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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, as "Tamamura Honten Nøgne Ø Not So Mild Ale - Harvest Brew Fresh Hop" (the rest of the info on the label is in Japanese). Murky dark brown colour, moderate to low greyish beige head. Nice but moderate aroma of mild ale malts, chocolate malts and some fruity hops. The flavour is fairly fruity, but has also a moderate roastiness with mild coffee and chocolate notes. The finish has sufficient hops to make it "not so mild". No masterpiece perhaps, but highly drinkable.

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

330 ml bottle, as Tamamura Honten Wheat Wine of Shiga Kogen. ABV is 9.5%. Hazy brownish golden colour, moderate white head. Sweetish aroma with notes of marzipan, candy, caramel, alcohol and decaying fruits. The flavour is sweet and alcoholic with notes of caramel, but also strong notes of fruity American(?) hops, with a fairly bitter finish and long aftertaste.

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

633 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5%. Deep copper coloured beer, big off-white head. Interesting aroma of malts, dark bread, caramel and ripe fruits, hints of wood. The flavour is fruity with a noticeable acidity, also notes of wood and brown bread, hints of caramel. Moderate hops in the finish. I’ve had better, I’ve had worse.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Very dark brown colour, big pale brown head. Moderate sourish fruity and dusty aroma, hints of lightly roasted malts, wet cardboard and damp basement - certainly not impressive. The flavour is very sweet, fruity and vinous, notes of raisins and dark dried fruits, brown candi sugar, some oak. Noticeable hops and dust in the finish.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Dark brown colour, moderate cream-coloured head. Aroma and flavour of lightly toasted malts, brown bread and nuts. Notes of burnt bread crumbs in the finish. Fairly dry beer.

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

1 pt. 9.4 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.25%. Deep golden to orange colour, hazy, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of Belgian ale yeast, fruit and spices. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is spicy with a distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish.

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

750 ml corked and wired bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.9%, EBU 36. Hazy deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of Belgian ale yeast, notes of fruits and mild spices. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is spicy, with a distinct hoppy bite in the finish. Fairly dry.

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

330 ml bottle, as Mikkeller Centennial Single Hop IPA, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.9%. Orange to amber colour, big to moderate off-white head. Moderate aroma of Centennial hops - slightly woody, resinous and spicy. The flavour is distinctly hoppy - woody and spicy again, on a background of very moderate malty sweetness. Very bitter finish and aftertaste. Decent enough beer, but it leaves me with the impression that Centennial is better in combination with other hops, rather than as a single hop.

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

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. Organic / bio-dynamic ingredients. ABV is 4.7%. Pale golden colour, enormous white head. Decent aroma of malts and floral hops. High level of carbonation, big bubbles in the mouth. The flavour has also decent malts (from various esoteric grains), some nutty notes, with moderate but noticeable hops in the finish. Tolerably well balanced beer.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Vinmonopolet, Norway. Organic, medium sweet sparkling cider. ABV is 6.8%. Golden colour, pours very fizzy with a big but short-lived head. Slightly hazy at the end. Very nice aroma and flavour of oxidised cider apples, hints of sulphur. The flavour is first moderately sweet, but ends dry and slightly tart. A decent and drinkable cider!

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Beautiful ruby colour, moderate beige head. Moderate but nice aroma of brown malts, hints of caramel. Malty and nutty flavour with notes of caramel, quite nice. Very moderate "dusty" English hops in the finish.

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

On tap at the brewpub. Despite the name, this is not a stout, nor was it intended to be. The brewer says it’s "more like a porter", and I won’t protest to that - but I wouldn’t protest if someone called it a "dark mild" or even a "fairly dark brown ale" either. Dark reddish brown colour, moderate off-white head. Nice aroma and flavour with mild roasty notes, hints of mild coffee and chocolate. Flavour of caramel malts too.

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

500 ml bottle, thanks to my beerpal Olav who brought it home from the Orkneys. ABV is 4.4%. Golden colour, big to moderate white head. Moderate but nice aroma of fruity and herbal hops. Fairlyt light bodied. The flavour has herbal notes throughout, with a dry and "dusty" finish. Moderate bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet (bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 5.6%, extract 12.2%. Golden colour, big head. Moderate aroma of pilsener malts and grassy and herbal hops. The flavour is fairly sweet and malty with hints of honey, moderate herbal hops.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Served very cold. Hazy golden colour, low head. The aroma has moderate notes of pilsener malts and floral hops. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour has a distinct hoppy bitterness from start to finish. Bitter aftertaste. Not much in the flavour to balance the bitterness - but this is clearly a thirstquenching pilsener, and far better than most of its more industrial competitors.

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

500 ml bottle, as Gourmetbryggeriet WitBier. ABV is 4.8%. Bought in Denmark. Very pale straw coloured, big white head. Distinct aroma of citrus / lemons, hints of coriander and cloves. Soft mouthfeel. Refreshing flavour, moderately citrussy, distinct notes of coriander, hints of cloves. Moderate hops in the finish. OKish.

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

750 ml dark green "champagne" bottle, as "Famille E. Dupont Cidre Bouché Effervescent Naturel", vintage 2007. From Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget. ABV is 5%. Bottle conditioned. 80% of the blend comes from the bitter-sweet apple varieties Mettais, Binet Rouge and Frequin, with 20% Judaines and Petit Jaune for acidity. Gushes out of the bottle when the cork is popped, pours very fizzy, moderate carbonation in the glass. Golden colour, white head disappears instantly. Nice aroma of cider apples and sweet eating apples, with a hint of oak. Flavour of moderately oxidised cider apples, medium sweet. Slightly tart finish with hints of oak and sulphites. Easy drinking.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. ABV is 5.5%. Despite the name, this is one of the least cloudy hefeweizens I have seen, pretty close to a kristallweizen. Pale golden colour, big to moderate white head. Typical hefeweizen aroma of ripe bananas, cloves and bubblegum. The flavour has also notes of banana and cloves, hints of citrus, very moderate hops in the finish.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget. ABV is 9.2%. Hazy brownish amber colour, big to moderate white (or slightly off-white) head. Strong sweetish aroma of candy, syrup, Belgian ale yeast and chili, hints of honey. The flavour has sweet notes of malts and Belgian ale yeast, hints of honey and syrup, minimal hops. Not much chili flavour while the beer is in your mouth, but there’s a distinct chili burn in the aftertaste. A bit weird, but well worth sampling.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, a gift. ABV is 5.8%. This might be the first beer I’ve had with angelica as one of the ingredients. (In the Nordic countries, this herb was not uncommon as a flavour ingredient in farmhouse beer and spirits in the olden days.) Hazy pale golden colour, big white head. Interesting and pleasant aroma of herbs, spices and Belgian ale yeast. Light bodied. Fairly dry flavour with moderate notes of herbs and spices, but the mouthfeel is too thin. Slightly fruity / acidic finish, very moderate bitterness. Could have been better, but well worth sampling.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Amber coloured Christmas brew of moderate strength. Malty aroma and flavour, some caramel, fairly good beer, but not outstanding.

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

(On tap in Amsterdam). A decent and refreshing pilsener, better than its competitors Heineken, Amstel and Grolsch.

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

Sampled 500 ml can, later also 500 ml bottle (now available in Norway). Advertised as 'Das Schwarze mit der Blonden Seele' (= The Black with the Blonde Soul). Dark brown to ruby colour, nearly black. Large brown head. Fairly weak but decent aroma, smells like German Schwarzbrot. Roasted malt flavour with coffee and burnt toast. A bit watery mouthfeel. (Is that what the brewers refer to as the 'blonde soul'?) By all means, this is a very drinkable Schwarzbier, but the style unfortunately seems to lack the rich velvety mouthfeel of a good stout or a Baltic porter. Still, this is a beer well worth sampling!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

(355 ml bottle). This was my first American IPA, now available in Norway! Deep golden colour, good head. Lovely hoppy citrussy aroma. I got more pleasure sniffing this beer than I got from drinking it. Flavour is all hops (where are the malts?), dominant initial grapefruity bitterness like I expected (not unpleasant), quite drinkable, but the one-dimensional, medicinal and wormwoodlike bitterness that remains in the aftertaste is not to my liking.

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

I'll admit that I bought this 'Japanese' beer (brewed 'under supervision' in the Czech Rep.) only to get a higher score on the 'most countries' rating. However I was compelled to drink it tonight (had planned to wait a bit) in order to lose the foul aftertaste of the EKU 28 I had sampled earlier. This beer is definitely contrary to the foul eisbock: It's probably the driest beer I've ever tasted. Refreshing, but not something I'd buy again (ref. Norwegian prices on imported beer), unless I should happen to visit Japan. Rerate: Actually, I DID have it again without visiting Japan: It was a nice accompaniment with a meal in a Japanese garden / restaurant in Denmark.