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

Draught at Café t'Arendsnest, Amsterdam. I expected of some reason this to be a Dutch copy of English cask ales, but it has a more yeasty and spicy flavour than any English brew I've had, and is also more carbonated. (But not as carbonated as Belgian ales). Flavour is otherwise dominated by rather bitter hops (but not as bitter as the barman made me expect). The colour is light brown, slightly hazy. You'd think the ABV was higher than it actually is. It is not a bad brew, but I'd prefer most English ales / bitters to this one. Still it's nice to find Dutch alternatives to the inevitable macrobrews

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

(330 ml bottle). This beer is intended as an accompaniment with "rakfisk" (="rakaure", half-fermented trout) - I had it on its own. Golden to amber colour, good to moderate head. Aroma of hops and caramel. Flavour is well balanced, juniper contributes, together with the hops, to a nicely rounded bitterness. Not a bad lager this one. Would profit on a slightly higher ABV, though.

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

Rerate, June 2019: 500 ml swingtop bottle, from Det Gode Brygg, Sandnes. ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, large white head. Aroma of malts, honey, flowers and grass. Moderately sweet but still refreshing flavour, notes of malts and honey, hints of caramel, moderate hops. Original rating 2005: 500 ml bottle, many thanks to Gr0ve who supplied it to me from SmartClub Norway. Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate carbonation, good mouthfeel. Pleasant malty sweet aroma with strong notes of butterscotch and honey. Flavour has also butterscotch notes, but also a decent hoppy bitterness well balanced with the malts. Very drinkable.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Also known as "No. 1 IPA", waiter said it’s the same beer. Menu said it was "brewed by the craft brewers of Skagen". The waiter might have screwed up the samples, the one I got was deep copper coloured. Moderate hoppy aroma with notes of caramel. Flavour is reasonably hoppy but not really impressive. Relatively dry.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Black colour, no head, moderate carbonation. Roasty aroma with notes of tar, liquorice / aniseed dominates. Distinct heavy roastiness from start to finish, bitter and dry, notes of strong coffee. Mouthfeel could have been fuller.

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

(Bottle). Ringnes Bryggerimester Spesial Julen (Yule/Christmas) 2004 has replaced the old Ringnes Julespesial. Bryggerimester Spesial is darker - a beautiful copper colour, and retains a good head. Caramel, hops and spices in the aroma. Flavour is well balanced between the malts and hops, and there are distinct hints of Christmas spices (cardamom, ginger?). This is one of the better Yule brews in the grocery store "klasse D " segment.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Germany. ABV is 4.9%. Beautiful reddish brown colour, large and lingering greyish light tan head. Moderate malty aroma with some caramel and spices, some flowery aromatic hops too. Flavour is moderately malty and herbal with moderate hops, a little burnt caramel too. Easy drinking, but not one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Reddish brown colour, large off-white head. Malty aroma with notes of caramel and bakery, some fruity hops too. Malty flavour with caramel and bready notes, not very sweet, spicy and fairly hoppy bitter finish. Dusty aftertaste. Okay.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 6.9%. Orange to amber colour, large off-white head with an orange hue. Moderate aroma of malts, some fruity hops and bakery, notes of alcohol. Flavour is fairly malty and bready, some caramel sweetness, alcohol is evident but not too much. Some hoppy bitteness and slightly burnt notes in the finish. OKish, but not my favourite bock.

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

(700 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Good to moderate head, deep golden colour. Nice floral and fruity aroma, tones of butterscotch and mild spices. Tastes like a very strong English bitter, the hoppy bitterness in the finish is there, but "intense" is not the word I’d use. The Semper Ardens Winter Rye is more like an IPA than this one. Decent enough, but there are better beers around.

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

Draught in Nice, France, as "Bière Blanche de Floreffe". Served with a quarter slice of lemon, which I instantly pulled out of the glass. Hazy pale colour. Pleasant lemony aroma, some spice too. Moderate citrussy flavour, faint notes of coriander. Drinkable and refreshing, but not a "big" beer

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

500 ml bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 5.2%. Pale yellow colour, crystal clear like the name says. Large to moderate head. Typical weissbier aroma, fruity with bananas and cloves, but the the aroma is not as strong as you’ll get from a hefe-w. Crisp and spritzy mouthfeel. Moderate cloves and tolerable hops in the flavour, but boring compared to the hefe. Why filter away the goodies? Short aftertaste.

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

"Siphon" swingtop bottle/growler, bought at the brewpub, courtesy of my wife. Deep golden/amber colour, a faint haziness, rich head. Lovely floral aroma with notes of honey and butterscotch. Moderate carbonation, fairly malty flavour with moderate notes of toffee and butterscotch. Mellow mouthfeel, very moderate hops. Slightly acidic aftertaste. The bottle was near its "best before" date, I have a fresher bottle too, will rerate if there’s any significant difference.

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

750 ml corked bottle, bought in France. ABV is 4.8%. Pale straw coloured, a faint haziness, large white head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. Very nice aroma of yeast, herbs and spices, hints of oak and alcohol. Very refreshing flavour, mild spices (coriander), light bodied. Pleasant beer.

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

Rerate, filtered and pasteurised, can: The size is not printed on the can (ommitting this is illegal in Norway), I suspect the size is 440 ml, not the usual 500 ml. ABV is 4.7%. Deep golden colour, decent head. Pleasant aroma of butterscotch and aromatic hops. Moderate carbonation. Flavour has toffee and butterscotch but also tolerable hops in the finish. Not bad. Original rating: Draught, at Cardinal, Stavanger. Unpasteurised, and allegedly unfiltered - but the beer was crystal clear. The pasteurised and filtered bottled version will be available from May 1. 2006. The unpasteurised keg was 1 week old upon sampling. Deep golden colour, like a Danish "Classic". Moderate head. Aroma and flavour of butterscotch (diacetyl), mellow and well rounded. Served by accident with a 100% CO2 carbonation, would normally be served with a 20% nitrogen and 80% oxygen mix. Will rerate if the bottled version is significantly different.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV on the label is 4.2%, also confirmed by the brewery website. (ABV of the cask version is also the same.) Clear amber colour, large off-white lasting head. Moderate carbonation. Moderate but pleasant hoppy aroma, hints of fruits, oak and leather. Flavour is mildly spicy and fruity, slightly acidic. Tolerable hops in the finish. Refreshing and easy drinking. Not too bad for a pasteurised moderate-ABV bitter.

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

500 ml bottle, in Berlin. Hazy brown colour, moderate head. Moderate caramel and banana aroma. Bready and moderately malty flavour with faint hints of caramel, bananas and cloves. Relatively dry. Short aftertaste.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Murky brown colour, large off-white head (but relatively moderate for a hefeweizen), does not last "forever". Moderate carbonation. Lovely cloves and banana aroma, hints of dried fruits, oak and fresh brown bread. Flavour is bready and fairly dry, moderate notes of cloves, mouthfeel is relatively watery and bland. Does not quite deliver what the aroma promises. Probably better with food than on its own.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at Damsgaard Supermarked, Frederikshavn, Denmark, as "Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat Beer". Pours very fizzy with a fairly large head. The beer is pale golden, slightly hazy. Pleasant sweetish aroma with strong notes of honey and flowers. Light bodied and refreshing with a distinct hoppy bite in the finish, but not much else going on. Still much better than some of the other ratings here made me fear.

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

On tap at the brewpub, which is situated in a listed building at the former Swedish (later Russian and Finnish) military island stronghold Sveaborg (since 1918 Suomenlinna) near Helsinki - now a UNESCO world heritage site. As I had this porter after the good Coyet Ale, my expectations were high (which normally, as in this case, leads to disappointment). Good to moderate head, pitch black. Coffee aroma with hints of fruit. Strangely sweet and fruity flavour. Some roast bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

330 ml bottle, as St. Idesbald Dubbel. Some say this is the same beer as Duinen Dubbel. ABV was 8%. Bought in Frederikshavn, Denmark. Pours deep copper coloured with floaties, large off-white head. Sweetish malty aroma with caramel and some oak. Flavour is malty sweet and spicy with plenty of caramel, some hops, oak and alcohol in the finish. Moderately warming mouthfeel. A bit too sweet for me.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in a store at Cambridge train station, and drunk from the bottle (hidden in the paper bag, of course) just outside the station (I was not arrested). I still had time to notice that the beer was cloudy and pale, like a witbier should be. Aroma and flavour of a decent standard witbier, no worse than Hoegaarden.

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

Bottle, at Haket, Göteborg. Cloudy pale golden colour, low head. Strange fruity aroma with notes of anthill, leather and flowers. Sweetish flavour with strong notes of leather and oak.

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

25 cl bottle, at Delirium Café, Göteborg. Clear (filtered??) pale golden colour, large head. Slightly hazy in the final pour. Typical witbier aroma and flavour of coriander and citrus.

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

Bottle, at Delirium Café, Göteborg. Hazy blonde ale. Hoppy citrus aroma. Citrusy / lemony flavour, quite nice. Made with buckwheat, which probably contributes the the citrussy flavour, together with the hops.