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

Like all "klasse F" Yule/Christmas beers, it is sold in Vinmonopolet stores only. This is it - forget the weaker ("klasse D") version! A good Christmas beer, great with traditional Norwegian Christmas fare. The quality varies a bit from one year to another, but is never bad.

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

This beer was designed to chase down a shot of "akevitt" (aquavit), the hard licquor that Norwegians drink at the pre-Christmas "julebord" (and hardly at any other time) to get senselessly drunk and incomprensibly stupid before scolding their boss, fighting their co-workers or stumbling off to have sex with the company’s 60 y.o. secretary. I actually had this beer WITHOUT the aquavit, and found it to be quite good for a "klasse D" (low ABV) Christmas beer. Brown colour, good head, spicy aroma and flavour with a distinct hoppiness. Moreish.

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

Lemon soda drinkers will regard this one as a lousy lemon soda, beer drinkers will regard it as a lousy beer. No one will be happy. We don't need it. (Well, if you're dying of thirst, you might find it refreshing - no alternatives given). Having written that, I found myself craving this beer a couple days later, on a very hot day. Strange ...

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

Another light beer (which in Norway always means low alcohol) that may keep you from dying of thirst when you have to drive. Actually, this one has acceptable hops as well, and is not too bad. Light coloured and less malty than other Norwegian light beers, it's still among the more drinkable of its kind (which doesn't say much, really).

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

A slightly-above-average golden lager (Easter seasonal) in a yellow can. Nothing offensive, nothing remarkable. But what makes it an EASTER brew?? Or is that a theological question?

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

Not THAT bad - a light/pale summer pilsener that's intended to run smoothly down your throat. It does. Period. Rerate: This year's production has not improved the quality. Why on earth do all Norwegian breweries insist on making light/pale, bland and totally uninteresting 'summer beers', when their ordinary pilsners are summer beers good enough?? (Actually, the ordinary ones are much better).

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

500 ml can. Another beer for the "low carb" craze people. Pale golden colour, head disappears rapidly. Moderate carbonation. Very weak aroma. I was thirsty when I drank it, it was refreshing - but so would a glass of mineral water have been. The lack of flavour is made more tolerable by the fact that there are no offensive side-flavours either. People who actually LIKE beer should avoid these low carb beers like the plague.

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

Maybe I'm just excited by the fact that an ALE actually is brewed by a Norwegian macro brewery (WOW!) - but I do find this one quite drinkable. Moderate head, malty aroma, nutty flavour, sweetish aftertaste. Not outstanding, but a good try!

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

(330 ml bottle). Deep reddish brown colour, good head. Aroma is initially liquid dishwashing soap, later the malts come through. Flavour is very malty and a bit too sweet, calls for a higher ABV. Borg (Sarpsborg) make the Christmas beers of two closed Østfold county breweries, Moss and Fredrikstad, besides their own product. At least they have the decency to use different recipes, and not just change labels.

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

E.C. Dahls brewery in Trondheim is now part of the Ringnes group. Their pils is a-little-above-average, easily drinkable thirst-quencher. Nothing remarkable.

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

Christmas beer sampled in May(!). Reddish brown colour, head disappears quickly, lovely spicy aroma (to some degree reminiscent of a Belgian strong ale, but less complex), mouthfeel is rather thin, flavour dominated by spices and caramel sweetness. Acceptable aftertaste that could have lasted longer. Not a bad brew, but several other Norwegian strong version Christmas beers are better.

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

Used to be my favourite Norwegian pilsener for a (rare) warm summer's day, easy drinking but a lot better than the various tasteless "sommerøl" (summer specials) being marketed these days. Arendals Pils is still being being brewed in Arendal, one of Norway's "summer towns" on the South Coast, but Ringnes have been threatening to close Arendals Bryggeri. This refreshing pils could still use a little more hoppy "bite".

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

Ringnes first tried to call this beer "Loaded" (clearly identifiing the target consumer group), but that was stopped by the Norwegian "Morality Police". Head disappears quickly, colour just slightly darker than a pils, sweet aroma of fruit, vegetables and alcohol, flavour grossly dominated by alcohol and not very good hops, unpleasant aftertaste that luckily doesn't last for long. Not a beer I'll buy again. This shit won't even get me drunk fast (despite 10.2% ABV), as I just can't manage swallowing it fast. Urk!

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

Another 'draught' beer that comes out of a can. (Sigh!) Golden colour, weak aroma, head disappears quickly. The flavour is not something you'll remember, aftertaste has some (fairly unpleasant) bitterness. No favourite of mine.

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

Medium brown colour, moderate head, typical Munich dunkel malty and slightly spicy aroma, well balanced malty flavour, very close to the ordinary Frydenlund Bayer. Pleasant aftertaste. Very good for a "klasse D" (moderate ABV) beer. (Frydenlund was Ringnes' Oslo competitor, which they bought and closed about 15 years ago. At least they kept the recipes and the yeast - this is one of the beers that Ringnes now brew under the Frydenlund label.)

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

Among the better Norwegian "klasse F" Christmas beers. Somewhat dryer than the bulk of them. Christmas is the only time of the year when the majority of Norwegians drink other types of beer than pilsener / pale lager!

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

Reddish brown colour, moderate head. Mild spicy aroma. Malty sweetness is not overdone, hops are there too. Well balanced, not bad for a "klasse D" Christmas beer - but of course the mouthfeel is a bit watery due to the low ABV.

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

This was my favourite Oslo pilsener many years ago when Frydenlund Bryggeri existed in its own right (and I literally lived next door to the brewery a couple years!), but Ringnes' revival of the brew is not bad - it just isn't quite as fresh and spritzy as i remember it. (But then my memory isn't what it used to be, either...) Well, this is a pale golden, medium hopped pils, perhaps more rounded than a pils ought to be, well worth sampling but nothing that will linger in your dreams.

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

"Better" than most Norwegian ice beers - but still an ice beer! - which means that they are basically tasteless pale lagers for people who really don't like the taste of beer, but want the buzz.

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

"Double Ice Light" - well, at least the name tells you what to expect - pure misery. Ice beers are brewed to have as little flavour as possible, still keeping a normal alcohol content. (For people who don't like beer, but still want a buzz). Light (meaning low ABV) beers in Norway are brewed (unsuccessfully, mostly) for people who have to drive, but still want at least a trace of beer flavour. Behold - here's at last a beer that combines the worst of two worlds: no flavour and hardly any alcohol!

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

(500 ml can). Very pale golden colour, decent head. Weak aroma, but some pleasant aromatic hops are there. Little flavour and aftertaste as expected, at least it’s not offensive. Hardly discernible from the ordinary Lysholmer Double Ice. Clean enough to be a tolerable thirstquencher - if you look for taste, look somewhere else.

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

(440 ml can.) I knew what to expect here, but bought a can to rate it anyway! Pale golden colour, fizzy like a soda, no head. A slight fruitiness in the weak aroma, flavour is next to none. Fizzy water with alcohol. "To be served ice cold" - bah! Swill drinkers who love American "light" or low carb beers have now found a way to survive in Norway. People who love real beer, on the other hand, should avoid this sorry excuse of a "beer" by all means.

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

Rerate: Apparently they have changed the recipe now. Colour is much paler, flavour more like a standard Ringnes pils. Average at the best. Original rating: Malty and fruity flavour with some bitterness, hints of spices. Lots of taste for a lager, not among the most 'easily drinkable'. You'd think the alcohol content was higher than it actually is.

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

For a non-alcoholic beer (which in itself is a bad idea) this one at least has some traces of initial beer flavour, with an unpleasant medicine-like bitter finish. Good lasting head, weak aroma. Unless you INSIST on having a n/a beer, there's really no reason to sample this one.

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

440 ml can. Brownish colour, moderate head. The usual disgusting Munkholm aroma and flavour of over-boiled vegetables. Some wet cardboard notes for good measure. Couldn’t finish it. Drainpour.