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

473 ml can, now unfortunately available in Norway. ABV here is 4.1%. Golden colour, fizzy, moderate head. Surprisingly strong aroma of artifical candy. Fizzy mouthfeel, a little sweetness, no real flavour at all, hardly any traceable hops, no aftertaste. Crap.

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

12 fl. oz. (355 ml) bottle, at The Jolly Butcher, Frederikshavn, Denmark. "Limited bottling - Winter ’05 - ’06." ABV is 8.25%. Nearly black colour, very low tan head. Vinous aroma with strong notes of dark chocolate, plums, prunes and oak. Powerful flavour of strong coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Relatively sweet. Alcohol is evident, but not dominant. A great sipping beer!

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at Damsgaard Supermarked, Frederikshavn, Denmark, as "Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat Beer". Pours very fizzy with a fairly large head. The beer is pale golden, slightly hazy. Pleasant sweetish aroma with strong notes of honey and flowers. Light bodied and refreshing with a distinct hoppy bite in the finish, but not much else going on. Still much better than some of the other ratings here made me fear.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006, bottle - available at Systembolaget, Sweden. ABV is 5.6%. Reddish amber colour. Very nice hoppy aroma, vinous notes. Moderately hoppy flavour. Rerate: 355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.6%. Amber to copper colour, pours very fizzy, big to moderate off-white head. Lovely hoppy aroma with strong notes of red berries and tropical fruits. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour has a great balance between the malts and the distinct and fruity hops, notes of red berries and blackcurrants. Moderately bitter finish and aftertaste. Good beer!

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

Sampled RBESG 2006, bottle. ABV is 5.1%. Reddish amber colour, creamy head. Reasonably hoppy aroma with some stale notes. Moderately malty and bready flavour with dusty hops. Okay, but not impressive.

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

Seriously struck by beer rating addiction, I bought this beer only to rate it - and I hate myself for it! Hate hate hate!! I paid good money for this crap, in the US at least it’s cheap - here it’s expensive. Importing this shit to Europe is totally ridiculous! And the alternative in Norway, if you want an American beer, is mostly Bud!! (If you’re ’lucky’, you might find Michelob! *and a couple others at "Vinmonopolet".) My expectations were very low, but I soon found out that this ’beer’ was even worse than I expected. Aroma reminiscent of the wine yeast of my disastrous, short lived wine-making career 15 years ago. Excessive head that disappears rather quickly. Hardly any flavour at all - just a bland, metallic mouthfeel. Luckily, there is no aftertaste either (if there was, it would surely have been bad). ’Genuine draught’ my ass! This is just bad, real BAD!!

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

A typically commercial American beer, quite refreshing and better than it's reputation. This was the favourite beer of my (now late) uncle in California, I drank large quantities of it in the summer heat when I visited him there many years ago, and has a soft spot for it due to that. When I much later found the beer in Norway, the magic was gone. Drinkable and better than other BMC swill, but of course no masterpiece.

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

355 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Amber colour, large foamy head. Very nice flowery and fruity sweet aroma. Flavour is somewhat less interesting, some toffee, nuts and dusty hops. Bitter finish.

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

355 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Deep brown colour, large light tan head. Pleasant aroma of dark and dried fruits and caramel, hints of chocolate, tobacco, oak and leather. Nice malty and nutty flavour with some caramel but not too sweet, well balanced with sufficient hops, hints of spices. Easy drinking, refreshing, decent mouthfeel. Moreish.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Greyish brown foamy head. Very nice roasty aroma, notes of chocolate, liquorice, leather and oak. Roasty flavour with notes of strong coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Long bitter aftertaste from the roastiness and hops. Not bad at all.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Copper coloured, good light tan head. Very nice strong aroma of flowery hops, notes of honey and fruits too, hints of oak and caramel. Full and rich mouthfeel. Initially sweet and oaky flavour of dried fruits, then a massive hoppy bitterness takes over and lasts through the aftertaste. Not very well balanced IMO, the very bitter finish kind of kills all other qualities this beer has.

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

(Bought in Sweden - not in Systembolaget's ordinary selection, listed as "coincidentally in store"). This beer has a deep golden colour and pours with a good head. It has a lovely fruity aroma - there is some oak and spices too. Flavour is malty and rounded, still with a great bitterness. This is quite simply a good beer - wish it were imported to Norway!

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

Amber/deep golden colour, good head. Smells and tastes like a cross-breed between an ale and a lager. Flowery perfumed aroma (not unpleasant), malty flavour (a tad too sweet), plenty of bitterness in the aftertaste - but COMPLEX is not the word I would use. Decent (and of course infinitely better than the BMC stuff), but I'm sure there are better American beers out there.

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

330 ml clear bottle, ABV 5%, bought at Vinmonopolet, Norway. Surprisingly strong aroma of yeast and artificial candy. Light golden colour, moderate head - and then: nothing. Blurk! As if the ordinary Bud wasn't tasteless enough...

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

It IS better than water - but not much.

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

Marginally better than Budweiser. And that says the rest.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

(355 ml bottle). This was my first American IPA, now available in Norway! Deep golden colour, good head. Lovely hoppy citrussy aroma. I got more pleasure sniffing this beer than I got from drinking it. Flavour is all hops (where are the malts?), dominant initial grapefruity bitterness like I expected (not unpleasant), quite drinkable, but the one-dimensional, medicinal and wormwoodlike bitterness that remains in the aftertaste is not to my liking.

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

(355 ml bottle, bought in London). Pours with a large tan head, colour is very dark, nearly black (= very, very dark ruby when held to the light). Lovely complex aroma where coffee, dark chocolate, prunes, oak and sandalwood shine through. Flavour is initially sweet and mellow, then a distinct bitterness comes through. Coffee notes are dominant. There's something undefined strange in the aftertaste that keeps me from giving it a straight "10". Still, this is a top class porter!

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

Bottle, at Plain Kitchen, Göteborg. Black colour, moderate creamy tan head. Overwhelming malty sweet aroma, roastiness, molasses and bakery / Danish pastry. Flavour is VERY sweet (too sweet) - molasses, sweetened coffee, sweet pastry, chocolate. There’s just too much of the good stuff. Unbalanced.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

355 ml bottle, at The Rover, Göteborg. Amber colour, large to moderate creamy head. Hoppy sweetish aroma, strong notes of blackcurrants / blackcurrant leaves. Flavour is sweetish and reasonably malty, some blackcurrant notes, but far too little bitterness for an ESB.

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

Bottle, at The Rover, Göteborg. Amber colour, hazy. Sweet and alcoholic aroma and flavour, but also plenty of hops, as expected from a "double IPA". A bit overdone on both sweetness and hops in my book, but still a good beer.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. 750 ml bottle. Dark brown colour, low head. Sickening chocolate aroma, like chocolate sauce. Very sweet chocolate flavour, too sweet for me, but probably nice if you "simply LOVE" chocolate.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Pitch black colour, low tan head. Very nice roasty and hoppy aroma, some sweetish bakery notes in the background. Nice roasty flavour, not overdone, notes of good coffee, hints of dark chocolate. A very good stout in my book.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Dark brown colour. Malty sweet aroma with notes of vomit. Unpleasant. Sweetish moderately malty flavour with nothing to delight you. Pass.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, UK import. Pours very foamy and fizzy, with a decent lingering head. Deep amber colour, hazy. Sweet yeasty aroma with elements of oak, molasses, butter and hayloft. Flavour has some molasses sweetness, butter, butterscotch, some spices and decent hops, but lacks a fresh and spritzy "bite". Too much butter elements, I guess. Still a beer well above average, but I’m not ecstatic.