the very same beer. Otherwise the label is exactly the same, so is the ABV and the characteristics of the beer. Pitch black colour, impenetrable for light. Large and thick brown head. A real beauty! Excellent aroma of various types of wood, tar, leather, tobacco. Full and rich flavour where the roastiness and hops are perfectly balanced with the velvety sweetness. Extremely drinkable. It’s debatable whether "the perfect stout" exists, but the Lion must be pretty close!

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

Rerate 2004, 500 ml bottle conditioned: Recipe has been changed this year. The beer is now much darker, nearly black. Good tan head. Complex aroma and flavour, a distinct roastiness but also spices and leather. Full rich flavour, bitter aftertaste - this is a damn good beer!! Rating 2003: (500 ml bottle). Christmas/Yule ale from Norway’s sole uncompromising micro brewery. Only 5000 bottles made. Bottle conditioned. Deep copper colour, hazy only when yeast is poured. Moderate head. Aroma of oak, leather, caramel and spices. Flavour is malty and spicy, alcohol is evident. Drier than I expected. Good bitterness. A good beer, but after all the good things I’ve heard about it, I expected even more.

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml.) ABV is now 6.0%. Hazy deep golden to amber colour, thick creamy head that leaves a nice lacing. Lovely citrussy hops aroma on a background of oak, hay, tobacco and spices. Flavour is grapefruity bitter on a well rounded malty background, hints of spices. Plenty of Cascade hops in the long aftertaste. This is very good! Amazing what the Nøgne Ø enthusiasts of small town Grimstad have achieved in almost no time in the business of brewing quality beers!

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

500 ml bottle conditioned. Colour is hazy deep amber, good head. Lovely hoppy and citrussy aroma that says: Come hither, lad, and drink me! Flavour is malty and very bitter, plenty of Cascade hops give a grapefruit-like bitter aftertaste.

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

(500 ml bottle). Norwegian micro oatmeal stout. Black (= very dark ruby) colour, some sediment, good head. Nice aroma of roasted malts with some coffee, dark chocolate and cigar box. Mellow, smooth and pleasant flavour, can't detect the oats, some roastedness, hints of coffee. Easy drinking. Aftertaste is OK, but I'd like some more hops. Rerate: I should add that there also is a moderate but noticeable smokiness.

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

(500 ml bottle). Dark brown colour, slightly hazy, some sediment, good head. Lovely aroma of caramel, cedar wood, nuts and cookies. Flavour is nutty and biscuity with burnt edges. Not too sweet. Aftertaste has some bitterness with burnt notes. (Some might not like the burnt part, but I do!) If Newcastle Brown is your idea of a brown ale, you're in for a surprise!

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Amber colour, good head. Very nice barnyard aroma. Typical English bitter flavour (Goldings hops + a hint of toffee) , a bit thin mouthfeel, good bitterness in the aftertaste. A great quaffing beer. This Norwegian micro is a very welcome addition to our rather miserable brewery scene!

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

(500 ml bottle conditioned). Finally available bottled, this amber ale comes from the micro brewery that make all other Norwegian commercial brewers look ridiculous. ABV bottled is 6.0%. Colour is deep amber to reddish and cloudy. Very good thick head. Lovely complex fruity and flowery aroma - roses and flowers I can't even remember the name of. Flavour is first treacherously pleasant malty, fruity and slightly spicy, then the hops brutally take over with a very bitter (too bitter?) and salty finish. Definitely not a beer for the Corona generation.

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Rerate: This time I had the beer from a fresh batch, and the dead yeast aroma and flavour was gone. Instead the aroma and flavour were now overpowering yeasty - but from fresh yeast this time(which is not unpleasant). Far better, but I still think the brewers use too much yeast in this brew. But the head of this beer is less enormous when poured than many other weissbiers. So far the least interesting of the Nøgne Ø beers I've had. Original rating: (500 ml bottle). Thick sediment in bottle. Like the brewers recommend, I turned the bottle upside down a couple of times to get the maximum out of the yeast, but having my experience with the Wit in fresh memory, I waited a little longer before opening the bottle this time! Pours with a large head, but not quite as large as some other Weissbiers. Colour is cloudy golden. Weird aroma, not typical hefe. The cloves are there, but the dominant smell is of dead yeast. Must have been over the top, despite "brewed date" being 21.06.03, and "best before date" being 21.06.04. I have a few bottles left, think I'll leave the sediment alone in those. Flavour is OK, but nothing special. Drier than most German Hefeweizens.

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Thick sediment in bottle. I turned the bottle upside down a couple of times, like the brewers recommend, to get maximum pleasure out of the yeast. The result was that my pants now have the unmistakenly typical witbier aroma of coriander, cloves, over-ripe bananas and orange peel. The rest of the beer hit my glass, and there the aroma was even better! After the ENORMOUS foamy head had subsided a little, I found out there was actually beer underneath - colour: Cloudy golden, nearly brownish. Flavour: Again typical wit - coriander, cloves and orange peel. Very refreshing. Moderate aftertaste. How wonderful that the "lager desert" of Norway now has an uncompromising micro brewery that DARE make good beer!

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

For a "klasse D" (= too low ABV, for the Norwegian grocery store market) Christmas brew this is not too bad. Reddish brown colour, good head, mild spices in the aroma. Very well balanced light malty sweetness vs. hoppy dryness. But of course, the inevitable watery mouthfeel of a "klasse D" Christmas brew is there. Lacks "punch" - it's not a brew that will kick off knife-fights, like an "Olde Norse" Yule/Christmas brew should(!) Still better than Mack Juleøl (klasse D), but not as good as their Juleøl (klasse F).

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

This one has traditionally been the thinnest of Norwegian "klasse F" Yule/Christmas beers - the brewery made a slightly darker brew this year. Not as bad the ratings in Norwegian newspapers tell you. Reasonably malty, nutty, some caramel/toffee.

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

Mack Juleøl (klasse D) is made for the Norwegian grocery store market (= ABV less than 4.75%). Rated 0,5 liter can 2002 - new recipe. Copper coloured, good thick head. Peculiar aroma - initially acidic, later dusty with spices: salt of hartshorn, cloves and cardamom - like stale Christmas cookies in March. Less prominent spices in the flavour, thin and watery mouthfeel. Aftertaste does not last for long. If you can't have the "klasse F" Juleøl, Mack's Julespesial is at least a better alternative in the "klasse D" than this one.

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

Rerate, new 500 ml bottle design as Mack GullMack, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Pale yellow colour (paler than before?), big to moderate white head. Aroma of grassy hops and sweetish malts. The flavour is fairly sweet and sugary, with too little bitterness to balance it. Still drinkable. Original Rating: This is a strong pale lager (colour is deeper golden than a pilsener) in the Norwegian "eksport" (Danish: "guldøl") tradition. Aroma and flavour are a bit sweet, tolerably malty, a bit alcoholic but not overwhelmingly. Fairly decent for a Mack product.

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

Not as good as Aass Bock in any way, considerably thinner, fairly light brown colour, weaker aroma, more of a refreshment beer than a sipping beer, still it's drinkable - probably Mack's best product after all.