Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

500 ml can, ABV is 4.5%. Golden brown colour, big to moderate head. Dull and boring aroma, weak hints of malts and caramel. The flavour is also dull and boring but not offensive, moderate notes of malts, a weak hint of toffee but the beer is not sweet. Hardly any noticeable hops at all. Thin mouthfeel. Yawn. Zzzzzzz.

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

500 ml unlabelled bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Hazy orange to brown colour, big and lasting off-white head with an orangey hue. Intense and lovely aroma of mango and other tropical fruits. The flavour has a substantial sweetness with distinct fruity hops throughout, notes of oranges. Very bitter finish and aftertaste.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Brewed with tangerine concentrate and Cascade as single hop variety. Hazy orange to amber colour, low head. Lovely aroma of tangerine and Cascade hops. Zesty and very fruity flavour, distinct notes of tangerine. Moderate grapefruity bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Based on Nøgne Ø God Jul, matured with spruce and blended with a wild forest cranberry ("tyttebær") "lambic" (brettanomyces fermented). Very dark brown colour, nearly black, with a low beige head. Distinct notes of spruce in the aroma, also notes of fruit / berries, coffee, chocolate and liquorice. Very unusual flavour where the spruce and wild forest cranberries dominate, but I’m not entirely sure how well the various flavour elements really do blend. The mouthfeel is a bit fizzy. Still an interesting beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml can, ABV is 4.5%. Pale golden colour, pours very fizzy with a decent head. "Industrial" and rather "dead" aroma, with some grainy notes. The beer is "cold and wet", thin, watery and utterly boring. No offensive sidenotes, but has not much going flavourwise at all.

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

500 ml bottle, batch #130, at Parkteatret’s "Beer Day", Oslo. ABV is 6.0%. There are rumours that this really is the very same beer as HaandBryggeriet Påskegodt, but I find that hard to believe - Sen Sommer Ale is sweeter than I remember Påskegodt to have ever been. A side-by-side tasting is needed to settle that question, methinks. Hazy amber to orange colour, moderate head. Lovely aroma of fruity hops. Sweet flavour (slightly too much sweetness) with plenty of fruity hops. Moderately bitter finish.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

On tap at the brewpub. Hazy deep copper coloured beer, low head. Diacetyl and some vinegar in both aroma and flavour. I did not like it at all. Should never have been for sale - if the brewers want to destroy their own good reputation, this is the way to do it.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle # 12436. 39.5 degrees P, 65 IBU, ABV 17.5%. Pitch black colour, short-lived brown head. Intense and lovely aroma of dried dark fruits, liquorice, coffee, oak and tar. The flavour is intensely roasty with strong notes of coffee, liquorice and alcohol. A bit "raw", needs at least 1 year’s cellaring (probably more) to reach its potential. However, I think it is not a good idea for Nøgne Ø to make stronger versions of DH each year. 16% ABV, like DH First Ed. had, is definitely strong enough!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

330 ml stubby bottle, bought at Hotel Havana, Oslo. Brewnr. 2, BB date July 2009. ABV is 4.7%. Hazy golden colour, huge and lasting head. Aroma of citrus and cider, hints of cider vinegar. The flavour is citrussy and vinegary sour, apparently infected, like so many other batches from Små Vesen. Not a drainpour, but pretty close.

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

330 ml bottle, bought at Hotel Havana (which is not a hotel, but an upmarket delicatessen / grocery store in Oslo). Brew #1, BB May 2009. ABV is 4.7%. Cloudy amber to orange colour, moderate but lasting off-white head. Nice hoppy aroma, also notes of citrus and white wine vinegar. The flavour has a moderate hoppiness, but unfortunately also some vinegary notes which may mean that an infection is on its way. Dry and sourish finish.

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

750 ml clear ’champagne’ bottle, bought at Centra, Oslo. Made from the Aroma apple variety, vintage 2007, bottle #2494. ABV is 4.7%. Extremely pale yellow colour with a greenish hue. Pours heavily sparkling with a shortlived head. Carbonation in the glass subsides rapidly. Aroma and flavour of sweet apples, sulphur and cheap white wine. Fairly thin mouthfeel, sugary finish. They have probably used ’yeast stopper’ and sulphur here to terminate the fermentation prematurely, in order to keep the ABV below the Norwegian ’grocery store limit’ (less than 4.75%). I am not a big fan of this one. Won’t buy again.

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

500 ml bottle, brew #8/6, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Dark brown colour, big and creamy beige head. Nice malty sweetish aroma with loads of caramel and fresh bread, also some fruity notes. The flavour is also malty with some bready notes, hints of caramel but not really sweet, moderate hops. Some fruity notes in the finish. Hints of resin in the aftertaste. Has not really got anything to make it stand out as a Yule/Christmas beer, but it is a nice and drinkable dunkel nevertheless.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Cloudy very dark brown colour, big to moderate creamy tan head. Nice aroma of malts, Christmas spices, brown sugar and some fruit. The flavour is malty sweet and rich with moderate notes of spices, dark dried fruits and brown sugar. There is a subtle acidity to balance the sweetness, but the hops are moderate. This is a very nice Yule/Christmas beer, will go better with fruit cake than the traditional Scandinavian Christmas dinner.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Moderate creamy beige head. Nice aroma of malts and juniper / resin, hints of spices and smoke. The flavour has a noticeable acidity, some malts, also a hint of resin and a faint hint of smoke. Minimal hops. The mouthfeel is too thin.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Deep golden colour, slightly hazy, with a big and lasting white head. The aroma has notes of pale malts, fruity hops and honey, hints of resin. The flavour has pleasant fruity hops on a decent background of pale malts, hints of resin and maybe a little smoke in the finish. Nice one.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Brew #840. ABV is 4.5%. Pale golden colour, fairly clear, just a faint haziness. Big to moderate white head. Aroma of artificial "banana candy" (not very pleasant), also notes of honey, coriander and cloves. Fizzy mouthfeel. Like others have said the flavour is very estery and "wheat beer"-like, notes of coriander, cloves and banana (but not too much), refreshing and not too sweet. Moderate hops in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, brew #834, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Black colour, big to moderate creamy greyish brown head. Nice roasted aroma with notes of chocolate and coffee, some cheesy and slightly acidic notes too. The flavour is moderately sweet and roasted with a certain fruitiness, notes of coffee as expected. Ashy dry finish. Could have been better, could have been worse.

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

500 ml bottle, brew #830, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden to brown colour, slightly hazy, with a big head. The aroma has malts, some caramel, fruit and hops, also wood, juniper and resin, a hint of spices, maybe a faint hint of smoke too. The flavour is woody and resiny with decent hops, again with a hint of smoke. Has a flair of "traditional homebrew" this one. I like it!

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

500 ml bottle, brew #838, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Amber to brown colour, moderate off-white creamy head. The aroma has malts, some fruit, juniper, resin and hops. Fizzy mouthfeel, could have been fuller. The flavour has resin, some malts and moderate "dusty" / dry hops in the finish. Not bad, but probably better with "trøndersodd" than on its own.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Golden colour, low head, The aroma has notes of ripe yellow fruits, some flowers, toffee and butterscotch. The flavour has a noticeable fruitiness, hints of toffee and butterscotch again, "dry" continental hops in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, batch #262, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Also sampled at Håndverkerstuene. ABV is 7.5%. IBU 25, EBC 64. Black colour, moderate tan head. The "perfumed" aroma has notes of ripe dark fruits, woodwork, chocolate and mild coffee, hints of smoke. The flavour is well rounded and mellow for its strength, notes of dark malts with only a slight roastiness, hints of prunes, dark chocolate and mild coffee, moderate hops and a touch of smoke and juniper in the finish. Very drinkable. I wouldn’t mind having this served in my "gravøl", but as I won’t be able to sample it there myself, I’d better drink some more now!

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

330 ml green bottle, ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, big white head. Sweetish aroma of malts and unhopped wort, hints of caramel and hay. Sweetish flavour, some malts and "dust", but where are the hops? This is not good enough!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

500 ml retro-style bottle, from REMA 1000. ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of cooked vegetables, hints of pilsener malts, honey and flowers. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour had some sweetish and "dusty" malts, hints of wet cardboard, unpleasant citric and slightly metallic finish. Hardly any bitterness. Utterly bland and boring, most of it went down the sink. Not a beer I’ll buy again - ever. An insult to any lover of fine beer.

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

330 ml clear bottle with a tear-off cap (thought those went out of fashion in the 70s?). Distributed (and probably brewed) by Ringnes (Carlsberg) for the Norwegian market. ABV is 4.5%. Extremely pale and crystal clear yellow colour, big to moderate white head. Weak aroma with hints of pilsener malts and artificial lime flavouring. Sweetish sugary flavour with notes of artificial "lime" again - and nothing else. No bitterness, nor any other indications that this actually is a beer. Jeezes - what a worthless "beer"! I’d rather have a glass of mineral water with a twist of real lime. Ringnes/Carlsberg have once again shown us that Tuborg is chosen as their bog standard brand in Norway.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.0%. Reddish brown beer, big to moderate off-white head with a reddish hue. The aroma is yeasty and somehat alcoholic, with distinct and unusual notes of crowberries. The beer is fairly light bodied and refreshing for its strength. The crowberries come through nicely in the flavour, but the beer is neither very sweet nor very sour. Very moderately hopped, obviously with the intention of letting the crowberries stand out more, but I’d still like some more hoppy bitterness in the finish.