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

Sample from 500 ml can, Aass Brewery stand at Smak 09. ABV is 4.7%. Deep golden colour, moderate head. Moderate notes of caramel in the aroma. The flavour has moderate caramel malts and a moderate bitterness in the finish. Drinkable, but not very exciting. You’d think they would come up with something better for a jubilee.

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

Sample from 500 ml can, Aass Brewery stand at Smak 09. ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, low head. Minimal aroma, just a slight fruitiness. Bland flavour, a little pilsener malts and butterscotch, minimal bitterness. Are "the youth segment" of the Norwegian pale lager market happy now?

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

500 ml bottle, 6 months past BB date, kindly shared by OleR. ABV is 6.2%. Deep golden colour, cloudy, big to moderate head. Hoppy, grainy and somewhat perfumed aroma and flavour. Oxidized. Drank it too warm though.

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

Sample from 500 ml can, at the Mack stand, Smak 09. ABV is 4.7%. Another low carb beer, what have we done to deserve this? Pale golden colour, low head. The aroma (as far as there is any) has a moderate fruitiness, not unpleasant though. Sharpish mouthfeel. Minimal flavour, but there are some very moderate hops in the finish. Boring.

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

500 ml can, thanks to OleR. ABV is 4.7%. Brown to copper coloured beer, big and lasting cream coloured head. Moderate aroma of caramel, malts and nuts, hints of bakery and some fruit. The flavour is malty and nutty, notes of caramel but the beer is not too sweet. Low bitterness. The mouthfeel reveals that this is a "grocery store strength" juleøl, but as such it is not too bad at all.

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

330 ml bottle. Pale golden colour, fluffy head. Strong smell (I hesitate to use the word "aroma") of grit and extremely over-cooked vegetables. Nasty. Flavour is typical n/a lager, "boiledness" / over-cooked vegetables again, too sweet. Just a faint bitterness in the finish. Bad.

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

330 ml bottle, thanks to OleR. Amber to brown colour, moderate off-white head. Typical n/a beer aroma of over-boiled vegetables and baby porridge, but also malts and caramel. The flavour is not too sweet, moderately grainy with hints of caramel. There is a noticeable presence of herbal hops too, so for a n/a beer this one is not undrinkable when cold.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, unfiltered and unpasteurised. ABV is 6.5%. Will possibly be available in a filtered and pasteurised version later on? Deep red to dark brown colour, low tan head which leaves a nice lacing. The aroma has distinct notes of butterscotch, also notes of malts, dried fruits and sherry, quite nice. The flavour is malty and very fruity with vinous notes, also notes of caramel, low bitterness. The fruitiness is quite a surprise in a bock, and will probably be less distinct in a pasteurised version. I’d like a more pronounced hoppy bitterness, though.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Vaaland, Bryne. "Grocery store version" at 4.7% ABV. Mahogany coloured beer (I’ve never seen "amber" this dark!), moderate but lasting creamy head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of Cascade hops, hints of malts and caramel too. The flavour has dominant Cascade on a (barely) sufficient malty background, hints of burnt caramel but the beer is not sweet. Bitter aftertaste. The mouthfeel is slightly thinner than the stronger version. This is one of the better non-bottle-conditioned beers on the Norwegian grocery store market, well worth sampling.

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

500 ml bottle, batch #100, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 11%, 26 P, 50 IBU. Very dark brown colour, nearly black, with a moderate but lasting tan head. Aroma of salt water, tar, smoke and some coffee. Full and rich mouthfeel. Excellent flavour, lots of chewey malty sweetness, roasted notes, coffee, tar, some liquorice, pine needles, salty finish, noticeable hops with just the right bitterness. Very well balanced. Another great achievement from Nøgne Ø.

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

330 ml green bottle, as Grans FRI Alkoholfritt ØL, from REMA 1000. Pale golden colour, big to moderate white head. Aroma of malts, baby porridge and cooked vegetables. Thin mouthfeel. The flavour has some malts and baby porridge again, minimal hops. Not quite as bad as some other n/a beers though, and not entirely undrinkable when cold.

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

500 ml can. Pale golden colour, fizzy shortlived head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Sweetish unpleasant aroma of artificial candy / pear drops. The flavour is "empty", not very sweet - but the little sweetness there is, actually constitutes most of the flavour. Pear drops in the finish. Hardly any hops. Even for a Lite-beer, this is really bad!

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

500 ml bottle, batch #195, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 11.0%. Pitch black colour, one of the darkest beers I’ve ever seen. Chocolate brown medium-sized creamy head, does not last forever. Unusual aroma of dark malts, coffee, chocolate, liquorice, prunes - some vinous notes too. The mouthfeel is first surprisingly light for such a strong and dark beer, probably due to the acidity. The flavour is very acidic and lemony, which is crashing completely with the other flavour elements: smoke, tar, coffee, liquorice. I’m sorry, but adding wild yeast to this brew was not a good idea. Without the wild yeast it would have been a great beer, now it’s too much on the weird side. Nice try, but won’t buy again.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

500 ml yellow can, from REMA 1000, ABV is 4.7%. Crystal clear very pale yellow colour, big to moderate white head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Sweetish aroma with notes of boiled vegetables and maize grit, hints of artificial candy and citrus. Soft mouthfeel. The flavour is fairly fresh with moderate notes of pilsener malts, weak hints of citrus. Very moderate hops in the finish. Not undrinkable.

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

500 ml can, ABV is 4.5%. Pale golden colour, big white head. Very moderate sweetish aroma, notes of candy. The flavour is utterly bland and boring, notes of pear drops in the sweetish finish. Another "lite" beer to be avoided.

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

330 ml brown bottle, bought at Berentsens Brygghus, Ølutsalget, Egersund. ABV is 4.7%. Brewed by Berentsens Brygghus according to old recipes from Moss Bryggeri. Very pale golden colour, big to moderate white head. Aroma of malts, baby porridge and cooked vegetables, reminds me of a n/a beer. Very little carbonation in the glass, soft mouthfeel. The flavour is fairly "neutral", with a very moderate malty sweetness and moderate hops. Far from undrinkable, but boring. I’d prefer Berentsens Rogalands Pils and Økologisk Pils to this one. I don’t really think it was a great service to the good people of Moss town to have this recipe revived.

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

330 ml clear bottle. ABV is 4.7%. Pale golden colour, big white head. Weak aroma, notes of wheat and citrus. The flavour is moderately sweetish and slightly wheaty with just a hint of citrus, nearly void of any bitterness. Boring and overpriced. Might possibly be the same beer as Aass After Ski, with a different label? The brewery denies this, though.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Unfiltered and unpasteurised Kellerbier. ABV is 4.7%. Cloudy pale golden colour, moderate white head. The aroma is yeasty and grassy, hints of honey. Moderate flavour with some hops, hints of citrus. Low bitterness. "Empty" mouthfeel. Not much to write home about here. Atna’s organic "Nakenbad" is a better choice.

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

330 ml clear bottle, from REMA 1000. ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, big white head. Aroma of over-boiled vegetables and maize baby porridge, also notes of grassy hops. The flavour is moderately citrussy (which is quite nice) and slightly grassy, some sweetness but not too bad, minimal bitterness. Empty finish.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.0%. Hazy brownish yellow colour, huge white head. Lovely aroma of Belgian ale yeast, fruits and spices. The flavour is fairly sweet (maybe a tad too sweet? - or maybe not) with a distinct spiciness, some fruit and noticeable hops. Good stuff.

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

330 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Also sampled on tap at Cardinal. ABV is 4.7%. Very pale greyish yellow colour, cloudy. Big white head. Typical lovely witbier aroma, notes of citrus and coriander, also notes of cloves and bananas. Very refreshing. The flavour is again typical witbier, coriander and citrus again, with noticeable hops in the finish. This is definitely a beer from Lervig that I will buy again!

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, served in correct Ægir glass. Also available bottled. ABV is 4.7%. Deep amber colour, moderate off-white head, leaving a nice lacing. Nutty and toffee aroma, also notes of red berries, hints of butterscotch. The flavour is fairly dry (much drier than a dunkel) and nutty, with decent (German?) hops.

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

500 ml bottle, at Olympen, Oslo. Brew #849. ABV is 4.5%. Served too cold. Amber colour, moderate head. Moderate but nice aroma of fruity hops, hints of orange marmalade and resin. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, with resinous notes, bitter aftertaste.

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

330 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Unfiltered and unpasteurised pilsener (or rather: Kellerbier), brewed with organic ingredients. Cloudy golden colour, moderate white head. The aroma is yeasty, fresh and fruity, notes of citrus and apples, hints of spices. The flavour has also fruity notes with hints of yeast and spices, ending in a bitter finish. Not too bad.

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

Draught at Gladmatfestivalen 2004, Stavanger. Served cool, not ice cold. Low head, low carbonation. Hazy brown colour. Lovely aroma of juniper and wet fir trees. This is a modern rendition of traditional Norwegian farm ales, where juniper was used for flavouring and better preservation of the beer, at a time when hops were unknown or hard to get this far north. Flavour is all juniper and malts, quite lightbodied and refreshing. Not very complex, but darn good all the same. In order to fully appreciate a beer like this, you should spend a day of hard work stacking hay on a small Norwegian farm on one of our (rare) warm summer days. If you, on such a day, after tasting this beer say "I’d rather have a Budweiser", you’re a very sick person, and need to seek professional help. Or you could offer prayers to St. Judas, the patron saint of Hopeless Cases.