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

12 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV not declared on the bottle. Hazy pale golden colour, big white head. Sweetish aroma of pale malts with strong notes of honey, some fruity hops too. The juniper berries are not dominant. Fairly refreshing flavour, medium sweet, well hopped, the juniper berries are there but not dominant. They should have crushed the juniper berries instead of adding them whole. Okay, but not brilliant.

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

355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.9%. Not entirely black colour, rather very dark brown. Thick beige head. Moderate but nice aroma of dark bread, roasted malts and herbal German hops. The flavour is moderately roasty with just a modest sweetness, could be called medium dry. A slight acidity in the finish, more bittering hops would be desirable. Decent enough to drink, but not very exciting.

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

355 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 8.3%, IBU 60. Clear orange colour, big off-white head. Lovely strong aroma of fruity and piney American hops, notes of oranges and slightly caramellized orange marmalade. The flavour is a hoppy explosion from start to finish, fruity (orange marmalade) first, very bitter in the end. There is a considerable malty sweetness that stands up to the bitterness. I don’t get many "Belgian" notes out of this "Belgian IPA", it is all very American to me.

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

355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.9%. Deep golden colour, big white head. Very nice aroma of fruity hops, hints of spruce. The flavour is definitely hoppy, but less so than most American IPAs. Some sweetness, the alcohol is noticeable. Notes of spruce again, moderate bitterness in the aftertaste.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%, 45 IBUs. Pitch black colour, big and lasting brown head. Moderate roasty aroma, notes of dark chocolate and coffee. The flavour is roasty and quite dry, with a hint of acidity. Notes of coffee and ashes. Roasty and hoppy bitterness in the afteraste.

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

Bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.5%, 50 IBUs. Dark reddish brown colour, big to moderate beige head. Aroma of sweet malts, caramel, peat smoke and over-ripe red berries, also vinous notes with hints of oak. The flavour has loads of malty sweetness and caramel, peat and oak, with a distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste.

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

355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.6%, 70 IBUs. Reddish brown colour, big and lasting off-white head. Nice aroma of floral and citrussy hops (dry hopped with Amarillo), also sweetish notes of caramel and orange marmalade. The flavour has also notes of orange marmalade and caramel malts, but is not extremely sweet. There is a distinct hoppy bitterness towards the end, with grapefruity and resinous notes, lasting through the long aftertaste. Good stuff.

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

355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.4%, 86 IBUs. Surprisingly pale golden colour, probably the palest American double IPA I’ve seen. Big to moderate white head. Distinct but still relatively moderate aroma of citrussy and piney American hops, also notes of caramel and orange marmalade. The flavour is of course very hoppy from start to finish, but not really extreme. The grapefruity bitterness is partly balanced by a pronounced malty sweetness. Notes of caramel and orange marmalade again. Very bitter aftertaste.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Interesting fruity and hoppy aroma, hints of marmalade and oak, some vinous notes too. Hoppy flavour, good bitterness, moderate malty sweetness, hints of oak.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Amber colour, big to moderate off-white head. Hoppy aroma and flavour (Columbus hops), the flavour also has spicy notes with hints of Belgian ale yeast, otherwise this is a fairly standard American IPA (which is not a bad thing).

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Very nice hoppy aroma, fruity and herbal notes. Intense hoppy flavour, but not too bitter. Fruity and spicy notes, well balanced.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Brown colour, big off-white head. Aroma of Belgian ale yeast, brown sugar and spices, hints of camphorwood. The flavour has more fruity acidity than I expect from a dubbel, some spicy and woody notes too.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Dark brown colour, nearly black. Low beige head. Nice aroma of moderately roasted malts, tobacco and some citrus. Flavour also of moderately roasted malts, and fruity and slightly resinous hops. The alcohol is well hidden. Good, but does not blow my socks off.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottled, as Deschutes The Abyss Reserve 2009, kindly shared by gunnar. Pitch black colour, excellent brown head. Lovely and complex aroma of dark malts, chocolate, coffee, tobacco, liquorice and leather, also some oaky and vinous notes. The flavour has notes of heavily roasted malts, balanced by a suitable sweetness, coffee and liquorice, hints of sandalwood. Superb!

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

Bottle, vintage 2009, kindly shared by gunnar. Amber to orange colour, low head. Nice aroma of sultanas and dark dried fruits. The flavour has also notes of raisins, sweet malts, alcohol and decent hops.

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

Bottle, 2009 vintage, kindly shared by gunnar. Black colour, hardly any head. Aroma of heavily roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee and liquorice. Intense flavour of roasted malts, coffee and liquorice.

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

1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle, as Green Flash Stout (Double Stout), courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.8%. Pitch black colour, big brown head. Nice aroma of roasted malts, coffee and chocolate. Rich malty flavour with roasty notes, strong coffee and dark bitter chocolate, maybe a hint of liquorice too. Bitter aftertaste. The alcohol is well hidden.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle, as Port Brewing Old Viscosity, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Black colour (dark ruby when held to the light), huge tan head. Lovely aroma of moderately roasted malts, mild coffee, chocolate, oak and leather. Full and rich flavour, malty predominance with much the same elements as the aroma, moderate but sufficient hops in the finish. Well balanced, immensely pleasant to drink. Warming mouthfeel, but the alcohol is otherwise well hidden in the flavour.

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

1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Very dark brown colour, big to moderate beige head. Moderate aroma of caramel and toasted brown bread, hints of dark dried fruits. Decent flavour, caramel and toasted brown bread again, a hint of fruit, moderate but sufficient hops in the finish. Well balanced and pleasant to drink.

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

650 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Copper coloured beer, big to moderate off-white head. Lovely aroma of fruity and piney American hops, some sweetish malty notes too, but not too much. Rich flavour of copious amounts of American hops and sweet malts, nicely balanced. Some vinous notes, also resin, caramel, oak and dark dried fruits. Definitely one of the better barleywines I’ve had.

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

1 pt. 6 fl.oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.2%. Deep golden colour, slightly hazy, with a big white (or slightly off-white) head. Lovely aroma of Belgian ale yeast, white candi sugar and various spices (incl cloves), hints of leather. The flavour is spicy and zesty with a solid hoppy punch throughout, but I’d never have guessed that the IBU was as high as 101. Mixing Belgian and American ale styles is not always successful, but I think Le Freak is a very good try.

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

12.7 fl.oz. corked bottle, as Port Brewing Older Viscosity, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 12.0%. Pitch black colour, moderate tan head. Intense aroma of sweet malts, bourbon whiskey, vanilla and oak, also moderate roasty notes, hints of chocolate and liquorice. Very sweet (too sweet?) and intense flavour, sweet malts galore, notes of bourbon, oak and vanilla again, also notes of mild coffee, dark chocolate and liquorice. Moderate hops.

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

1 pt. 9.4 fl. oz. corked bottle, vintage 2009, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Reddish colour, big off-white head. Aroma of slightly stale berry jam, also some "horseblanket" notes of brettanomyces. The flavour is very sweet with berry fruit and some vinous notes, moderately spicy, noticeable alcohol, distinct hoppy and spicy bitterness in the finish. Warming mouthfeel.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

650 ml bottle, as Southern Tier Imperial Crème Brûlée Stout, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Pitch black colour, big tan head. Intense aroma of crème brûlée and vanilla from the moment you open the bottle, amazing! The smell includes caramel, of course - but also chocolate and mild coffee. The sweet flavour is first and foremost crème brûlée again, but also roasty notes of strong coffee, dark bitter chocolate and liquorice. Also some hoppy bitterness in the finish. Warming mouthfeel. An incredible dessert beer!

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

350 ml bottle, 2008 vintage, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.9%. Orange to amber colour, big off-white head with an orangey hue. Lovely aroma of Cascade hops, piney and grapefruity notes. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, lots of pine needles, grapefruity bitterness in the finish, very bitter aftertaste. Hints of caramel malts, but the beer is not too sweet. A nice and very drinkable IPA.