Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(500 ml bottle). Well, any idiot can recognize that this beer has MORE aroma than (nearly) any other beer, and MORE flavour than a lot of beers. But to make a 100% honest rating, I have to ask myself: Do I actually LIKE the overpowering smell of smoked meat? Sadly, the answer is NO. I'm a beer drinker, not a goddamn sausage maker! The flavour is not quite as overpowering smoky as the aroma - at least you get a notion that you're drinking a beer and not just liquid smoked meat. Still, it tastes like something that has just been saved out of the burnt-out ruins of a brewery. Like any Marzen, it is quite light bodied (when you try to ignore the smokiness, of course). I probably have to admit that Rauchbiers are not my cup of tea - sorry, beer - but would still like to sample the Urbock as I imagine that a heavier beer would carry the smokiness better than a Marzen. Did I mention that this beer at least LOOKS good? - good head, beautiful dark copper colour.

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

This is a pleasant standard English bitter, nothing remarkable. I've had it from cask, keg, nitro widget can and non-widget can. Nitro version is also known as Tetley's Smoothflow.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark under its European name Franziskaner Weissbier Kristallklar.) Filtering off the goodies - what an idea! But that’s what Kristall Weissbiers are all about, for the benefit of people who wouldn’t dream of drinking a beer they can’t see through. With Franziskaner Kristallklar they get at least a decent aroma of banana and cloves, the beer is pale yellow and crystal clear indeed, pours with an enormous head. Flavour is crisp and moderately sweet, some cloves are there, but of course it’s not as good as the Hefe. Still a nice refreshment.

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

(500 ml bottle). Typical hefe in any aspect: Appearance cloudy golden, enormous head, lovely aroma of ripe bananas and cloves, refreshing crisp flavour with cloves. Very good.

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

(250 ml bottle). Pours with a large thick head, colour is copper. Intense aroma of red fruits, red wine vinegar and horse stable. Lovely sour flavour of fruits, notes of spices. Aftertaste says "more, more!". A great beer.

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

Not much flavour here. Carbonated mineral water with some malts and hops added. Probably an OK beach beer in the Jamaica heat, brewing it in Europe seems like a bad joke. Cute bottle.

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

(500 ml bottle conditioned). Deep golden / amber colour, large & lingering fluffy head. Lovely flowery and grapefruity aroma, all from the hops, no doubt. Flavour is dominated by the grapefruity and resiny hoppy bitterness, which is a tad too rough for me in the finish. Long lasting aftertaste. A beer well above average.

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

Bottle conditioned, 700 ml. ABV is 5.8%. Cloudy brown colour, moderate head. Interesting aroma and flavour: caramel and toffee but not really sweetish, spices (cardamom, white pepper, salt of hartshorn), some alcoholic bite but not too much. Hoppy bitterness in the finish leaves a nice aftertaste. Good beer!

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

First time impression: Cask at The Grid, Southfields, London. Served too cold. Unbelievably high rating at the Great British Beer Festival. I still find the use of extremely bitter hops totally out of hand. Probably the first pint of my life that I was unable to finish. Undrinkable. If you guys like it, fine. I just don't. Sorry. Note: Looking at other ratings, I will have to sample this one again. My taste MAY have changed ...

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

(330 ml bottle). Very pale yellow colour, decent head. Sweet fruity aroma. Flavour is, uh, thin... some alcoholic/fusel notes, like Norwegian "hjemmebrent" (="moonshine"). Might be drinkable ice cold at the beach of Antalya. Anywhere else: Avoid!

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

500 ml bottle. Very dark ruby colour, large thick tan head. Malty aroma with smoked notes, elements of espresso coffee, tar and old woodwork. Flavour is initially a tad sweeter than I appreciate, roasted malts with tar, coffee and prunes. A distinct bitterness from the hops and roasted malts takes over, and lasts through the long aftertaste. The high ABV is well hidden. A solid Baltic porter, but not as good as Sinebrychoff.

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

(Bottled 2003). Deep golden/amber colour, moderate head. Aroma of sugary alcohol and hay. Grossly over-hyped and over-rated beer, mostly by people obviously fascinated by the high ABV. Sorry, I have difficulties respecting the ratings of people who actually LIKE this crap. Flavour is cloyingly & revoltingly sweet, alcohol, molasses, syrup, syrup and more syrup. And alcohol. Did I mention syrup? And alcohol? This is gross. This is REALLY gross. Half of it went down the drain. And I paid nearly US$10 (in Norway) for this bottle! (Sob!) Cellaring it for 30 years might have helped A LITTLE, but why cellar crap? A real drainpour, if I ever saw one. Thank God I drank it in November - "Samichlaus" would have ruined my Christmas completely.

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. ABV was 4.8%.) Gushes out of the bottle, pours with an enormous light tan head. Aroma is malts, caramel and overwhelmingly fermenting fruits (apples, pears, plums). Flavour is overwhelmingly acidic and fruity, bordering on vinegar. This acidity masks all other flavours, just a hint of hop bitterness on the back of my tongue. Some metallic sidenotes. My beer was still drinkable (2 months left till expiry date), but had clearly set sails for a voyage to the promised land of Vinegaria.

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

(500 ml bottle). Pours with a large to moderate frothy head. Very dark brown colour. Moderate but pleasant aroma of cherry chocolates and coffee. Decent sweetish flavour of roasted malts, oats, coffee and dark chocolates, some fruityness too. Mouthfeel is surprisingly thin for an oatmeal stout. A bit too carbonated for my taste. Acceptable bitterness from the hops and roasted malts in the aftertaste.

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Pours with an enormous fluffy lingering head. Cloudy brown colour. Aroma is alcohol, red fruits, leather, caramel and sherry. Flavour is malty with English fruitcake and Christmas pudding elements, but a substantial hoppy bitterness (nearly too much?) takes over and dominates through the long finish. Some alcoholic warmth. Good strong ale, but somehow the hop varieties used seem not to be perfectly balanced with the initial comforting sweetness.

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

(500 ml bottle). Typical hefe cloudy golden, large head. Lovely strong aroma of ripe bananas, bubblegum and cloves. Cloves in the flavour too, light bodied, tasty but could still use some more "bite". Like most weissbiers not too much aftertaste. Good, not outstanding.

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

(500 ml bottle). Nearly gushes out of the bottle, pours with an enormous long lasting fluffy head. Colour is hazy golden. Pleasant hoppy aroma, heather, herbal, hints of cedarwood. Initially some notes of dirty socks too, notes which fortunately soon disappears in the glass. Lovely crisp hoppy flavour on a subtle malty background, hop character reminiscent of a very good golden ale. This is not a sweet beer, but the little sweetness there is reminds me of heather honey. Notes of rambutan and grapefruit too. Excellent mouthfeel, not fizzy. Long lasting hops aftertaste. This is a very good beer, regardless of style - and of course MUCH better than any industrial pilsener.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Crouch Vale’s attempt at a red Irish style ale - not a bad try IMO. Reddish colour, malty / toffee / caramel aroma, hints of oak. Malty caramel flavour with a surprisingly hoppy bitterness. Very good. A great combo with burger & chips.

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

(Sampled 0,5 liter bottle) Cloudy light golden beer with sediment, good head. Lovely spicy and fruity aroma that promises more than the flavour keeps. Dry, mildly spicy. Short aftertaste. Not bad, but there are better Weissbiers around.

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

(Draught). Mmmm... this is good stuff. A well rounded altbier IMO. Nutty and malty flavour with a hint of herbs and caramel.

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

(330 ml bottle, fresh from Praha/Prague). Golden colour, moderate head. Initially weak aroma, some alcoholic sweet and flowery notes come along. Flavour is quite malty for a pale lager, rather alcoholic but not unpleasant, warming mouthfeel. Not too sweet. OKish, but not great.

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

Rerate: 500 ml bottle, airborne from Praha/Prague, 5.0% ABV. Golden colour, large head disappears instantly, no lacing, bubbly. Some Saaz aroma, but not nearly as good as Starobrno or Staropramen. Flavour is rather malty for a pilsener, reasonable bitterness. Drinkable, but not my favourite pils. Original rating: I had this beer from a can in Norway, 4.5% ABV. The expiry date was 6 days ago, i.e. the production date was 1 year earlier, and the beer had not been stored cool at my retailer's. This must have impaired the quality, exactly how much I can't tell. A couple other raters had the same impression of the beer as I had, and they probably had a fresher can/bottle. Disappointment is the word,

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

(500 ml bottle, now available in Norway). Colour is yellowish brown, good thick head. Aroma has first some fruity hops, then dusty malts. Flavour is malty with hints of caramel and dust. There is too much carbonation for my taste. OKish beer, but not remarkable.

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

Rerate 500 ml can, May 2024, from Vinmonopolet Sauda. ABV is 4.8%. Pale golden colour, large to moderate white head. Fresh aroma of pilsener malts and herbal hops, a hint of citrus. Soft and slightly citric mouthfeel. Herbal hops in the flavour. Not bad. Rerate 2002: The bitterness of this pilsener (from a can) is more pronounced than I remembered it from draught. I'm taking off 1 point. Still, it's an acceptable beer.

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

Rerate, draught in Newcastle: I found the colour to be darker brown than the bottled version (can that be?), and the flavour was fuller and richer - even though the pub tried to ruin it by serving it ice cold.