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

(330 ml clear bottle). Very pale straw coloured, moderate head, very weak aroma but not offensive, flavour is close to zero, carbonated water with just some faint notes of malts and hops. Little aftertaste, the well known Munkholm metallicness is there, but not as dominant as in the ordinary Munkholm. I'd rather have carbonated water. Honestly, I would.

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

One of the better Norwegian pilseners. Easily drinkable, but could with advantage be more heavily hopped, to balance the flowery and fruity sweetness.

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

Dark golden colour, moderate to low carbonation, head disappears instantly, aroma of caramel and oak. Malty flavour with caramel and fairly bitter hops that linger in the aftertaste. The Ringnes brewery group's "Tou Blå" ( which was distributed in South-West Norway only) was a better alternative in the same style.

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

Not very successful, medium strong golden lager. Did not sell well. Discontinued. When it was discontinued, the stronger Ringnes Gold changed its name to "Extra Gold". Oh, well ...

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

Another "klasse D" (moderate ABV) Christmas brew. At least this one has some aroma and flavour of toffee, caramel and spices. Reddish brown colour. Drinkable, but far from impressive.

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

The last few years Ringnes have, in addition to their normal 'klasse F' Christmas beers, brewed a 'Juleklassiker' (Christmas classic) which changes every year, and allegedly is based on old recipes from the various breweries that have been engulfed (and in many cases closed) by the Ringnes group. Last year it was Aktiebryggeriet i Oslo, this year it's Ringnes' own recipe. As a gimmick every bottle is numbered, I had number 37089! This beer is not 'golden' like the label says, it is reddish brown (the label mentions that Ringnes brewed its first pilsener in 1877 - irrelevant information, as this is definitely not a pils!) - its flavour is very close to the weaker Frydenlund Bayerøl (Munich dunkel) though some may prefer to call it a Vienna (who the hell cares - the term 'Vienna' is unknown in Norway, even if our numerous Christmas beers belong to the borderland between dunkels and Viennas). Anyway this is a good beer, but it could use some heavier malts for its strength (6,5%). Not as spicy as the normal 'klasse F' Christmas beers. Good with food though.

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

Probably the best of the "klasse D" Norwegian Christmas beers (doesn't take much, really). The stronger "klasse F" beers are the way to go! But this is at least a nice try. Golden brown colour. Toffee sweetness, fruity, mild spices. Low bitterness. Good with food. *Seems now to have been replaced by the "Bryggerimester Spesial" series, where the recipe changes each year.

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

Formerly known as Ringnes Light. "Light" in Norway always means ABV below 2.5%. These beers (all are pale lagers) have been known as "driver's" light beers. Consider selling your car in stead. (Well, maybe it is not quite that bad, but aroma, flavour and not least mouthfeel are all very boring.)

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

(500 ml can). There's a price war on cheap swill going on in Norway at the moment, and this lager is probably meant to be Ringnes' contribution. I'm not sure where they actually brew this, no mentioning is made of the Reinheitsgebot, so it's probably full of adjuncts. It's just another pale industrial lager, not unlike the ones made by Grans/Harboe/Faxe. The brewery's recommendation "to be served ice cold" is an appropriate warning. Totally forgettable. At least they had the decency not to call it a pilsener.

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

Very light and pale thirst quencher for a hot summer's day. Not much taste, but not offensive either. Nice label! (The name and label refer to outdoor life and boating along the range of skerries on the coast, the favourite activity of many Norwegians in the summertime).

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

It works when you're thirsty enough. That's it. Hard to say how this one differs from the Skjærgårds Pils (they are both summer seasonals), they exist side by side so they can't be exactly the same beer. My impression is that the Sommerøl is even more tasteless, bland and boring. Hurrah!

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

(330 ml bottle). Allegedly another "Christmas classic" from one of the many breweries Ringnes has bought and closed. This beer has a rather weak aroma, acidic and slightly malty with just a hint of caramel and oak. Even for a "klasse D" Yule beer this one has a weak and watery flavour and thin mouthfeel. Little aftertaste. Very disappointing.

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

(330 ml bottle). Beautiful copper colour, moderate head. Moderate malty aroma. Flavour is pleasant malty sweet, mellow, hints of caramel and spices. Not very complex, but decent. Much better than the weaker "klasse D" version.

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

(330 ml bottle). A "klasse D" Yule brew for the grocery store market, made by Arendals Brewery, which is one of the few local breweries in the Ringnes portfolio that hasn't been shut down (yet...). This beer can't make anyone happy, colour is transparent brown, aroma and flavour have some malts and caramel and are not offensive - but watery, watery, watery! Just too little of everything you want from a Christmas/Yule brew. Metallic bitterness in the finish.

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

This used to be my local pilsner before Ringnes closed the Tou brewery and moved production to Oslo - I wish I could give it a higher rating. It was probably the most bitter of all Norwegian pilsners, which may be said to give it some character. Fizzy carbonation, head disappears quickly. Good from draught in summer, otherwise you will find that the new Tou Blå (Blue) has a lot more going - if it is still available. I have stubbornly refused to drink even a drop of Tou Pilsner after production was moved to Oslo.

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

One of the best Norwegian lagers. Moderate carbonation, head disappears quickly. Even though the pilsnermalt is dominant, the use of münchener- and whiskeymalt adds some interesting notes to the aroma and flavour. Malty sweetness is quite well balanced by the hops.

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

Was brewed by Tou Bryggeri in Stavanger, a Ringnes subsidiary which they closed. As with other brewers, I hate it when they call something "draught beer" ("fatøl") when it actually comes out of a can. This beer differs only marginally from Tou Pilsner, hops are slightly more accentuated. Not too much flavour except for the hops. I find nothing 'unique' about the head! Drinkable beer, after all.

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

This traditional 'klasse F' (strong) Christmas beer has the last years been given the lowest or second lowest 'klasse F' rating in Norwegian newspapers. I can understand why - it's now too lightbodied for its strength, flavour is slightly metallic, a substantial bitterness is not balanced by an equally substantial malty sweetness like a real 'Juleøl' should have. Colour is reddish brown, low head. I think this beer was considerably better 20 - 30 years ago, before Tou Bryggeri (Stavanger) became part of the Ringnes group.

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

Copper coloured Christmas beer, brewed for the Norwegian grocery store market when the traditional "klasse F" Christmas beers could be sold only through the government owned Vinmonopolet stores. This beer is an example of the fact that the Juleøl style NEEDS an ABV of 6,2% - 7% to be decent. The beer looks good, but that's all. Bland metallic flavour, just a hint of caramel. It's stunning how little taste they have managed to put into this beer. Low score in all Xmas beer ratings in Norwegian newspapers - well deserved. BTW, like (nearly) all Norwegians, I believed that Norwegian Juleøl was a style in its own right - I actually learned from RateBeer that they could be classified as Vienna. (I don't know if people living in Vienna would agree.) Fortunately, the best "klasse F" beers are a lot better than this.

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

(330 ml bottle.) Women are the target group for this new beer, and women also took part in choosing the cloudberry flavour profile. Golden colour, moderate to low head. Artificial smelling cloudberry and raspberry aroma. Flavour is a standard "neutral" lager, with some artificial cloudberry and raspberry flavour added. Nice try, but this is nothing to seek out.

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

Norwegian "light" beer always means low alcohol (<2,5% ABV). This is another "draught" (actually bottled) beer which means that it's marginally darker than an ordinary pils or light beer. It is, after all, not the worst example of this lousy style. Still, avoid it if you don't have to drive!

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

The Norwegian valley Hallingdal has from ancient times been famous for its strong homebrew and subsequent knife-fights. Aass Bryggeri's Halling beer is an insult to the proud people of Hallingdal. It's a lousy pils with little or no character besides being far too sweet. (Sampled 0,5 liter can.)

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

A continental style pilsener, clean taste, fairly well balanced but a bit on the light side. Brewed by Aass to get market shares in Nordland county (North Norway), sold in southern Norway as well. You could easily drink quite a few of these under the midnight sun.

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

Aass ice beer is not the worst example of this miserable style, which as its "raison d'être" serves the needs of people who really don't like beer, but insist on trying. No foul taste. Actually, hardly any taste at all.

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

This "klasse D" Christmas brew has the colour of a brown ale, but is of course bottom fermented. Decent aroma of oak and some spices. Drinkable with a meal, on its own it's just too watery to bring about any Christmas joy. Weak aftertaste. This style just calls for a higher ABV!