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

500 ml bottle, as "Duckstein Rotblondes Oberbräu", bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Seems to be brewed at Holsten Brauerei, Hamburg (my bottle), as well as Feldschlösschen Braunschweig (both Carlsberg owned). Amber colour, large and lasting off-white head, some lacing. Caramel aroma with some flowery aromatic hops, notes of brown bread too. Moderate carbonation, soft malty flavour wth some brown bread notes, decent hops in the finish. Pleasant and easy drinking "altbier" (well, it’s top fermented, and it’s German).

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

330 ml clear bottle, bought in Germany. Every big German brewery seems to be squandering their reputation these days by making a "Gold" beer - pale tasteless lagers with normal ABV, for people who really don’t like beer, but want the buzz. You think "normal" Becks has too much taste(!)? This one’s for you! Pale golden colour, low head, fizzy. Weak aroma with faint notes of grass. Flavour is boring as hell, but there are at least some hints of dry and dusty hops, so the beer is not COMPLETELY tasteless ...

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

500 ml can, bought in Germany. ABV is 4.9%. Pale golden colour, decent head. Sweetish aroma: candy, grass, herbs. Flavour is tolerably hoppy on a slightly sweetish background. Average German macro pils.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. With the Ae S Märzen’s overpowering aroma of smoked sausages in mind, I opened the Weizen with trembling anticipation and fear. The beer is murky brown, and pours with an enormous greyish off-white head. Intense aroma of smoked pork / uncooked bacon, which nearly overpowers the normal hefe elements (cloves and banana) that are faintly present in the background. Flavour has some uncooked bacon notes too, but they are not as overpowering as in the aroma. Fairly smooth to drink, but let’s face it: smoked pork is not what I want to smell nor taste in a beer. Sorry!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml screwcap bottle. Bought at Otto Duborg, Flensburg, Germany. ABV is 5.3% (label), brewery website says 5.2%. Unpasteurised but filtered. This is their ordinary Dunkel, not to be confused with their unfiltered Engel Kellerbier Dunkel. Beautiful clear chestnut colour, large and lasting off-white head. Pleasant malty aroma with strong notes of bakery, chocolate and caramel. Moderate carbonation. Malty sweet flavour with a moderate roastiness, notes of Danish pastry, hints of over-ripe berries. Some hops in the finish.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle ("Bügelflasche"), bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Organic. Pale golden colour, slightly hazy, large white head. Unfiltered, "hefetrüb". Strong flowery aroma with notes of honey, very nice. Moderate carbonation, soft mouthfeel. Flavour has very good hops on a background of slightly sweet and mellow malts. Hoppy bitter aftertaste. This is a good Zwickel/Keller/Landbier!

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

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. dark brown colour, nearly black. Large and lasting greyish brown head. Moderate malty aroma with notes of caramel and bakery, hints of prunes. Moderate carbonation, mellow and pleasant mouthfeel. Nice moderately malty flavour with a pleasant roastiness, hints of schwarzbrot. Easy drinking. I like it.

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

500 ml screwcap bottle, bought at Otto Duborg, Flensburg, Germany. Unpasteurised. Clear (filtered???) golden colour, large and lasting white head. Fruity and flowery aroma, hints of honey. Moderate carbonation, soft moutheel. Moderate malty flavour, very moderate hops. Easy drinking, but not remarkable.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. Deep copper colour, large beige head. Intense aroma of red fruits, dried fruits and jam / marmalade, also notes of cloves, oak and sherry. Flavour is moderately malty, slightly acidic with some vinous qualities, red fruits, caramel and rye bread in the background. Moderate carbonation, soft mouthfeel, smooth and pleasant to drink. A very nice rye beer.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Dark reddish brown colour, large tan head. Pleasant roasty and malty sweet aroma, notes of dark chocolate, prunes and leather. Lightly roasty and malty flacour, hints of chocolate, pumpernickel bread and mild coffee. Pleasant and easy-drinking bock.

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

On tap, served by Bjørn Hansen, "the crazy Dane from Gentofte" (more about him: see "Hansen EF-Domstols Øl"), at Gladmatfestivalen, Stavanger, as "Hartmann Felsentrunk Landbier". The Hansen 0.5 liter glass (quite good looking) was included in the rather steep price of the beer! The original Hartmann Felsentrunk Landbier swingtop bottle was exhibited on the counter, and when I asked for it, Hansen claimed that this was the beer he actually had on tap. (He also had the paler EF-Domstols Øl). The colour was right, amber with a moderate head, but I did not get the faintest hint of smoke! The beer looked, smelled and tasted like a standard Danish "Classic". Moderate hops and some caramel malts in both aroma and flavour. OKish, but in no way remarkable.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). Cloudy / muddy brownish colour, large and lasting off-white head. Lovely hefeweizen aroma, full of ripe bananas and cloves, also notes of other spices, leather and tropical fruits. Flavour is zesty and mildly spicy, some citrus, and even decent hops for a h.w. Very nice!

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

500 ml bottle. Golden colour, low head. Interesting malty aroma with hints of hayloft and sheepshed - very nice. An unusual pils! Flavour is distinctly malty with just enough hoppiness to call it a pils. Good beer!

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

(5 liter mini-keg, bought in Norway, ABV was 4.9%). Moderate aroma of hay, light golden colour, enormous head when poured from the mini-keg - like the head of a weissbier. Clean crisp flavour, good bitterness makes this a better-than-average pilsener. The mini-keg is great for parties!

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

(5 liter minikeg, bought in Norway - ABV here is 4.5%. The ABV in Germany is supposed to be 4.9%. I think "Kulmbacher Premium Pils" is an alias of this beer. Not be be confused with the Kulmbacher Mönchshof Original). Typical pils golden colour, large head. Hoppy but not very strong aroma. Flavour is surprisingly malty, slightly sweeter and less crisp than the somewhat stronger EKU Pilsner which I prefer (also in a minikeg). Still, this is a rather tasty pilsener, miles ahead of the many tasteless "neutral" pilseners you get these days.

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

Sure it's black - but when I feel like anything black, I'd most likely go for any dry or imperial stout instead, any time - if given the choice. As far as German Schwarzbiers go, there are tastier ones around than this one. Disappointing lack of flavour and 'bite'. Of course it's drinkable, but I expected more.

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

Christmas seasonal, 500 ml cool swingtop bottle. Aroma like an average lager, rather weak. Golden colour, good to moderate head. Flavour is well balanced with a herbal character, moderate sweetness and decent hops. Flavour and aftertaste is better than the average lager, but this is definitely not what I want for CHRISTMAS! As a standard lager it passes the test, as a Christmas beer it fails!

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

(500 ml bottle). Pours with an enormous lasting head, colour is cloudy golden brown. Overwhelming lovely sweet aroma of ripe bananas, "bubblegum" and spices, hints of oak. Flavour is refreshing and slightly spicy (cloves, cardamom), a little more hops than most Weissbiers.

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

(330 ml bottle). ABV of my bottle was 9,2%. Nearly black (= dark ruby when held to the light), good to moderate creamy tan head. Started drinking it too cold, surprisingly weak initial aroma, improves as the beer warms up - malty, but not very complex. Flavour is malty sweet with burnt notes - not nearly as cloying as EKU 28 (thank God!) but also less complex. Alcohol is well hidden. OKish mellow aftertaste. Good beer, but it doesn't exactly take my breath away.

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

(Sampled 500 ml bottle, bought in Norway). This is a decent Helles with a pleasant aroma. Flavour and aftertaste are OKish, but far from exceptional. Probably better on tap - or maybe all the "Bierkeller" hype is misleading?

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Norway). Filtered wheat beer, like the name says crystal clear, very light golden, enormous head. Strong aroma of ripe bananas (or rather: the artificial "banana" filling you get in some chocolates + bubble gum), cloves too. Banana, cloves and hops in the flavour - but there's just too little of everything. Why filter away the goodies? Very short aftertaste.

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

(500 ml bottle). Large head, like the name says crystal clear, pale golden colour. This is a decent and thirst quenching summer beer (available all year) from Erdinger - but their Hefe has a little more of everything! Like all "Kristall" Wessbiers: Why filter away the goodies?

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

The bottle I had (bought in Norway) was outdated 2 weeks ago, and was not stored cool at my retailer’s like it ought to be. Cloudy brew with a far-from-appetizing lumpy sediment. Unpleasant aroma. A major disappointment.

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

500 ml bottle. Looks like a very pale Hefe-Weissbier, and for some reason I hoped a N/A Weissbier would be much better than other N/A beers. I was disappointed. Sickly "boiled" smell and flavour of wort, overdone vegetables and wet cardboard, just like Clausthaler. None of the Hefe aroma and "freshness" I hoped for. Avoid.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Norway.) Pours with the typical large & lingering weissbier head, colour of the beer is brown, not black as the name suggests. Slightly hazy. Pleasant aroma of fresh baked bread and weissbier yeast, hints of dark syrup and caramel. Flavour has a slight roastiness and some farmhouse bread character, smooth and pleasant to drink, but not very complex. Just enough hops to leave a pleasant aftertaste, but like most weissbiers the aftertaste does not last "forever". This is a decent but unpretentious beer, a nice accompaniment with a meal or as a refreshment on its own.