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

Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Allegedly "brewed in some of the oldest brewery equipment in the UK, possibly some of the oldest in Europe". This should suggest that this beer is now again brewed in the refurbished Blue Anchor brewery, not at Keltek. The festival programme also lists it as brewed in the Blue Anchor. Golden colour. Hops and malt vinegar in the aroma, hints of cowshed. Decent hoppy flavour, but honestly: not that much out of the ordinary.

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Black / dark brown colour. Fruity aroma mixed with a moderate roastiness. A bit thin mouthfeel despite the ABV. Moderate roast flavour with coffee and prunes notes.

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Brownish colour. Moderate caramel and nuts aroma. Fairly malty premium bitter with a tolerable dusty hoppiness.

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. One of the craziest beer names so far - a fellow beer rater told me it’s adopted from a Cream song (I guess I should have known that). Dark brown colour, low head, some natural carbonation. According to the CBF programme it’s "a little too hoppy to be a classic mild" - still it is not VERY hoppy, just the typical Southern English dusty hoppiness. Aroma and flavour are malty with some caramel (but not really sweet), some cola notes.

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

500 ml brown bottle, available in Norway (ICA Maxi). Label layout is different and reads "Brakspear Bottle Conditioned Organic Beer", but this must be the same beer. ABV is the same, 4.6%. Pours very fizzy with an enormous foamy head. Deep golden / amber colour. Pleasant hoppy aroma (Fuggles, Goldings), hints of toffee and butterscotch. Moderate malty flavour with a well balanced hoppiness, toffee sidenotes. Mouthfeel maybe a bit thin. Bitter finish.

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

330 ml green bottle, now available in Norway. Sold in brown bottles for the Czech home market. Golden colour, good to moderate head, little lacing. 1795 is another "budweiser" from the town of Budejovice / Budweis (= another Bohemian pilsener, for anyone else but Czech appellation fanatics) with a pleasant Saaz aroma, elements of flowers and grass. Flavour is clean tasting, smooth and soft with moderate but pleasant hops. Just a faint hint of "boiledness" in the background, but not enough to make it disturbing. A nice quaffing pils, not an orgasmic experience but certainly easy drinking.

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

Draught at Christian Firtal, Odense. Dark ruby colour when held to the light. A bit fizzy. Moderate aroma of caramel malts. Flavour is moderately sweet with caramel and chocolate notes. Hints of blackcurrants. Some hops in the finish, more than in many other dunkels.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Initially large head. Interesting saltwater / "low tide" aroma. Wheaty, citrussy and moderately salty and sour flavour. An interesting experience! I won’t mind sampling the Gose again.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Very dark brown colour. Malty and roasty aroma. Very roasty flavour, a bit too sweet. Really not that much above average.

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

Bottle, at Den Tatoverede Enke, Copenhagen. Brown colour, large foamy head. Pretty standard tripel aroma. Nice moderately malty flavour with mild spices. ABV is well hidden, finish is a bit bland.

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

Sample from 330 ml bottle at the Brewery International stand, Smak 09. ABV was 5.0%, according to the importer. Beautiful copper colour, moderate head. Fruity aroma and flavour (red berries), notes of caramel. Low bitterness.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Vaaland, Bryne. "Grocery store version" at 4.7% ABV. Mahogany coloured beer (I’ve never seen "amber" this dark!), moderate but lasting creamy head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of Cascade hops, hints of malts and caramel too. The flavour has dominant Cascade on a (barely) sufficient malty background, hints of burnt caramel but the beer is not sweet. Bitter aftertaste. The mouthfeel is slightly thinner than the stronger version. This is one of the better non-bottle-conditioned beers on the Norwegian grocery store market, well worth sampling.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden to amber colour, moderate white head. Distinct and beguiling aroma of ripe peaches / peach flowers, even peach candy - not quite what you expect in a beer, though. The flavour is fruity with moderate notes of peaches and zesty hops (can’t identify the alleged notes of melons). Not too sweet, not too bitter (actually, slightly MORE bitterness wouldn’t hurt). Soft mouthfeel, refreshing and pleasant to drink. A nice change-of-pace beer.

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

500 ml bottle, as Atlas Latitude Highland Pilsner, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 3.9%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, big and lasting white head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of Styrian Goldings (+ Saazer and Hallertauer Hersbrücker) hops, citrussy and floral notes. Soft mouthfeel. The flavour is more like a golden ale than the "pilsner" it claims to be - which is not a bad thing for me. Distinct hops throughout, balanced by just the right sweetness. Some fruit and a lovely bitterness, lasting through the long aftertaste. A nice little beer this one.

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

1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.2%. Dark brown to ruby colour, big to moderate light tan head. Nice but surprisingly moderate aroma of floral and fruity hops. "Arrogance" shows its face in the flavour, with a distinct and aggressive hoppy bitterness from start to finish. There is a certain malty sweetness in the background, but I cannot say the Arrogant Bastard belongs in the "well balanced" category. It is probably not meant to belong there. Perhaps I am "not worthy" after all? My wife said she liked it, though. Spooky ...

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

330 ml bottle, bought at ICA Middelthon. ABV is 4.1%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate hoppy aroma, notes of new-mown grass, a hint of honey. Soft mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, with a resinous bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. Can’t detect the "passion fruit" though. OK beer.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.9%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Pleasant aroma of fruity and grassy hops, notes of grapefruit. Zesty flavour with fruity hops (Amarillo), citrussy notes, ending in a formidable burst of bitterness, lingering into the long aftertaste. An excellent lager!

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

500 ml bottle, at Olympen, Oslo. Brew #849. ABV is 4.5%. Served too cold. Amber colour, moderate head. Moderate but nice aroma of fruity hops, hints of orange marmalade and resin. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, with resinous notes, bitter aftertaste.

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

330 ml bottle, at Olympen, Oslo. ABV is 5.5%. Deep golden colour, moderate head. Very nice aroma of hops and caramel, hints of butterscotch. Fairly sweet, malty and fruity flavour, hints of toffee and butterscotch.

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

Draught at Gladmatfestivalen 2004, Stavanger. Served cool, not ice cold. Low head, low carbonation. Hazy brown colour. Lovely aroma of juniper and wet fir trees. This is a modern rendition of traditional Norwegian farm ales, where juniper was used for flavouring and better preservation of the beer, at a time when hops were unknown or hard to get this far north. Flavour is all juniper and malts, quite lightbodied and refreshing. Not very complex, but darn good all the same. In order to fully appreciate a beer like this, you should spend a day of hard work stacking hay on a small Norwegian farm on one of our (rare) warm summer days. If you, on such a day, after tasting this beer say "I’d rather have a Budweiser", you’re a very sick person, and need to seek professional help. Or you could offer prayers to St. Judas, the patron saint of Hopeless Cases.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Fenaknoken, Oslo. ABV is 4.5%. Brew #925. Some sediment in the bottle. Pale yellow colour, slightly hazy, huge white head. Strong perfumed aroma, distinct notes of ripe bananas and cloves. Light bodied and crisp mouthfeel. The flavour has notes of cloves, with a "dusty" finish, but I’d like a more pronounced presence of malts. Still refreshing and drinkable.

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

500 ml bottle, as "Aspall Peronnelle’s Blush Suffolk Cyder with a dash of blackberry liqueur". ABV is 5.4%. Rosé wine colour, pours very fizzy with a big but short-lived white head with a pinkish hue. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Pleasant aroma of apples and blackberries. Beguiling flavour of cider apples and blackberries, hints of oak and sulphur. Just the right sweetness and acidity (both moderate). Nice one.

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

Bottle, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. ABV was 6%. Orange to amber colour, low head. The aroma has notes of cinnamon and other undefined spices, some American hops. The flavour has notes of cinnamon, but they are not overdone, and blend in quite nicely with the malts and hops.

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

Bottle, at RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg, as Barley Zàgara Buchemèli. Brewed with honey from orange flowers. Orange coloured beer, low head. Lovely aroma of oranges / orange flowers. Fairly dry flavour for a beer brewed with honey, just a hint of oranges, moderate hops in the finish.