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

Dark golden coloured and moderately carbonated, this Norwegian lager relies heavily on the caramel malts used. The flavour is distinctly sweet, but quite well balanced with the hops. Lager lovers with a 'sweet tooth' will find it attractive, the rest of you will at the best see it as an acceptable 'change of pace' beer.

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

(330 ml bottle). Beautiful copper colour, moderate head. Moderate malty aroma. Flavour is pleasant malty sweet, mellow, hints of caramel and spices. Not very complex, but decent. Much better than the weaker "klasse D" version.

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

One of the best Norwegian lagers. Moderate carbonation, head disappears quickly. Even though the pilsnermalt is dominant, the use of münchener- and whiskeymalt adds some interesting notes to the aroma and flavour. Malty sweetness is quite well balanced by the hops.

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

A new "klasse D" Christmas brew from Aass, much better than the "Julebrygg" they introduced last year. Beautiful deep copper colour, very good and thick head. Aroma of malts, oak and spices. Malty flavour, a bit thin as expected from a "klasse D" beer - still one of the best Norwegian beers of this ABV class. Sweet, but not too much. Decent.

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

660 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Served with original Brakspear pint glass, nice! "Double dropped", ABV is 3.4%. Brewed with Maris Otter malts, Goldings and Fuggles hops. Copper coloured, low head. Aroma of "dusty" Goldings hops + rusty iron in stale water + hospital flesh wound dressings(!) Flavour is very tasty for a 3.4% pasteurised beer, nicely balanced between the malts and hops, nutty and toffee elements, not sweet. Moderate carbonation. A nice Fuggles finish.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Brewed with American Chinook and Columbus hops. Golden colour, large foamy head. Pleasant hoppy aroma and flavour, both with notes of citrus and dry white wine. Bitter finish. Okay beer, but I’d like the malts to come through too.

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

500 ml brown bottle, as Arundel Sussex Gold, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Brewed with East Kent Goldings, Fuggles and Cascade hops. Golden to amber colour, moderate white head. Aroma is surprisingly moderate, faint notes of aromatic hops. The hops come through in the flavour though, first some notes of "dusty" EKG, then more pronounced Cascade and Fuggles. A moderate grapefruity bitterness in the aftertaste. Refreshing and reasonably hoppy, not a bad beer, but I would guess the cask version has more going.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. Hazy golden brown colour, moderate head. Unusual sweetish aroma, jam, cooked vegetables, hay. Malty flavour with a noticeable sweetness, some caramel and fruit, and a distinct "bite" from the Progress hops in the finish and aftertaste. Not bad at all!

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Germany. This beer is brewed in Oettinger’s brewery in Schwerin. Pale golden colour, slightly hazy (less hazy than many other hefes), large and fluffy white head. Aroma and flavour have some some of the traditional hefe characteristics (banana and cloves), but to a weaker degree, and there are also some soapy elements in the aroma. I tend to like nearly all hefeweissbiers, but this one definitely belongs in the lower end of the scale. Still drinkable and refreshing.

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

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Murky dark brown colour, lots of sediment. Yeasty aroma and flavour, some cloves.

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

500 ml bottle, unpasteurised, bought in Hvide Sande, Denmark. Beautiful clear reddish amber colour, moderate lingering head. Malty aroma with some caramel and honey. I like my bocks darker than this, still this one has a pretty full body, some malty caramel sweetness with a moderately bitter finish. Alcohol is unfortunately too dominant. Does not live up to its high price.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. The 4.1% and the 4.7% B.B. Dark versions were sold side by side, with a different label. This version pours relatively light reddish brown with a moderate off-white head. Moderate aroma of caramel malts, hints of oak and roastiness. Flavour is relatively sweet and one-dimensional of caramel malts, but not unpleasant. Notes of fresh rye bread. Light bodied, easy drinking.

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

I used to think that this was one of the best classic German pilseners I've had. I will need to re-rate soon to find out if my taste has changed. I suspect it will have - a brewery that spends that much money on advertising and sports sponsoring should always be regarded with some sound scepticism.

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

Draught at the brewpub, RBESG. Fresh and aged versions. I liked the fresh one better, so my ratings are for that one. Comments aged version: Cloudy brown colour, decent head. Yeasty and strong wort aroma, smells kind of "unfinished / immature". (5/10) Flavour is worty sweet, again "unfinished / immature". (5/10) Not my favourite this one. Overall 11/20. Comments fresh version: Cloudy brown colour. Aroma is malty and "fresher" than the aged one, fruity elements. Some oaky notes too. Flavour is malty / worty sweet - too sweet. Still better than the aged one.

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

500 ml bottle, many thanks to Gr0ve who supplied it to me from SmartClub Norway. Pale golden colour, decent head. Moderate carbonation. Moderate aroma of aromatic hops, some fruity and grassy notes. Flavour is reasonably hoppy but the malty base is very moderate. Fairly dry mouthfeel, bitter finish. OKish helles.

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

330 ml bottle. This is a new strong "klasse F" Yule/Christmas brew, for the Vinmonopolet segment of the Norwegian beer market. The style may be described as a cross-breed between a strong Vienna or Dunkel and a dark Bock. Deep chestnut colour, moderate light tan head. Malty aroma with a mild roastiness, notes of dark bread, caramel and oak. Flavour is malty sweet with some caramel and bready notes, very moderate hops. Light bodied for its strength and colour. Easy drinking. I really miss some more hops here. Nothing offensive about it, but this will not be my favourite "klasse F" Christmas beer.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Typical pilsener colour. Moderate flowery aroma with hints of honey. This is a light bodied and pleasant pilsener, amount of hops seems just right.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Amber colour. Very moderate aroma, hints of honey and caramel. Just a little fuller mouthfeel and flavour than their Jomfruhumle, seems reasonably well hopped.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 5.6%. Golden colour, large to moderate white head. Nice grassy aroma of aromatic hops (in America it would probably be known as "skunky", sic), some flowery notes too, hints of honey. Easy drinking, the pale malts are fairly well balanced with the moderate hops, some alcoholic sweetness. Does not carry its 5.6% supremely, but this is another OKish German beer - not one I’ll search out again, though.

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

2 liter mock ceramic (glass, actually) swingtop siphon ("growler"), as "Neuschwansteiner Das Echte", bought at Ole Simon, Sandnes, Norway. Pale golden colour, a faint haziness. Large to moderate head. Pleasant aroma of aromatic hops. Flavour is a typical standard helles: moderate malts, moderate hops, grainy notes, easy drinking, nothing unpleasant but nothing really remarkable either. Nice enough, but the siphon was more impressive than the beer.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Sweden). Reddish brown colour, decent head. A drinkable dunkel, not outstanding but decent for a Swedish commercial brewer. Good with food.

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

300 ml white painted bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. Colour is typical wit: Hazy, very pale straw coloured. Moderate head. Strong aroma of coriander, yeast and some citrus, and if I’m unkind: even some notes of perfumed shampoo and hints of vomit. Flavour is VERY citrussy / LEMONY, notes of coriander too. A bit too lemony for me, but definitely a refreshing beer for hot summer days. Just a faint bitterness in the aftertaste. The chicks might like it!

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

330 ml bottle. Cloudy brownish golden colour, large head. Typical hefeweizen aroma with notes of cloves and ripe bananas. Flavour is also typical hefeweizen, but lacks some of the "freshness" of the best beers of this style. Mouthfeel is a bit watery and bland, probably due to a lower ABV. A hefeweizen should have an ABV around 5.4! - which, however, would have excluded it from the Norwegian grocery store market. Still, this is a drinkable and fairly refreshing beer, not a bad try from Ringnes.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway in MENY stores. Clear golden colour, decent white head. Filtered without adjuncts. Nice grainy / malty / bready aroma with tolerable aromatic hops. Notes of alcohol, despite only 4.7% ABV. Grainy flavour with a certain malty sweetness, very moderate and "dusty" hops. A drinkable helles, but the style rarely makes me ecstatic.

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

375 ml bottle, corked champagne style. In France. Brown colour, large head. Aroma of barnyard, ensilage and red wine vinegar. Sour & sweet flavour with notes of claret and red wine vinegar. The recipe includes maize (corn) and ascorbic acid. A drinkable gueuze, but I’m not impressed.