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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Black (= VERY dark brown) colour. Some natural carbonation, zesty, very nice. Pleasant roasty aroma. Flavour has dark chocolate, walnuts and roast barley. Not overdone, easy drinking.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, as "Greene King Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale", vintage 2000, sampled May 2005 at the Champion of the Thames, Cambridge. Served too cold from the fridge. Deep brown to ruby colour, large thick head. Vinous aroma, oak and claret, hints of English pipe tobacco. (One of the punters was smoking his pipe in the pub when I sampled this beer, but I swear the beer had some unsmoked pipe tobacco aroma too.) Vinous flavour (old port wine) with caramel and raisins. A bit too sweet for my taste (or maybe I was too drunk to fully appreciate the sweetness?)

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

330 ml bottle, at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival. Served directly from the fridge. Had to wait half an hour before I could drink it. Strange thing with British pubs and beer festivals - they’re very conscious that their native cask ales should be served at cellar temperatures, but foreign bottled beers are served ice cold, no matter what! Barnyard aroma with notes of dried fruits and oak, improves as the beer warms up. Flavour has much of the same elements as Rochefort 8 and 10, just on a more moderate scale. Dried fruits, brown sugar, tobacco, oak.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Black colour. LOVELY aroma of dark fruits with roasty notes. Flavour is roasty sweet and malty (too sweet?), some coffee and dark fruits notes.

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. (Not mentioned in the festival programme, as far as I could see - must have been brought in last minute as an extra beer.) Pitch black colour, nearly impenetrable for light. Some natural carbonation. Dark chocolate aroma with some roastiness. Smooth roasty flavour with coffee and chocolate notes. Medium dry. Nice.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Golden colour. LOVELY aroma of tropical fruits. Fruity and malty flavour. Hazelnuts, fruits/berries and hops in the finish. Very good.

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

Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, gravity dispense. Correct ABV is 4.2%. Black colour. Coffee, old leather and cigarbox aroma, hints of prunes. Distinct espresso coffee flavour throughout, hints of prunes, quite dry. 500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.2%. Black colour, decent brown head. Distinct aroma of fresh coffee, hints of liquorice and dark chocolate, maybe some prunes, old leather and cigarbox too (but not as noticeable as in the cask version). Coffee in the flavour too (as expected), but not overdone, the beer is quite balanced and fairly smooth to drink. A moderate sweetness carries notes of dark chocolate, with a hint of prunes. Bitter finish and aftertaste, both from the roasted malts, the espresso coffee and Challenger hops. The cask version was maybe a tad better, but the bottled version is still excellent!

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. A gift from chris_o (a fellow beer rater), a very fine gift indeed! Thanks! Pours with an enormous and lingering foamy head, deep golden colour. Fairly clear till I disturbed the sediment in the end. Lovely hoppy aroma, "typically British" - at its best. Flavour is hoppy throughout on a nice malty background with some toffee notes, again "typically British". This is what John Smith’s SHOULD have tasted like! Rerate: now available in Norway at Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Still a great beer! This time I also get some hints of smoke in the flavour, which does not make the beer any worse.

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

650 ml bottle, UK import. ABV is 5.3%. Very dark opaque brown colour, nearly black. Pours with a large and thick tan head. Pleasant roasty aroma with strong coffee notes, also cigarbox, chocolate and leather. Flavour has strong coffee notes too, some tar and a slight smokiness. Roasty and hoppy bitterness in the long aftertaste. Maybe not the most complex beer in the world, but a very good one all the same!

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

750 ml silk-print corked (champagne style) brown bottle, bought in Denmark. Golden colour, slightly hazy, pours with an enormous, fluffy and lingering white head. Very nice aroma of yeast, oak, brown candy sugar, horse stable and cigars. Slightly spicy and peppery flavour with tolerable maltiness and hops, and a slight alcoholic bite. Aftertaste is okay, but does not last "forever". Not a particularly complex flavour, but a good beer all the same.

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

Bottle, at Plan B, Copenhagen. Fizzy, clear red colour, initially large head. Aroma is ripe raspberries (no surprise), "over-ripe" perhaps. Fruit garden notes, smells like an "Indian summer" day. Also notes of blackberries. Flavour is again raspberries, not too sour, well balanced, vinous qualities. A supreme fruit lambic.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Very dark (black) colour, decent head. LOVELY aroma: roast malts, sherry, plums. Flavour is VERY roasty, notes of espresso coffee, but not much beyond that. A bit too fizzy.

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

Corked and capped "champagne" bottle, vintage 2002, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Hazy red colour. Sour cherries and horseblanket aroma. Flavour is sour, oh so sour - very sour cherries dominate, but there are lemon and grapefruit notes too. Spritzy. Sour aftertaste. Moreish indeed - one of the few beers at the tasting I found hard to leave for the next sample.

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

Bottle, courtesy of gunnfryd, who supplied it to our tasting. The ABV was 9.0%. Served at room temperature - I would prefer it just a little cooler, but not cold. Pitch black colour, moderate head. Heavily roasty aroma and flavour, with notes of liquorice and coffee. A very robust and tasty imperial stout, but not too extreme.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Also available in Norway at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 8.1%. According to the label it is brewed by Brouwerij Slaapmutske in Melle, but bottled in Lochristi. Original gravity is 16 degrees Plato, IBU is 31. Deep golden to orange colour, slightly hazy. Huge off-white head. Lovely strong aroma of Belgian yeast, fruits and spices, hints of leather. Complex spicy flavour with some fruit in the background. Warming mouthfeel. The aftertaste could have lasted longer, but this is still a very good beer!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. ABV is 5.0%. Bottle conditioned. Pitch black colour, large tan head. Lovely aroma of bramble (blackberries) with vinous notes, also notes of chocolate and a mild roastiness. The flavour has a roasty and hoppy (Challenger) bitterness throughout, notes of coffee and berries (the latter are fairly subdued). Bitter aftertaste. Good beer!

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 5.0%. Copper coloured beer with a large and lasting creamy tan head. Pleasant aroma of fruity hops and malt. Lovely malty flavour with some caramel and fruity hops. A very nice and drinkable beer indeed.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 5.9%. Black colour, dark brown to ruby in the highlights. Creamy tan head. Very nice aroma of dark fruits, chocolate, liquorice and roast malts. The flavour has chocolate, coffee and liquorice. Moderate sweetness. A decent stout in my book.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.6%. BB date Oct 08. Pitch black colour, large tan head. Lovely aroma of chocolate, roasted malts and plums, with a hint of liquorice. Distinctly roasty flavour with notes of coffee, hints of peat, smoke and tar, bitter finish. The mouthfeel could have been fuller, but this is still a good beer!

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. Mahogany coloured beer, large and lasting tan head. Malty sweet aroma, notes of port wine, oak and bakery. Excellent mouthfeel, full and rich. Flavour of generous malts, caramel, dried dark fruits, moderate but noticeable hops (Goldings and Northdown), port wine finish. Fairly sweet, but not cloying. A true classic!

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

Cask conditioned at The Three Judges, Glasgow. Golden colour, low head. Very nice floral and citrussy aroma. Distinctly hoppy flavour with notes of tropical fruits / citrus, but not too bitter. An excellent beer!

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

Cask conditioned at The Three Judges, Glasgow. Golden colour, minimal head. Lovely citrussy aroma, also with notes of flowers and tropical fruits. The hoppy flavour has also citrus and tropical fruits, much like Crouch Vale Brewers Gold Extra, but with a more distinct bitterness in the finish. Another great beer!

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABv was 8.5%. Bottle No. 32089. Reddish amber colour. Pleasant vinous, raisiny and oaky aroma. Oaky, sweet and raisiny flavour. Very nice.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. Pitch black colour. Intense but pleasant roasty aroma and flavour, notes of leather and tar. Strong and powerful, but carries its strength well.

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

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). Imported to Europe by Hamana Ltd. Herts, England. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 5.2%. Golden colour, nearly clear (just a faint haziness), rich head. Lovely hoppy aroma, notes of citrus and tropical fruits. The flavour is distinctly hoppy but not too bitter, citrus again, on a base of moderate but nice malty sweetness. A very nice pale ale!