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

Rerate, 330 ml bottle, batch #4, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. BB 03.09. When opening the bottle, the beer starts pouring out by itself. Very cloudy / murky brown colour, huge beige head. The aroma is malty and "raw", notes of hops, juniper and damp forest too. The flavour is much better than previous batches: hoppy and piney flavour, notes of juniper too, not too acidic. Distinct bitterness. Reminiscent of traditional homebrew. I’m upping it several points. Original rating: 330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Brew nr. 1 from this new Norwegian micro brewery. Called an "ESB spesial". BB date 1.7.08. ABV is 6.5%. Thick sediment in the bottle. Orange colour, clear first, cloudy when the sediment is poured in. Large and lasting off-white head with an orangey hue. Distinctly hoppy aroma, notes of yeast, hints of oak and barnyard. The flavour is very acidic, (nearly) closer to a lambic than an ESB. Is there a severe infection problem here? I can’t believe they intended the beer to come out like this - and cellaring it will surely not help. Still drinkable, when you get used to the acidity. There’s a certain hoppy bite in the finish.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 3

330 ml bottle, bought at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 5.5%. Brew nr. 4, B.B. date 09.08. Thick sediment in the bottle. Hazy pale golden colour, huge and lasting white head. Strong fruity / hoppy aroma, but even stronger notes of yeast and spices and a blooming infection. The flavour is very acidic and lemony, nearly lambic-like, just like their Kvernknurr. Not much to remind you of a pilsener here. This new brewery obviously has some severe infection problems - if they don’t ship up pretty fast, they’ll be out of business before you know it.

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

330 ml slimline can. ABV is 4.7%. Brewed with ecological (organic) ingredients. Crystal clear pale yellow beer with big bubbles and a decent white head. Sweetish aroma, fruity first, then only some maize and grain notes remain. Fizzy mouthfeel. Sweetish and sugary flavour, some malty notes, minimal bitterness. Drinkable, but far from interesting, and over-priced.

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

330 ml slimline can. ABV is 4.7%. Brewed with ecological (organic) ingredients. Pale brown colour, more like a Vienna than a dunkel ("bayer" in Norwegian) which it claims to be. Decent white (okay, maybe off-white) head. Moderate aroma with some fruity notes, also weak notes of caramel and malts. Moderate carbonation in the glass, soft and thin mouthfeel. Bland flavour, some caramel and malts, minimal hops. Easy drinking, but certainly no masterpiece.

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

Sampled 330 ml green bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. Brown colour. Very moderate "dunkel" aroma. Rounded, mellow and soft flavour with some caramel. Not impressive, average at the best.

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

330 ml green bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Intended to be 12% ABV - the brewery had printed labels and all, but the beer stopped at 7.5%! The brewery had to make additional stickers with the new ABV. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Nice and creamy tan head. Sweetish malty aroma with notes of coffee, leather, liquorice and oak. Very sweet flavour, bordering on "cloying". Roast malts, coffee, oak, liquorice. Some more hops in the finish would have been nice. It will be interesting to see if the brewery can brew a better fermented beer next year, and achieve their 12%.

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

330 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, pub, Stavanger. Chestnut to mahogany colour, moderate creamy head. Aroma of moderately roasted malts, a hint of smoked malts, mild spices, caramel and oak. The flavour has caramel, spices, a hint of smoke again, moderate hops in the finish. Lervig’s best product so far.

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

Rerate, 2005, 330 ml bottle: This is the first year that this beer is actually brewed by Lervig in Stavanger, but they haven’t changed the recipe much since it was contract brewed by Mack/Trio. "Gledelige" has been added to the name. It is still a very unpretentious "klasse D" juleøl, but I somehow think the hops are slightly better this year. Easy drinking, not offensive, OK with a meal, but not a "big" beer in any way. Original rating, 2003: (330 ml bottle). Norwegian "klasse D" Yule beer. Copper coloured, good head. Malty aroma with hints of caramel and oak. You don’t expect much from the grocery store versions of "juleøl" - and (at least in this case) you don’t get much either. Nothing offensive about it, just a one-dimensional beer with some maltiness (but not too sweet) and just a hint of toffee and oak - hardly any spices. Okay to wash down a meal, but for Christmas you want something better than this!

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

500 ml bottle, many thanks to Ole_R ! Batch nr. 58, brewed Nov. 06, BB Nov. 08. ABV is 4.5%. Black colour, reddish brown in the highlights, huge, creamy and lasting brown head. Lovely aroma of chocolate, coffee and roasted malts. Nice roasty flavour, notes of roasted / burnt malts and coffee. Fairly dry, medium mouthfeel. Moderately bitter finish.

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

500 ml can. ABV is 4.6%. Deep golden colour, large head. Weak sweetish and "unfresh" aroma with notes of boiled vegetables, hints of cinnamon. Moderate carbonation. The flavour is like one of Ringnes’ other uninteresting and sweetish "modern" lagers, with some cinnamon added. Drinkable, but not a beer that will bring much happiness to your Christmas, that’s for sure.

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

(330 ml clear bottle). Pours with a good head, beautiful copper colour. Aroma of caramel, oak and spices. Flavour is malty and a bit alcoholic, more bitterness than most "juleøl" - but not very complex. Quite dry for a juleøl. Aass "klasse F Juleøl" is a better choice. Rerate 2007: More malty sweetness this year, but not overdone like Ringnes Juleøl. Nice.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

(330 ml bottle). Beautiful red colour, good thick head. Malty aroma with plenty caramel, hints of Christmas spices. Flavour is not very complex or exciting, mouthfeel a bit watery as expected from a "klasse D" (grocery store version) juleøl. A slight hoppy bitterness in the finish.

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

500 ml can. Crystal clear pale golden colour, large and lasting head. Sweetish aroma, notes of boiled vegetables and candy. Some sugary sweetness in the flavour too. Minimal hops. Not undrinkable, but nothing to write home about.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

330 ml bottle. ABV is 2.5%. Pale golden colour, large to moderate head. The aroma has malts, hay and cooked vegetables. Thin and watery mouthfeel, unpleasant dusty and grainy flavour. Hardly any bitterness. Not good.

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

330 ml clear bottle, thanks to yngwie! ABV is 4.7%. Pale golden colour, large head. Aroma of pilsener malts and boiled vegetables. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour has, unlike most Norwegian "Sommerøl", actually traces of both malts and hops, with a moderate sweetness. Not a great beer, but better than I feared.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Brewed in Denmark while Dalane Brygghus are setting up their own facilities. Chestnut coloured beer, moderate tan head. Despite being "inspired by German bocks", it has the strength and flavour of a Münchener dunkel, with Christmas spices added. Nice aroma of caramel malts and Christmas spices. The mouthfeel is somewhat "flat" or even "dead". The flavour is malty with very modest hops, and rather moderate spices. Okay, but lacks the full and rich flavour of the stronger Juleøl that we REALLY want for the Yuletide.

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

330 ml green bottle. Like all Grans beers, it is available only in REMA 1000 stores. Bronze coloured beer, large off-white head. The aroma has notes of malts, caramel and cooked vegetables, hints of spices. Fairly thin mouthfeel, as expected from a 2.4% beer, but the flavour actually has SOME malts and hops, with a slightly sourish finish - so the beer is a little "better" than I feared.

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

On tap at the brewpub. The ABV (2007 batch) was said to be 5.0%. Beautiful dark ruby colour, low head. The aroma has dark fruits, moderate malts and hints of spices. The flavour has some burnt caramel and is fairly malty, with some smokiness and hints of tar, dry finish. Nice.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

On tap at the brewpub, the ABV was said to be 4.3%. Is this really supposed to be a kölsch, or is it a pale lager? A "summer beer" ? - well, we had it on the 4th of January! Very pale golden colour, low head. Pleasant aroma of butterscotch (diacetyl). Notes of butterscotch in the flavour too, but very (too) light bodied, without sufficient hops. I had most of the beer with my burger and sweet chili sauce - the beer was definitely no match for the meal.

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

On tap at the brewpub. ABV was said to be 4.7%. Pale golden colour, low head. Pleasant aroma of butterscotch, honey and some fruit. Tolerable pilsener flavour, slightly above average, but some more hops would have been nice.

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

On tap at the brewpub. ABV was said to be 4.7%. Black colour, dark ruby in the highlights, low head. Moderate roasty aroma, notes of chocolate. Roasty flavour, nice but fairly mellow, notes of chocolate but fairly dry. Good, but too "modest" in its touch.

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

On tap at the brewpub, ABV was 5.2%. "Orange brown" colour, low head. Lovely hoppy aroma (American hops), fruity / citrus / blackcurrants. The flavour has also a decent amount of American hops, decent malts too. A very nice and drinkable beer.

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

500 ml bottle, thanks to Ole_R. Like all Haandbryggeriet beers it is bottle conditioned. ABV is 4.5%. Malts include wheat malt and Münchener malt. Batch No. 102. Brewed Oct. 2007, BB date March 2009. Mahogany coloured beer, hazy when the sediment is poured. Moderate beige head. Moderate aroma of malts, bakery and chocolate, hints of spices. The flavour is fruity and slightly acidic, with distinct notes of Münchener malts. The finish is spicy with a sharp bitterness. Not a bad beer, but it somehow seems a bit unbalanced - the flavour elements don’t blend together very well. I am not sure if this is a recipe worth repeating next year.

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

330 ml green bottle, thanks to Ole_R. I also bought a couple bottles at Fenaknoken, Oslo. ABV is 4.65%. Batch #81, BB 26.09.08. Unfiltered and unpasteurised, sediment in the bottle. The beer is intended as an accompaniment to "rakfisk" or "rakaure", = half-fermented trout (or other freshwater fish). Olav Wangensten AS produces this strange smelling but lovely tasting treat, and has commissioned this beer from Atna to go with it. Amber coloured beer, very cloudy when the sediment is poured. Moderate creamy head. Nice aroma of yeast, fermenting fruit and farmhouse kitchen. The flavour is quite yeasty with a moderate fruitiness and pleasant hops. Maybe a good idea to pour carefully and leave the sediment in the bottle with this one. I’m sure the beer goes well with rakfisk, but it is worth drinking on its own too.

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

500 ml can. Pale golden colour, decent white head. The usual n/a sickly "boiled" notes (over-boiled vegetables, maize grit) in the aroma (and to some extent in the flavour too). The flavour also has some malty sweetness and noticeable hops, which means that the beer is not totally undrinkable. I’d be fairly desperate for something cold and wet if I ever buy this n/a beer again, though.