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

Bottle, 7.5% ABV, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Orange to amber colour, moderate white head. Nice aroma of Belgian yeast and spices, some woody notes to, hints of leather. OKish flavour, some fruity and spicy notes. Slightly acidic finish.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Pours with an enormous head. Colour is deep golden to brown (amber), slightly hazy. Very nice aroma of fresh and dried fruits, spices, oak and exotic wood. Flavour is slightly spicy and peppery on a malty sweet basis with brown sugar and oaky elements. Not bad.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. The beer is quite clear reddish brown when poured, a slight haziness may occur if the sediment is disturbed in the end, decent head. LOVELY aroma with intense fruity an vinous notes, spices are very much present too. The flavour is also fruity and spicy but not very powerful, hints of caramel. Moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness. A slightly salty finish. Light bodied, the ABV is well hidden. Easy drinking. The aftertaste is not remarkable.

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

450 ml brown swingtop bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Golden colour, slightly hazy. Huge white head. Strong and sweetish aroma of candy, banana, citrus and bubblegum. Typical hefeweizen flavour with banana and cloves, hints of citrus. Somewhat sweeter than the bulk of hefeweizens. Very refreshing.

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

330 ml green bottle, as "Grolsch Non Alcoholic", courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Golden colour, moderate head. Unmistaken sickly n/a beer aroma with "boiled" notes (= vegetables that have been boiled far too long) and grit. "Unfresh" and sickly flavour, notes of grit. Fizzy mouthfeel. Bad.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

500 ml can, supplied by my friend Olav. Brewed by "Dutch Export Breweries". ABV was 11.6%. Golden colour, moderate head. Weak aroma, a hint of white wine and honey. Very sweet and alcoholic flavour. Pretty bad.

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

Served from the oak barrel in which it had been aged, at the GBBF 2008. Room temperature, gravity dispense. Pitch black colour, minimal head. Intense aroma of tar, woodwork, coffee, liquorice and alcohol. Intensely roasty flavour with coffee, alcohol, tar, liquorice and dark bitter chocolate. Pretty impressive, but certainly not easy drinking.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008, gravity dispense. Cloudy golden colour, moderate head. Nice fruity / berries aroma. Berries in the flavour too (blackcurrants, boysenberries) with a moderate but nice hoppy finish.

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

330 ml bottle, thanks to oh6gdx and chris_o. ABV is 5.5%. Cloudy dark brown colour, nearly black, reddish in the highlights. Creamy and lasting tan head. The aroma is malty and somehow "unfresh" (I wouldn’t have thought of "beef stock" myself, but yes, you’ve got a point there, yngwie!), the honey is there, but without the light and floral notes that usually accompany it. No fruitiness at all in the aroma. The flavour is somewhat better: plenty of malts with a moderate roastiness, fairly sweet, notes of mild coffee, caramel, some chocolate and of course honey. Hardly any fruitiness, and not much bitterness. Not particularly well balanced, and is far from being my favourite porter.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10%. Deep amber to copper colour. Rich, very big and lasting off-white head. Lovely vinous aroma, also notes of brown candy sugar, caramel and various spices. The flavour is very rich and sweet, with plenty of malts, brown sugar and spices. Moderate hops in the finish.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar and importer HaandBryggeriet. ABV is 13%. Pitch black colour, big brown head. The aroma is first woody and dusty, followed by roasty notes of coffee and dark chocolate. Very rich mouthfeel. The flavour has loads of malty sweetness and roastiness, woody notes, also notes of brown sugar, dark bitter chocolate and coffee, bitter hops in the finish. Woody aftertaste.

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

330 ml capped and waxed bottle, brewed 7th Nov. 2009, bottled 6th Dec. 2009. Bottle No. 190 (of 1284 from this batch). OG 1115, FG 1031. EBC colour 308.9. EBU 99.9. ABV is 10.2%. Declared good for 25 years if kept cool and dark - feels like a sort of sacrilege to drink it now ... Pitch black colour, big and lasting brown head. Lovely roasty aroma, distinct notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate. The flavour has an intense roasted character, notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate again, also hints of liquorice, molasses and dark dried fruits. Bitter hops in the finish. Brilliant stuff.

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

750 ml corked and wired bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.2%. Batch brewed 28.11.09, bottle No. 483 of a total of 570. Bottle conditioned. Hazy deep golden to orange colour, big to moderate white head with an orangey hue. Very pleasant aroma of fruity American hops, hints of resin too. The flavour has loads of resinous and fruity hop notes, on a background of malty and fruity sweetness, ending in a moderate but distinct hoppy bitterness. Good stuff.

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

750 ml corked and wired bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.2%. Deep golden to amber colour, slightly hazy, with a decent white (or slightly off-white) head. Very nice spicy aroma, notes of Belgian ale yeast, also some fruity hops. The flavour is pretty far out on the sweet side, with distinct spicy and hoppy notes. The alcohol is noticeable though. Warming mouthfeel. Fairly impressive beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.2%. On pouring the glass is filled completely with off-white foam, which only very slowly lets a hazy orange coloured beer appear. A huge rocky head remains, making the beer hard to drink. Lovely fruity / citrussy aroma of Amarillo hops. The flavour is a bitter and fruity hoppy explosion from start to finish, also resinous notes, some sweetness. A bit too much of the good stuff, methinks. Overkill. Gets better as the beer warms up a little.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 0058 out of 318 from this batch. ABV is 10.4%. This is a blend from B.A. Rasputin and B.A. Amarillo. Recommended drinking temperature 10 degrees C. Cloudy dark brown colour, big beige head. Excellent complex aroma, fruity American and European hops, vinous notes, hints of oak, red wine vinegar and leather. The flavour has notes of over-ripe and decaying fruits, a substantial malty sweetness, hints of chocolate and coffee in the background, moderate and "dry" hops in the finish.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml corked, wired and waxed bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 28 out of a batch of 429 bottles. Brewed 7. Oct. 2009. ABV is 15.2%. OG 1150, FG 1041. Nugget and Saaz hops, 53.9 EBU. Pours reddish brown without any visible carbonation and no head. Intense and attractive aroma with vinous and oaky notes, also notes of dark dried fruits, curacao liqueur and tangerine. The flavour has an overwhelming sugary and malty sweetness, with some fruity and vinous notes. The absence of carbonation makes the mouthfeel oily and cloying, and the alcohol is noticeable. The relatively high EBU kind of disappears behind all the sweetness. Declared fit for 25 years of cool and dark cellaring - sounds like a really good idea, if you are of the patient kind, and have faith in your own life expectancy.

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

330 ml bottle, as La Trappe Witte Trappist, bought at Systembolaget, Sweden. ABV is 5.5%. Looks crystal clear in the bottle, but there is some sediment. Pours crystal clear pale yellow with a huge head. Slightly hazy when the yeast is poured in the end. Fresh and attractive aroma with notes of mild spices (coriander, cloves), hints of citrus. Light bodied (verging on "thin"). Mildly spicy flavour (coriander and cloves again), refreshing.

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

180 ml waxed bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Also sampled at Olympen, Oslo. ABV is 11%. Bitterness 92,9 EBU. Pitch black colour, no head, hardly any carbonation. Lovely vinous and roasty aroma, dark dried fruits, oak. Roasty flavour with oaky and vinous notes, distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish. Good stuff!

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

750 ml corked and wired bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.9%, EBU 36. Hazy deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of Belgian ale yeast, notes of fruits and mild spices. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is spicy, with a distinct hoppy bite in the finish. Fairly dry.

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

Bottle No. 800 (out of a batch of 992), brewed 4th Nov. 2009. Courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Front label says ABV is 7.2%, rear label says it is 7.5%. OG 1065, FG 1013. Bittering hop: Galena, late hops: Chinook, Simcoe, Cascade and Amarillo, dry hopping: Saaz and Cascade. 53,6 EBU. Recommended serving temperature is 10 degrees C. Hazy deep orange colour, huge off-white head. Very nice aroma of fruity / citrussy, floral and piney hops. Fizzy mouthfeel. Dry flavour, dominated by resinous American hops. Decent beer, but nothing wheaty about it.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.2%. Pale straw coloured beer, huge white head. Very nice and strong spicy and wheaty aroma. Spicy and moderately fruity flavour, peppery and moderately hoppy finish.

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

180 ml green bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.5%. Bottle No. 169 out of a batch of 1416 bottles. Brewed 8th March 2010. OG 1098, FG 1028. Czech hops, bittering hop: Premiant, aroma hop: Saaz. Recommended serving temperature 10 degrees C. Black (= very dark brown) colour, big and lasting fluffy beige head. Strong aroma of coffee, hints of dry wood. The flavour has also strong notes of coffee, with a roasty and hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. Quite dry, just a slight acidity. Good, but not brilliant.

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

750 ml corked, wired and waxed bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 233 out of a batch of 575 bottles, brewed 12th Dec. 2009. ABV is 8.64%. OG 1083, FG 1018. Czech hops, bittering hop Premiant, final hop Saaz. 88.2 EBU. Cloudy brown colour, big cream-coloured to beige head. Pleasant aroma of floral and fruity hops, hints of resin and wood. The flavour has a massive hoppy bitterness from start to finish, on a background of moderately sweet malts, notes of caramel. Bitter aftertaste.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Also sampled bottled, but the bottle lacked carbonation, so my rating is for the tap version. Black (= very dark brown) colour, moderate tan head. Very nice aroma and flavour with roasty notes, coffee, dark chocolate and liquorice - also some vinous notes with hints of oak and dark dried fruits. Jolly good stuff!