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

750 ml "champagne" bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.0%. Deep golden colour, huge and lasting off-white head. Very nice aroma of fermenting fruits, herbs, spices and farmhouse. The flavour is dominated by pleasant fruity hops (Hallertauer and Styrian Goldings) on a background of malts and brettanomyces elements, with spicy notes. Not too sweet, not too bitter, not sour. Alcohol is well hidden. In short, not as "wild" as I expected, should be palatable even for "tame" beer drinkers.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Extremely pale yellow colour, big white head. Strong yeasty and spicy aroma, with distinct notes of fermenting fruits and brettanomyces (farmhouse / barnyard). The flavour is very crisp and moderately acidic with some lemony and spicy notes, very refreshing. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, but I’m not really complaining - it’s nice to have a Mikkeller beer that doesn’t get you drunk by the first bottle - for once.

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

375 ml green "champagne" bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 12.0%. Cloudy dark reddish brown colour, big to moderate off-white to beige head. Strong and intense sweetish aroma of dark malts, brown sugar and caramel, hints of oak and fortified wine. The flavour is very sweet and malty, with the same elements as the aroma - but it barely escapes the "cloying" category by a partial balance of American hops (Nugget, Cascade and Centennial). Not an "easy drinking" beer, but who expects a barley wine to be? A great "sipping beer", on a day when your "sweet tooth" needs to be satisfied.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & bar, Stavanger. Also available at Vinmonopolet. Organic, ABV is 5.0%. Dark reddish brown colour, big and lasting beige head. Distinct rustic aroma of roasted malts, bakery and coffee, hints of liquorice. Very "lagerish" mouthfeel (well, this IS a lager beer), a bit watery. The flavour is fairly bland for a schwarzbier, some roasted notes, very little residual sweetness, too modest hops. Improves a little as the beer warms up, the malts come through. Drinkable? Yes. Will I buy again? Perhaps, but not very likely - there are better beers available both at Cardinal and Vinmonopolet now.

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

500 ml bottle, kindly brought home from Copenhagen by my wife. Brew #201, ABV is 7.0%. Black colour, huge chocolate brown creamy head. Very nice roasted aroma, dark malts, chocolate, coffee. Hints of dark dried fruits as the beer warms up. Creamy mouthfeel. The flavour has distinct notes of coffee and roasted malts, also notes of chocolate and English liquorice, with a firm roasty and hoppy bitterness in the finish. Good stuff!

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

500 ml bottle, kindly brought home from Copenhagen by my wife. Brew #213, ABV is now 7.5%. Hazy golden colour, big white head. Strong sweetish and "perfumed" aroma, "wheaty" notes (despite wheat not being one of the ingredients), notes of bananas and citrussy hops (Cascade), hints of spices. The flavour is sweet and fruity, again with hints of spices, alcohol is noticeable. A moderate but distinct hoppy / grapefruity bitterness in the finish. Okay.

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

500 ml bottle, kindly brought home from Copenhagen by my wife. Brew #208, ABV is 5.7%. Cloudy golden colour, big white head. The aroma has the typical hefeweizen notes of banana and cloves, also notes of other undefined spices, and some less pleasant notes of rotting fruits. Typical hefeweizen flavour, zesty, fruity and refreshing with notes of cloves and banana, noticeable hops in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, kindly brought home from Copenhagen by my wife. Brew #199, ABV is 5.9%. Hazy deep golden colour, huge white (slightly off-white?) head. Lovely fruity aroma of Amarillo hops, notes of citrus, hints of resin and tropical fruits. The zesty flavour has distinct and fruity Amarillo hops from start to finish, on a decent malty background - well balanced. Not too sweet. Moderate but sufficient bitterness. A pleasant drop.

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

500 ml can, "license brewed" in Norway by Ringnes (which is 100% Carlsberg owned). ABV is 4.1%. Pale yellow colour, big to moderate white head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Sweetish aroma, notes of candy, grass, grain and cooked vegetables. The very bland flavour has some very moderate malts and not much else, hardly any hops in the "empty" finish. Not awful enough to be undrinkable, but utterly boring.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Brewed by Mikkeller at Nøgne Ø, Norway. Batch #418, ABV is 10.9%. Pitch black colour, huge chocolate brown head. Lovely aroma of dark roasted malts, coffee and chocolate, hints of dark fruits. Intense flavour of coffee (can’t say if the "weasel" coffee was worth the price, though), also a massive malty sweetness and a solid roasty and hoppy bitterness, lasting through the long aftertaste. Not for sissies.

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

375 ml bottle, kindly shared by Ole_R. ABV was 14%. Pitch black colour, low brown head. Lovely roasty and vinous aroma, notes of calvados and blackcurrants. Extremely sweet and very roasty flavour, notes of liquorice, dark cherries and dark chocolate, distinct hoppy bitterness and tar in the finish. Alcohol is noticeable. Combined with the strong flavour elements, this leaves the impression that the beer is even stronger than it actually is - I might have guessed 18-20%.

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

600 ml brown bottle, a gift from Tom, thanks! Redddish brown colour, relatively pale, slightly hazy. Large and creamy lingering head. Pleasant aroma with notes of red fruits, malts and oak, hints of leather and caramel. Flavour is reasonably malty with some sourish fruity notes, mouthfeel is maybe a tad too thin, moderate hops in the finish / aftertaste.

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

600 ml brown bottle, ABV is 6.5%. Deep golden colour, decent head. Nice hoppy aroma, hints of grapefruit, but also some "dusty" (Goldings?) notes. Flavour is relatively sweet (too sweet?) with alcoholic notes, but there’s also a substantial hoppy bitterness, which the style requires. Not very easily drinkable.

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

600 ml bottle, a gift from Tom, thanks! ABV is 5.2%. American-inspired "pre-prohibition" lager, brewed with Cascade hops. Deep golden colour, a slight haziness, moderate but rich head. Cascade, flowers and honey in the aroma. Moderately malty flavour with hints of heather honey and caramel, but not really sweet. Moderate but pleasant hops throughout. Hoppy aftertaste lasts "forever". Not a bad beer this one!

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

660 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Also available in Norway at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 10.5%. Deep copper colour, large tan head. Interesting aroma, sweet and malty, but also notes of various berries, esp. blackberries, and molasses, caramel and bakery. Intense flavour, very malty and sweet with loads of caramel, partly balanced by a distinct hoppy bite. Spices and alcohol are present too (alcohol maybe more than I appreciate). Quite good, but not easy drinking - the bottle is for sharing!

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV in Norway is 4.7%. Golden colour, decent head. Relatively strong hoppy and sweetish aroma, notes of flowers and honey. The flavour is fairly malty for a pilsener, some fruit, decent hops throughout. Apparently Braunstein has on some occasion been voted "Denmark’s best pilsener" - I don’t know if that is fully deserved, but this beer is definitely much better than Carlsberg & Tuborg (not to mention the numerous Danish discount pilseners).

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 8.5%. Hazy deep golden brown colour, huge off-white head. The aroma is very fruity with notes of wine vinegar and yeast, hints of caramel, oak and sweaty feet. The flavour is fairly malty with caramel, candy sugar and some fruit, moderately bitter finish. Not bad, but I’ve had better doppelbocks.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.2%. Amber colour, slightly hazy. Fizzy head, poor head retention. Nice hoppy aroma, notes of fruit and honey. Fizzy mouthfeel, which takes away some of the drinking pleasure for me. The flavour is reasonably well hopped, hints of caramel, butterscotch and yeast. Possibly a slightly infected bottle. Could have been better, could have been worse. Will try another bottle later.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.4%. Beautiful copper colour, large off-white head. Lovely and distinct aroma and flavour of caramel and treacle, also notes of butterscotch. Moderate hops. A very nice and drinkable dunkel.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Beautiful deep amber to copper colour, large head. Lovely aroma of treacle and butterscotch, notes of rum-drenched fruits. The flavour is rich and malty with loads of caramel, butterscotch and fruit, decent hops in the finish. This is an Easter bock I’d be happy to drink again.

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

500 ml brown bottle, packed in a cardboard cylinder, like a whisky bottle. Bottle No. P 1689, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 11.8%. Very dark reddish brown colour, large tan head. Vinous sweet aroma with notes of raisins, oak, malts, molasses and caramel. The flavour is malty sweet with hints of oak and molasses, surprisingly moderate hops. Too sweet. Not that exciting. Probably better if cellared till 2016?

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 4.8%. Brewed with organic barley malts, wheat malts, oats and hops. Deep golden to amber colour, big slightly off-white head. Aroma of fruity hops, notes of oranges, hints of caramel. The flavour is smooth with notes of toffee and moderate hops, nice enough to drink but not really very exciting. An OK refreshment though.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 5.5%. Organic, ingredients include sugar and ascorbic acid (E300 - vitamin C). Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Brewed with English ale yeast. Weak aroma of floral hops, some "dusty" notes too. The flavour is first fairly sweet and malty, with a "dusty" finish. Some metallic hops in the aftertaste, with notes of wet cardboard to boot. Ridiculously poorly hopped for something going under the name of "IPA". Would not be a great beer, whatever name they had chosen. Nope, this is simply not good enough.

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

500 ml bottle, at the Dalane Brygghus restaurant in Egersund. ABV is 6.3%. Includes some peat smoked malts. Some sediment in the bottle. Black colour, big tan head - good looking. Aroma of liquorice, chocolate and coffee. Roasty flavour with notes of peat smoke, English liquorice, tar and coffee. Good stuff!

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

Bottle, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. ABV was 7.2%. Dark brown colour, nearly black, low head. The aroma has notes of chocolate and fermenting apples, stale biscuits and vanilla. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour has notes of chocolate malts, some vanilla, fruity finish.