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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Batch #315, ABV is 6%. Hazy deep golden colour. Huge and rocky head, slightly off-white. Lovely aroma of fruity (passion fruit) and resinous hops. The flavour is again fruity and resinous hops throughout, notes of tropical fruits, with a sufficient malty backbone. Excellent beer, very enjoyable.

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

500 ml can, ABV 4.5%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate "dusty" aroma, some malts, a hint of caramel and grassy hops. The flavour is tolerably hoppy throughout (at least more than the ordinary Ringnes Pilsner), with hints of caramel and a fairly bitter finish.

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

On tap, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Black colour, big beige head. Strong aroma of smoked meat / bacon, also roasty notes. The flavour has also strong smokey notes, and moderate roasty notes. A bit too much "smoked meat" for my taste. Not very sweet. A "German Rauchbier meets Baltic Porter"-experience.

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

Bottle conditioned, at Cardinal’s "Onsdag i Annen". ABV is 4.7%. An unusual IPA, fermented with half-and-half witbier yeast and lager yeast. Has not been lagered. Contradictory information: Hops are either Chinook all the way, or EKG finished with Cascade. Cloudy golden colour, moderate white head. Catty and citric aroma. Citric and piney flavour, very nice, but a more pronounced "malty backbone" would be desirable. Still very enjoyable.

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

500 ml can, from REMA 1000. ABV is 4.7%. Will probably be retired tomorrow, due to "illegal alcohol advertising" on the can. That’s Nanny State Norway for you. Pale golden colour, moderate white head. Sweetish and sugary aroma, some grassy notes too. Fizzy mouthfeel. Sweetish, sugary and boring flavour, very moderate bitterness. Won’t be missed.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

500 ml bottle, from REMA 1000. ABV is 4.7%. Lade Gaards Brygghus does not exist, this is another fake "craft beer" brewed by Norway's crappiest brewery, Grans. Copper coloured beer, big cream-coloured head. Fairly nice aroma of butterscotch and caramel, hints of spices. Thin mouthfeel. The flavour has a slight acidity which seems totally misplaced in a dunkel, also notes of brown bread and caramel, but the beer is not vey sweet. Very moderate hops. Not much to write home about, but as this is Grans, it is still one of their "better" beers.

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

500 ml can. Pale yellow colour, pours very fizzy with a big white head. Sweetish and sugary aroma, some grassy notes too. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is not quite as bad as I feared, there are some bittering hops here, becoming metallic in the end. Not a beer I’ll buy again, though.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, as HaandBryggeriet Costa Rica Porter. Black colour, low tan head. Lovely aroma of mild coffee and dark chocolate, a hint of cigarbox. Medium dry flavour with coffee, dark chocolate and a touch of tar and smoke. Another good beer from HaandBryggeriet!

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10%. Pitch black colour, large to moderate tan head. Strong sweetish aroma of malts, molasses, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, oak and American whiskey. The flavour has very much the same elements, but the Jack Daniels whiskey is even more in front now. This beer has earned its position in the Top Division of Norwegian beers!

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

(Also known as Aass Dark.) A quite acceptable Norwegian Bayer, but not as rich flavour as I expected. Rerate: This beer grows on you - the bitterness and burnt tastenotes make this beer probably the best all-year Norwegian beer for the grocery store market (ABV < 4.75%) there is.

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

ABV in Norway is 4.5%. I'm sure the (slightly stronger) export version is even better, if you get it fresh. This beer is basically a pilsener (Saaz hops), but brewed with a certain amount of Munich malts to give it some of the rounded flavour of a Munich dunkel. Not a bad marriage, I'd say.

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

Why do they call it "fatøl" (="draught beer") when it actually comes out of a bottle or can?? Anyway, the flavour is quite acceptable. A reasonably drinkable average lager, just slightly darker than their pilsener.

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

In Norway it's only 4.5% ABV. Regarded as an average pils here, but it's actually quite clean tasting and decent as far as Norwegian pilseners go. Crisp, refreshing. The somewhat stronger export version is of course more powerful and probably slightly better.

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

Surprisingly weak aroma, pleasant flavour that won't offend anyone, moderate hops in the aftertaste. Slightly sweet. Rather low ABV for a "gulløl", or "eksport" as the style of strong pale lagers traditionally has been called in Norway.

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

Like all Norwegian pilseners aggressively carbonated. Not the best Norwegian brand. It's brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot and is drinkable, but really not much more. There's a bread-dough character that I don't like much. Lacks the crisp hoppiness that a good pilsener should have. Slightly better on tap than bottled IMO.

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

The Norwegian Hansa beers have no connection with Namibian or German (DAB) Hansa beers. This one is a fairly malty pilsener of acceptable quality, IMO one of the better Norwegian macro pilseners. There's actually a bit of flavour here. The Hansa Borg brewery group has 3 breweries: Hansa Bryggeri in Bergen, Christianssands Bryggeri (CB) in Kristiansand and Borg Bryggeri in Sarpsborg.

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

A middle-of-the-road pilsener / lager from the world's northernmost commercial brewery (there's a brewpub further north, in Honningsvåg). Rerate: Typical pils golden colour, slightly darker than Mack Arctic Beer. Good head, fairly malty aroma for a pils, malty sweetness in the flavour, moderate bitterness. Just another pils, really.

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

33 cl bottle, served too cold at Lorry Restaurant, Oslo. Reddish brown colour, moderate to low head. Moderate malty aroma with notes of slightly burnt caramel, hints of tobacco. Disappointingly bland flavour, some malts and caramel, thin and watery mouthfeel. Low on hops. Little aftertaste.

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

Not as good as Aass Bock in any way, considerably thinner, fairly light brown colour, weaker aroma, more of a refreshment beer than a sipping beer, still it's drinkable - probably Mack's best product after all.

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

Rerate, new 500 ml bottle design as Mack GullMack, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Pale yellow colour (paler than before?), big to moderate white head. Aroma of grassy hops and sweetish malts. The flavour is fairly sweet and sugary, with too little bitterness to balance it. Still drinkable. Original Rating: This is a strong pale lager (colour is deeper golden than a pilsener) in the Norwegian "eksport" (Danish: "guldøl") tradition. Aroma and flavour are a bit sweet, tolerably malty, a bit alcoholic but not overwhelmingly. Fairly decent for a Mack product.

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

Mack Juleøl (klasse D) is made for the Norwegian grocery store market (= ABV less than 4.75%). Rated 0,5 liter can 2002 - new recipe. Copper coloured, good thick head. Peculiar aroma - initially acidic, later dusty with spices: salt of hartshorn, cloves and cardamom - like stale Christmas cookies in March. Less prominent spices in the flavour, thin and watery mouthfeel. Aftertaste does not last for long. If you can't have the "klasse F" Juleøl, Mack's Julespesial is at least a better alternative in the "klasse D" than this one.

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

This one has traditionally been the thinnest of Norwegian "klasse F" Yule/Christmas beers - the brewery made a slightly darker brew this year. Not as bad the ratings in Norwegian newspapers tell you. Reasonably malty, nutty, some caramel/toffee.

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

For a "klasse D" (= too low ABV, for the Norwegian grocery store market) Christmas brew this is not too bad. Reddish brown colour, good head, mild spices in the aroma. Very well balanced light malty sweetness vs. hoppy dryness. But of course, the inevitable watery mouthfeel of a "klasse D" Christmas brew is there. Lacks "punch" - it's not a brew that will kick off knife-fights, like an "Olde Norse" Yule/Christmas brew should(!) Still better than Mack Juleøl (klasse D), but not as good as their Juleøl (klasse F).

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Thick sediment in bottle. I turned the bottle upside down a couple of times, like the brewers recommend, to get maximum pleasure out of the yeast. The result was that my pants now have the unmistakenly typical witbier aroma of coriander, cloves, over-ripe bananas and orange peel. The rest of the beer hit my glass, and there the aroma was even better! After the ENORMOUS foamy head had subsided a little, I found out there was actually beer underneath - colour: Cloudy golden, nearly brownish. Flavour: Again typical wit - coriander, cloves and orange peel. Very refreshing. Moderate aftertaste. How wonderful that the "lager desert" of Norway now has an uncompromising micro brewery that DARE make good beer!

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Rerate: This time I had the beer from a fresh batch, and the dead yeast aroma and flavour was gone. Instead the aroma and flavour were now overpowering yeasty - but from fresh yeast this time(which is not unpleasant). Far better, but I still think the brewers use too much yeast in this brew. But the head of this beer is less enormous when poured than many other weissbiers. So far the least interesting of the Nøgne Ø beers I've had. Original rating: (500 ml bottle). Thick sediment in bottle. Like the brewers recommend, I turned the bottle upside down a couple of times to get the maximum out of the yeast, but having my experience with the Wit in fresh memory, I waited a little longer before opening the bottle this time! Pours with a large head, but not quite as large as some other Weissbiers. Colour is cloudy golden. Weird aroma, not typical hefe. The cloves are there, but the dominant smell is of dead yeast. Must have been over the top, despite "brewed date" being 21.06.03, and "best before date" being 21.06.04. I have a few bottles left, think I'll leave the sediment alone in those. Flavour is OK, but nothing special. Drier than most German Hefeweizens.