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

330 ml bottle, batch #1849, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 5.5%. Nearly clear pale golden colour, slightly hazy when the yeast is poured in the end, moderate to small white head. Moderate aroma of wheat, coriander seeds and chamomile, only a hint of orange peel. Thin body. Citric flavour, distinct notes of chamomile and orange peel, moderate coriander, minimal hops. Next time, skip the chamomile, and use more curacao orange peel and coriander seeds, please. A little more hops would not hurt.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

Bottle conditioned, a dusty 500 ml bottle at Plan B, Copenhagen, august 2005 - "best before" date was Oct. 2004! Tasted definitely a bit "off". Black colour, low head. Weak roasty aroma and flavour. Sourish and thin. Very disappointing, as my expectations were high. Will need to rerate a fresh bottle or cask.

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

(500 ml bottle, in Sweden). Pale golden colour, decent head. This is a fairly "neutral" lager, a bit sweet, low bitterness. Drinkable, but certainly not remarkable.

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

This beer is now finally brewed in Berentsens Brygghus' own facilities in Egersund. My comment while it was still contract brewed by Aass Bryggeri in Drammen: (330 ml bottle). Rogalands Pils is a new beer, temporarily brewed by Aass while Berentsens in Egersund are setting up their own brewing facilities. (Aass also brewed another Rogalands Pils a few years ago, for the Stavanger firm Middelthon). The beer has a typical pils golden colour, moderate head, quite strong fruity, flowery and slightly yeasty aroma. Flavour is clean, fresh and rather "neutral", just a hint of fruity sweetness. Moderate bitterness (too moderate). Average.

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

500 ml brown bottle, bought in Denmark. ABV there is 4.7%. Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate aroma - some grass, flowers and honey. Flavour is fairly clean with a moderately hoppy finish, aftertaste does not last forever. An average drinkable pilsener, but not much more than that.

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

Draught at the Brauhaus / brewpub’s tent at Husumer Hafentage. Was called a "Helles" there, also in the printed Brauhaus "newspaper" which served as a menu. No "Pilsner" mentioned there. While the brewpub’s website, on the other hand, makes no mention of a Helles other than the Pilsner, and the ABV is exactly the same (varies between 5.0 and 5.2%), I presume they are identical. After all, "hell/helles" simply means "pale", and the term is frequently used all over Germany for all kinds of pale lagers, not only the Southern German "style" Helles (if it really is a clearly defined style at all, which is debatable). Served ice cold in a plastic glass. Honey coloured, slightly hazy, low head. A helles / average pilsner with a fairly decent balance between hops and malts, but nothing exceptional going on here.

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

330 ml brown bottle. Locally brewed by Lervig in Stavanger. Gone are the clear bottles and pilseners contract brewed by Mack and Trio. This one is very pale straw coloured, decent lingering head. Pleasant fruity aroma, notes of honey and grass too. Very light bodied, tolerable hoppy character, some bitterness in the aftertaste. No offensive sidenotes. Better than the contract brewed (now retired) Lervig Pilsner.

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

The premium beer of CCC's Las Palmas output. Just slightly more colour and flavour than Tropical Pils. This is still a brew for warm weather. Easy drinking, fairly nice.

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

Brewed in CCC's brewery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Just slightly darker than Dorada Pilsen, this is still a warm weather beer. Probably the best of the four CCC beers I had in the Canarias, quite nice on tap.

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

Rerate, on tap in Hamburg. This is a fairly average standard pilsener, but the hoppy bitterness in the finish was actually greater than I remembered it from the bottles I’ve sampled earlier. Drinkable.

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

330 ml can, bought in Germany. Sweetish fruity aroma. Flavour is relatively malty and sweet for a pilsener. Hoppy bitter finish. Drinkable, but not really remarkable.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi, Hamburg. Very pale golden colour, large head. Moderate aroma of grass, fruits and pale malts. Flavour is surprisingly bland, some grassy and sweetish notes. Low bitterness. ABV is well hidden. Drinkable, but I expected more than this. Confirms my theory that the Octoberfest is a ridiculously over-hyped event for American and German binge drinkers, and has very little, if anything, to do with a great beer selection or beers out of the ordinary.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle. This is the grocery store version of Hansa’s Julebrygg (Yule/Christmas Brew - not to be confused with their Juleøl - Yule/Christmas Beer). Very nice appearance - dark reddish brown colour, large and lasting creamy light tan head. Moderate malty aroma, notes of caramel and toast. Flavour has wort sweetness with next to nothing to balance it, notes of sweet bread, caramel, dark syrup and molasses. Tastes too much like "vørterøl" (unfermented wort "beer"). Definitely not my first choice for Christmas.

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

500 ml can. Deep golden colour, moderate head. A fairly decent standard pale lager with some caramel added, but without the typical Grans offensive side-flavours and metallicness. Not a typical Norwegian juleøl (it is not intended to be), but fairly drinkable, and a good choice for the lager louts who think that a standard juleøl / julebrygg is "too dark" (sic).

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

250 ml bottle, named "Belzebuth Pur Malt Extra Forte", ABV was 13%. In Nice, France. Deep golden colour, low head. Malty sweet and alcoholic aroma, notes of molasses. Flavour is sweet and alcoholic, but the beer is not undrinkable.

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

250 ml bottle, bought in France. Amber colour, large off-white head. Strong sweetish aroma with notes of whisky (or rather: whisky liqueur). Flavour is very sweet and sugary, the notes of peat-smoked malts are there, but seem somehow displaced in this sugary environment. Besides the sweetness and smoked malts the beer is relatively light-bodied, without much complexity. Won’t be my favourite tipple this one, but it is not undrinkable. A 250 ml bottle is enough, though.

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

500 ml can, bought in Poland. Golden colour, large white head. Sweetish fruity aroma, bordering on sugary, some aromatic hops too. Sweetish flavour with alcoholic notes, decent hops in the finish. No masterpiece, but drinkable.

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

Rerate: Quite successful pale lager. Some wheat malts are used in addition to the barley, giving the beer just a little of the dry freshness you find in a wheat beer. Too weak on the hops though.

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

Draught at an "Irish" theme pub in Prague. Waitress said plato was 10 when I asked. Hope I’m rating the right beer. Golden colour, low head. Malt and fruits aroma. Moderately malty pale lager, low bitterness. Easy drinking, but unremarkable.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006, bottle. Amber colour. Dusty leather aroma. Dry dusty flavour, nothing spectacular. Average quality, but you expect more from Nils Oscar. Did not blow my socks off this one.

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

RBESG 2006, bottle. Golden colour, moderate head. Sweetish aroma, notes of flowers, grass and honey. Flavour is rounded and mellow, moderately malty and slightly sweet, low bitterness.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. 44 cl can. Golden colour, moderate head. Butterscotch (diacetyl) aroma, quite nice. Flavour is bland and boring with some butterscotch notes, very moderate hops in the finish.

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

(330 ml bottle). As all Norwegians who love Juleøl know, the stronger "klasse F" beers are the only way to go. Still, this grocery store version from Borg is drinkable esp. with food, nothing offensive about it - just a thin and watery mouthfeel as expected. Colour somewhere between amber and copper, moderate head, malty and slightly spicy aroma. Flavour is lightly malty with some caramel, but not too sweet. Far from complex. Not something to offer Santa (or Odin & Thor...) Go for the stronger version!

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

Reddish brown colour, good head. Weak aroma. Moderate sweetness, watery. More hops than I expected in the aftertaste. Drinkable, but CB beers are generally thin. Go for the stronger (klasse F) version.

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

(330 ml bottle). Reddish brown colour, moderate head. Aroma is initially citrussy, then a bit oaky and spicy. Too aggressive carbonation. Flavour is thin and not complex, some malts but quite dry. Watery mouthfeel. A peppery bitterness in the finish.