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

Draught, sampled at Gladmatfestivalen, Stavanger. Unfortunately served far too cold. This is a good dark amber/brown ale (and Norwegian ales are rare!), not a stout as the name implies. Slightly cloudy appearance. Moderately hopped, malty well balanced rounded flavour. Hints of yeast. Caramel malts must be among the 5 types used. This "farm brewery" is about 7 years old, built in an old sheepshed! Their 3 ales are mainly available in Valdres, mostly draught but some of their production is bottled too. They also have a tiny pub at the brewery that's open only Friday nights, or at other hours for groups by appointment.

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

Draught, sampled at Gladmat festivalen, Stavanger, served too cold. This is a light bodied golden ale with a low head, obviously brewed to satisfy the majority of Norwegian beer drinkers who believe that beer = pilsener. This will be the first ale that many of them have ever tasted, and as an introduction to the world of ales for "the ignorant multitude" this is acceptable. But the experienced ale drinker will find that "Kvek" (Valdres dialect for being quick, bright, alert, vigilant) has just too little of everything, even though there’s nothing wrong or offensive about it. Light maltiness and fruitiness in aroma and flavour. If given the choice, I’d prefer this ale to most pilseners, but if you have access to the products of the Valdres farm brewery, their "Staut" dark ale is the one you’ll want. Also sampled bottled, even more boring than from draught.

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

750 ml screwcap green bottle, from Vinmonopolet (bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 11%. Pours moderately sparkling, no lasting head. Very pale golden colour. Aroma of sweet eating apples, also notes of cider apples and flowers. The flavour is medium sweet (or perhaps medium dry?), anyway this is the driest Norwegian cider I have tasted so far (most of them are made with sweet apples only). The flavour has again a mix of sweet eating apples and moderately bitter cider apples, unfortunately the alcohol is fairly noticeable. Bitter finish.

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

330 ml bottle, thanks to OleR. ABV is 4.7%. Unpretentious name and label design from Mack this time. Pale golden colour, big white head. Tolerable but sweetish pilsener aroma, notes of apples, grass and flowers. The flavour is fresh, slightly fruity and fairly crisp, but the finish is too "empty", more hoppy bitterness would be desirable. Goes down well though.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Opaque black colour, dark ruby in the highlights. Nice and creamy beige head. Very interesting aroma, strong notes of raspberries and balsamic vinegar, on a subtle background of vanilla, malts and chocolate. The flavour was extremely sour and acidic, with notes of raspberries, red wine vinegar and undefined sour fruits, hints of chocolate. Interesting beer, but too far out on the sour side to be a favourite of mine. Maybe not a good idea to make a DARK beer this sour? - people kind of expect a fairly different flavour profile from the dark stuff.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is formidable 13.25%. Very cloudy brown colour, moderate creamy head. Pleasant aroma of malts, caramel and raisins. Incredibly warming mouthfeel. The flavour has loads of malty sweetness, notes of rum-raisin and caramel, balanced by a distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8%. Despite being brewed with some brettanomyces and bacteria, this is a Fruit Beer, not a Sour Ale. Starts pouring out of the bottle by its own will. Brownish red colour, moderate head. Pleasant aroma of "tyttebær" / lingonberries (= a kind of wild Nordic mountain / forest cranberries), also notes of "old farmhouse attic". The flavour has distinct notes of tyttebær, and is fairly dry, with a very moderate acidity (much less than expected). This is no fruit lambic. The finish is a bit "empty", I’d like some bitterness there. The 8% alcohol is nowhere to be found though - untill you rise from the chair ... If I did not know the ABV, I would recommend this as a nice refreshment beer after hard work, fridge cold. As it warms up, it does not improve, and while still being definitely drinkable, it does not quite live up to the high standards of Nøgne Ø. Should (and will) not be a permanent beer in the Nøgne Ø range.

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

330 ml clear glass bottles. A 'continental' style pils, good head, initial flavour is not unpleasant - that is, if you can find any flavour at all. Lightly hopped - in fact, lightly anything. Metallic aftertaste. At least this one is slightly better than Gran's 'Premium' pilsner.

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

Slightly darker than Gran's other pils varieties, bland and uninteresting like all products from this brewery. Sold in 1.25 liter plastic bottles only.

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

(500 ml can). Brewed "under licence" (my ass!) in Denmark, no doubt by Gran's Danish partner brewery Harboe. Very pale golden brew, decent head. Quite strong fruity sweet aroma, not really good but not offensive either. Flavour is typical Harboe = completely uninteresting, a bit on the sweet side, low bitterness. Little aftertaste - at least you don't get the normal Grans metallicness.

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

330 ml bottle. Norway's cheapest 'summer beer' (they are all very pale, thin and boring beers). Very pale colour, moderate head. Weak grassy aroma. Little or no taste. Forget it!

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

330 ml clear bottle. Deep golden colour. A little münchener malt added does not keep this 'special beer' from being just another bland and uninteresting brew on the Gran's list. Foul aftertaste like the rest of them.

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

500 ml can. Pale golden colour, decent head. Weak aroma of rotting grass and cabbage + boiled vegetables. Some malts in the flavour, otherwise this a boring and uninteresting pale lager. Boiled vegetables in the finish. Minimal hops.

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

A new "klasse D" (grocery store strength) beer, introduced Christmas 2006. 330 ml green bottle. Copper coloured, large and creamy light tan head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of bakery, caramel, juniper berries and wild cranberries. Flavour has a noticeable malts and caramel sweetness with some bready notes, faint hints of spices, minimal hops, short and slightly dusty finish. Minimal and boring afteraste. Too thin mouthfeel for a "juleøl", despite the initial sweetness. Won’t be my choice for "the meat dishes of Christmas" this one.

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

330 ml green bottle. Looks rather good, brown colour, large and lingering off-white head. Tolerable malty aroma with hints of bakery and caramel, the usual Munkholm "boiledness" is subdued in the background. Acceptable (for a n/a beer, that is) flavour of malts with some burnt caramel notes, metallic hops in the finish. The "best" (= least miserable) of the Munkholm varieties so far.

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

330 ml green bottle. Golden to amber colour, large and lingering head, slightly off-white. Aroma has more of the usual Munkholm "boiledness" (over-boiled vegetables or porridge) than the "Til julens kjøttretter"-variety has. Some fruity hints too. Flavour is relatively dry, notes of over-boiled vegetables, a tolerable bitterness in the finish. Not a drainpour, but not good either.

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

500 ml brown bottle, Vinmonopolet. Batch #46. Bottle conditioned. Dark brown colour. Huge and creamy long-lasting tan head. Pleasant aroma of roast malts, dried fruits, mild coffee and chocolate. Flavour has also plenty of roast malts, moderately sweet, with coffee and dark bitter chocolate in the long aftertaste. Good beer, but Nissefar is even better

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

330 ml clear bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. This "Indian" beer is a gimmick brew of Trio Bryggeri (50% Mack owned), Skien, Norway. The beer is brewed with "the purest Norwegian water", but claims to be a "Product of India - Chakra Brewery". There is no evidence on the internet to suggest that the "Chakra Brewery" actually exists. And even if it did exist, it would hardly brew with "Norwegian water", would it? The beer is extremely pale yellow coloured, with a low head that disappears rapidly. The "skunky" / fruity / lemony whiff in the aroma is actually the best thing about this beer. Flavour is very bland and dull with just a hint of lemons, hardly any bitterness. Fizzy mouthfeel. Ice cold it may serve as a thirstquencher, or to wash down a hot curry, but for people looking for tasty beers, this is one to pass.

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

330 ml brown bottle, bought at ICA Middelthon. The first top-fermented beer from Aass in years (they had a brief and unsuccessful try with Aass Hveteøl in 1986). Reddish amber colour. Large and lingering off-white head. Aroma is fruity and moderately spicy, quite nice. Flavour is fruity sweet & sour, with notes of caramel malts. Thin and watery mouthfeel. Not much hops around, weak notes of "dusty" hops and some spice in the finish. Props to Aass for taking a few steps down the Ale Road, but they have a long way to go!

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

330 ml green bottle. Amber coloured, large off-white head. Weak aroma with hints of berries (incl. juniper berries?) and boiled vegetables. Flavour has very moderate malts and hops (and possibly bog myrtle), notes of caramel but not very sweet. Thin and faintly sourish mouthfeel. A very boring beer, but not offensive.

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

500 ml can. Another beer from Mack for the target group teenagers+ (who are presumed not to be able to drink beers with traceable hops), but this time they have decided to make a beer that (at least) LOOKS like a normal Christmas beer. And unlike their "smrprty" beer, this one even has a bit of aroma and flavour (but not much hops, of course ...). Amber colour, huge head which lasts a while. Weak aroma, some caramel sweetness and Christmas cookies. Soft and thin/watery mouthfeel, some malty sweetness with hints of caramel and Christmas cookies. Hardly any bitterness at all. Not offensive, but very boring!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

330 ml brown bottle. The beer looks impressive - amber colour, with a huge and creamy long lasting head. Sickly sweet aroma of over-boiled vegetables and unfermented wort, typical n/a beer. The flavour is actually better than many other n/a beers (like the Munkholm range) - there is a certain maltiness with some caramel, and tolerable hops in the finish. If you MUST have a n/a beer, this one is at least (nearly) drinkable, if you can stand the smell.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Brewed for the 150th Anniversary/Jubilee of Steinkjer town. Unfiltered and unpasteurised, bottle conditioned. ABV is 4.7%. Pale yellow colour, slightly hazy, moderate white head. This beer is not "something completely different" to the degree of the "ordinary" Ølve på Egge (the latter is a presumed "Norse homebrew style" beer). This one is more like a British blonde ale, but notes of juniper branches in the moderate aroma and somewhat more distinct flavour still reminds you of its Norse heritage. Faint hints of smoke, tar and woodwork too. Light bodied, moderate hops in the finish. Worth a try.

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

500 ml can, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. A new beer from Ringnes - I thought this was supposed to be a Münchener dunkel, but it is more of a Münchener helles. Deep golden colour, decent head. Very moderate aroma, some fruity hops and boiled vegetables. Flavour has some dusty hops and a hint of caramel - and is otherwise utterly boring.

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

500 ml can. Golden colour, decent head. Sweetish flowery and fruity aroma, not unpleasant. Flavour has more sweetness than most pilseners and is not "crisp", but the hops are not very distinct. Not too bad though.