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

August 2013: 500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5%. Clear brown to copper colour, moderate white head. Malty aroma with notes of toffee, caramel and nuts, hints of over-ripe fruits. The flavour is also malty but not very sweet, some fruity notes, hints of oak, nuts and caramel, fairly bitter and slightly roasty finish. More "contemporary" in style than Traquair House Ale and Jacobite Ale, but this one is also a fine beer.

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

Avdelingen for sære ølnavn! Også denne fikk jeg tatt en bitteliten smaksprøve av i dag, og kan love at den ga mersmak. Tydelig aroma av havre (Kjell mener den lukter kraftfor!), rund smak av havrekjeks også, samt innslag av mild kaffe, rosiner og sjokolade, men uten å bli sjenerende søt. Rerate, sampled on tap at Mandag i Annen, Cardinal, Stavanger. Smooth and pleasant to drink, definitely not too sweet. A nice oatmeal stout!

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

On tap at Mandag i Annen, Cardinal, Stavanger. Moderately hazy pink colour, moderate head, slightly off-white. Strong aroma of raspberries, tea and lactic acid. Sour flavour, notes of raspberries, lemons and lactic acid, just a hint of tea.

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

On tap at Mandag i Annen, Cardinal, Stavanger. Murky / "dirty" orange to brown colour, moderate off-white head. Aroma of lime, strawberries and vanilla. Medium sour flavour with the same elements, refreshing.

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

July 2017: Cask halfpint at The Junction, Castleford. Pitch black colour, tan head. Pleasant aroma of roast malts, red wine, liquorice and chocolate. Rich flavour, roast malts, red wine, liquorice, some alcohol, oak. Warming mouthfeel. Excellent beer.

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

July 2017: Cask halfpint at The Junction, Castleford. Pale golden colour, creamy white head. Moderate but nice aroma of herbal hops, some citrus. Lovely flavour of herbal and spicy hops, good bitterness. A beer I’d be happy to buy again.

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

March 2021: 500 ml bottle, from Bier Huis, Ossett. ABV is 5.0%. Clear deep golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of malts and toffee, hints of caramel and earthy hops. The flavour is first malty but not very sweet, followed by fruity and earthy hops, with a rather sharp piney /resinous bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

Shared 500 ml bottle at local tasting, thanks to Holmen2. ABV is 6.0%. Clear deep golden to orange colour, moderate to low white head. Nice and "typically English" aroma, toffee, caramel and sourish hops. Much the same elements in the flavour too, but less nice - seems a bit unbalanced. Drinkable, but far from the best IPA I’ve had.

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

500 ml bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 5.1%. Amber to copper colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of fruity and dusty hops, a hint of caramel. Refreshing and pleasant flavour, hints of toffee, nuts and berries, nicely balanced between the malts and hops. Nothing exceptional, but drinks well.

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

330 ml bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 6.5%. Golden colour, slightly hazy, moderate white head. Hoppy aroma, moderate notes of tropical fruits. Just a hint of coffee (not sure if I’d have noticed if I didn’t know it should be there). The flavour is also predominantly hoppy (but not extreme for an IPA), while the coffee comes through in the finish. However, the conservative part of me still thinks that coffee is somehow misplaced in a golden ale or IPA - but at the same time I have to admit that this is a tasty and likeable beer ...

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

375 ml green "champagne" bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottled on 16.05.11. Bottle No. 6747 of 8973. ABV is 11.2%. Dark brown colour, nearly black. Huge tan head. Nice aroma of American hops, notes of spruce, pine and grapefruit. Also notes of roasted malts. The flavour is first sweet, malty and roasty, followed by a massive hoppiness, notes of spruce, pine and resin. The bitterness becomes rather sharp in the aftertaste.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery. ABV was 5.1%. Golden colour, slightly hazy, moderate white head. The aroma is fruity and herbal. The flavour has a slight acidity, low bitterness. Boring.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery, as The Kernel Big Brick Collaboration Red Rye Ale. ABV was 8.9%. Beautiful red colour, moderate off-white head. The aroma is malty with notes of Christmas spices, caramel and "spruce" hops. The flavour is malty with caramel, notes of piney hops.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery. ABV was 6.4%. Gusher bottle, extremely cloudy yellow beer, low head. Intense aroma of catpiss and spruce. Flavour of "spruce" hops. Not at all what I expected from Citra and Nelson Sauvin.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery. Golden colour, moderate head. Nice aroma and flavour of Columbus hops, notes of pine, spruce and grapefruit. Very good.

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

Shared bottle, from the brewery. ABV was 6.4%. Golden colour. moderate head. Aroma of nettles and unripe crushed gooseberries. Very hoppy flavour but not too bitter, notes of gooseberries and pine needles.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery. ABV was 8.1%. Golden colour, moderate head. Citric aroma and flavour, sharp bitterness. Okay, but not really great.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery. ABV was 10.1%. Orange to amber colour, moderate head. Surprisingly moderate aroma, some caramel malts, some fruity hops. Sweet and rich flavour, fairly malty, the alcohol is noticeable. Piney and fruity hops, hints of honey.

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

Shared 330 ml bottle, from the brewery. ABV is 7%. Cloudy (end of bottle) golden colour, moderate white head. Lovely aroma of Belgian saison yeast, distinct spicy and fruity notes. High level of carbonation in the mouth. Very nice and spicy "Belgian" flavour, also some fruity notes.

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

Shared 330 ml bottle, ABV 6.7%, from the brewery. Golden colour, hazy only when the yeast is poured in the end. Moderate white head. Lovely aroma of fruity and "spruce / pine" American hops, notes of tropical fruits, hints of catpiss. Very nice hoppy flavour, tropical fruits, pine and spruce. Relatively light bodied.

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

Shared 330 ml bottle, from the brewery. ABV is 9%. Some sediment in the bottle. Golden colour, hazy only when the yeast is poured in the end. Piney hops in the aroma. Sweet malts, piney, resinous and rather harsh hops in the flavour. "Salty" finish. Pretty extreme.

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

330 ml shared bottle from the brewery, ABV 10.1%. Pitch black colour, tan head. Roasty aroma, notes of dark chocolate and coffee. Roasty flavour, dark bitter chocolate and coffee again, maybe not very complex, but good enough for me. Salty finish.

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

330 ml bottle, under its Norwegian alias BrewDog Høst Porter ("renaissance baltic porter"), from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 6.2%. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Dense and lasting beige head. Nice roasty aroma with moderate notes of coffee, smoke, wood, sea water and tar, hints of vanilla and liquorice. The flavour is moderately roasty and fairly dry, notes of coffee, wood and smoke. The mouthfeel could have been fuller. Fairly bitter finish.

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

330 ml bottle, batch # 096(?, print unclear), Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 11.5%. Chestnut colour, large cream-coloured head. Medium strong aroma of peat-smoked malts, not much else comes through. The flavour is medium sweet with notes of peat smoke and ashes, moderate hops in the finish. A bit one-dimensional. Why the heck must a delicate hop like Nelson Sauvin fight an impossible battle with Laphroaig peat-smoked malts?

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

500 ml bottle, at Olympen, Oslo. Beautiful reddish colour, large to moderate off-white head. Lovely complex aroma of American hops, notes of various fruits, hints of spices. Delightful hoppy flavour, well balanced with the malts, notes of red fruits / berries, blackcurrants and blackcurrant leaves, extremely drinkable. Great with a mutton dinner, or alone. A "school example" of English subtlety paired with American quality hops in a moderate ABV "session" ale.