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

Draught at The Jolly Butcher, Frederikshavn. Deep amber colour, hazy, moderate off-white head. Caramel and barnyard aroma. Soft malty flavour, some caramel. Moderately warming mouthfeel. Decent.

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

330 ml bottle, bought at Mahlers Vinhandel, Frederikshavn, Denmark. My first heather ale. Cloudy honey coloured, moderate head. Nice aroma of heather flowers and heather honey, notes of earth, peat and fresh sea air too. Flavour is earthy and moderately herbal, but not quite as exciting as I hoped - still good, though. Mouthfeel is maybe a bit thin, the beer is fairly dry but some heather honey notes shine through. A moderate herbal bitterness in the aftertaste. Also sampled cask conditioned at The Three Judges, Glasgow. Golden / deep golden colour. Nice aroma of heather flowers and fruits, hints of oak. Fruity and flowery flavour.

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

RBESG 2006, bottle. Black colour. Dusty aroma with notes of liquorice and dark chocolate. Sweetish flavour of rye bread and some coffee, low bitterness. Alcohol is well hidden.

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

On tap at The Rover, Göteborg. Clear dark amber to chestnut colour, creamy head. Moderate malty and toffee aroma. Pleasant malty and mellow flavour with some grapefruity hops in the finish. A nice and drinkable bitter.

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

On tap at Haket, Göteborg. Served too warm for my taste. ABV varies between 3.9-4.1%. Black colour, low tan head. Burnt and smoky aroma. Roasty flavour, notes of coffee. Very tasty for its strength.

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

On tap at Plain Kitchen, Göteborg. Black colour, moderate tan head. Fairly strong roasty aroma, dark chocolate dominates. Flavour of roast malts, but also some sour & sweet notes. Chocolate in the finish. Quite good.

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

Bottle, at Plain Kitchen, Göteborg. Bottle conditioned. Golden colour, moderate head. Hoppy aroma with notes of resin and honey. Hoppy flavour, notes of resin and grapefruit. Good beer.

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

Bottle, at Haket, Göteborg. Deep reddish brown colour, creamy head. Herbal aroma, quite nice. Sweetish and herbal flavour, sourish in the finish. Not bad, but is it worth the price? Traquair House Ale is better!

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

Bottle, at Delirium Café, Göteborg. Amber colour, large head. Spicy aroma with leather, dried fruits and oak. Flavour is quite mellow with some leather, oak, dried fruits and hops. Not bad.

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

On tap at The Rover, Göteborg. Black colour, creamy tan head. This oatmeal stout has a moderate but pleasant roasty aroma, notes of dark chocolate. Flavour is slightly sourish with very subdued coffee and chocolate notes.

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

From the tank at the brewery, RBESG 2006. This is the brewery’s "brown porter" or "summer porter". Deep reddish brown colour, nearly black. Creamy tan head. Roasty aroma and flavour with notes of coffee and chocolate. Maybe a tad too sugary in the flavour, still it is fairly light bodied and easy drinking.

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

RBESG 2006, Grand Tasting. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black, low tan head. Sweet bakery aroma, oaky and vinous notes. Flavour is malty sweet with a subdued roastiness, a bit too sweet for me to give it a definite top rating.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Aroma: Bakery, oaky and vinous notes. Raisins. Nice. Flavour: Sweetish, moderately roasty, a bit too sweet. Many Polish (Baltic) porters seem to be more on the sweet side than the ones of Scandinavian/Nordic breweries.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Colour like sherry oloroso, minimal head. Sherry aroma too. Sweetish flavour with pastry notes, quite nice. The Nils Oscar Julöl (Yule/Christmas beers) seem to have a different recipe for each vintage.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Lithuanian farmhouse ale, makeshift bottled (plastic) at the brewery 2 weeks ago. Hazy dark golden to amber colour. Yeasty aroma with very interesting notes of spices (ginger, cloves, cardamom, juniper berries). Sweetish and mildly spicy flavour, notes of bread yeast. Unusual.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting, as Svyturys Baltas Kvictinis Alus. ABV is 5.2%. Golden colour, hazy, large head. Typical weissbier aroma and flavour: cloves and ripe bananas. An okay weissbier.

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

500 ml bottle, my wife bought this one for me in Prague. Golden colour, large and lasting head, looks slightly off-white. Moderate carbonation, which I like. Aroma is somewhat sweetish, with grassy and flowery aromatic hops. Nice hoppy bitterness in the flavour and aftertaste, but EXTRA bitter? Not more than you expect from a decent Czech golden lager. Still a lager well above average, as far as lagers go.

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

500 ml bottle, my wife bought this one for me in Prague. Typical hefeweizen appearance, hazy golden colour, large white head. Aroma is also typical h.w.: strong notes of cloves, banana and citrus - nice. Flavour is more citrussy than some German h.w.s, cloves too, fairly light bodied, could have been more complex. Not bad though.

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

Rerate 2002: Apparently they have changed the recipe this year. Darker brown colour, gone is the thin mouthfeel and lack of malts. This year both the aroma and flavour are malty enough (caramel and oak therein), and the beer got a high rating in Norwegian newspapers. IMHO however it lacks some of the spicyness in aroma and flavour that a Norwegian juleøl should have. Maybe next year? There's sufficient bitterness in the palate, but I've tasted better hops than these.

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

Reddish brown colour, moderate head. Aroma of fresh yeast and fruits, fruity and spicy flavour, rather lightbodied despite the ABV. A pleasant Christmas beer that lacks a bit of malty punch to get a definite top rating, still: goes well with most Christmas fare including the lighter stuff like turkey.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.2%. Deep golden colour, moderate head, leaves a nice lacing. Pleasant nutty and moderately hoppy aroma with notes of toffee and caramel. Flavour has decent hops throughout, hints of burnt caramel but the beer is not sweet (fairly dry, actually). Not a bad beer this one.

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

330 ml brown bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 7%. Hazy brown colour, huge head. Okay fruity aroma (orange peel and dark fruits) with notes of spices and oak. Flavour is moderately spicy and fruity with a fairly soft mouthfeel. Not the most complex Belgian I’ve had, but decent enough. Over-priced in Norway, though.

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

500 ml brown bottle, Christmas 2006, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.0%. Reddish amber colour, moderate head. OK but moderate aroma of bakery and earthy hops. Flavour is nicely balanced between the malts and hops, and makes this a very drinkable premium bitter, but there is nothing that really "stands out" and makes the beer "something special" for Christmas. Might as well be an all-year beer. Okay, but is probably better from a well kept cask.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. "Hand brewed" by RCH Brewery, but bottle conditioned by Branded Drinks. ABV is 6.0%. Contains coriander seed oil. Deep amber colour, just a slight haziness, low head. Enticing and very special aroma - coriander, cloves and ginger, rum-drenched raisins, fortified sweet wines and herbal shampoo. Flavour is very spicy - one of the spiciest beers I've had so far, initially sweet and vinous, but with a ferocious attack of coriander, dry ginger and bittering hops in the finish. Dry aftertaste. I'd say they could with advantage have gone a little easier on the spices here, and we'd have a softer and more drinkable beer. The ale "base" seems decent enough. As it is, this is an INTERESTING beer, to say the least. Not for people who hate coriander and ginger.