Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml can, from Helgø Meny Kvadrat. Cola colour, large to moderate beige head. Aroma of malts, caramel and pumpernickel bread. Very sweet flavour with loads of malt sugar and caramel, also notes of pumpernickel and liquorice. Low bitterness.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

480 ml can, from EkoMarket Stavanger. ABV is 4.3%. Clear pale golden colour, moderate to small white head. Dull aroma of grain and dust. Light bodied. The flavour is first slightly citric, followed by fairly decent herbal hops.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

500 ml can, from EkoMarket Stavanger. ABV is 4.6%. Clear pale golden colour, large white head. Moderate aroma, hints of grass, pilsener malts and herbal hops. The flavour is first grainy and malty, followed by dry herbal hops.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Bottle at Schouskjelleren, Oslo. Amber colour, moderate but lasting off-white head. Aroma of ripe berries, tobacco and resinous hops, hints of ashes. Infected? Fruity and acidic flavour, resinous hops. Tastes clearly infected.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

330 ml bottle, as Estrella Galicia Premium Lager, from REMA 1000. ABV in Norway is 4.7%. It has the black & red label of the ordinary Estrella Galicia, not the green label of Estrella Galicia Pilsen (which is 4.7% ABV even in Spain). To make further confusion, the label says in Spanish that it contains gluten (which is logical, as the beer contains barley malt), while there is also a sticker in Norwegian, saying that the beer is gluten free. I suspect the Norwegian importer may have misunderstood something here ... At any rate, the gluten content is probably fairly low, as maize (corn) is also an ingredient. Pale golden colour, large to moderate white head, nice lacing. Heineken-like "skunky" and grassy aroma (which I can’t say I find offensive), hints of citrus. Initially a fairly clean and crisp flavour ( I drank it very cold), with a distinct and rather sharp and unpleasant bitterness in the finish, metallic in the aftertaste. Little hop flavour besides the bitterness. Not a great beer, but I’d probably prefer it if the only alternatives were the blandest of Spanish supermarket pale lagers.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

355 ml can, from Vinoble Frederikshavn. ABV is 5.6%. Deep nut brown colour, small off-white to beige head. Aroma of hazelnut extract, brown malts and coffee. The flavour has the same elements, and is not too sweet. Minimal hops, "dead" finish. Won't buy again.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

330 ml can, kindly shared by abemorsten. ABV is 3.8%. Pale golden colour, moderate white head. Sweetish aroma, notes of candy, a hint of fruity hops. Soft mouthfeel, drinkable. The flavour has a little malts and very moderate hops in the finish, so you might say it’s "approved". Not memorable though.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

330 ml bottle, "made under licence of Chinggis Beer LLC, Ulanbaatar, Mongolia by HBI Hamburger Bier Import". ABV is 5.0%. An unexpected gift from Cunningham, thanks! Very pale yellow colour, large white head. Strong sweetish aroma, notes of grass and artificial candy. The flavour is medium sweet (for a pilsener), but not quite as sweet as the aroma made me fear. No offensive sidenotes, so the beer is drinkable, but has far too little hops to make me really happy. Dry finish.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

(330 ml bottle). "Indian" beer brewed in England. Pale golden colour, good head. Some hops in the aroma, run of the mill lager flavour, metallic bitterness. Just another "wash down the curry" beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Strong aroma of Christmas spices, sweet malts and vegemite. Very SWEET flavour, molasses galore. Far too sweet in my book.

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

A modern style pilsener, quite acceptable. Rerate (can): Very light golden colour, moderate head, very light bodied, fairly dry, distinct but slightly metallic bitterness.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

330 ml can, bought in Tenerife. Apparently Estrella del Sur originally was brewed (since 1959) in Sevilla, in one of the breweries bought and closed by the Damm group. Damm have kept the brand. Not to be confused with the 0.9% stronger Estrella Damm. Extremely pale crystal clear straw colour. Large and lasting foamy head. Pleasant fruity sweet aroma. Bland and uninteresting flavour, some faint unpleasant "boiled" sidenotes. Forgettable.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

330 ml clear bottle. This winter lager is slightly darker than your average pils, like a Danish "Classic" or maybe a Vienna. Deep golden to amber colour, decent lingering head. Fairly pleasant but very moderate aroma of hops and some toffee. Flavour is bland and boring, some dusty hops and hints of caramel and wet cardboard. Another weak product from Grans!

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

Typical Danish discount "pilsner" / pale lager. I don't know what sets it apart from the Krudtugle Pilsner, but they appear to be different beers. I really can't remember anything special about this one. That probably says it all. Typical run-of-the-mill industrial pale lager, but not remarkably offensive either.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml clear swingtop & silk print bottle, bought in France. Deep golden to amber colour, decent head and lacing. Unusual sweetish fruity and candy aroma, notes of cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, herbs and boiled vegetables too. Sweetish and sugary flavour, notes of vanilla, cinnamon and other spices. Lagerish mouthfeel. I don’t quite know what to make of this beer - it’s something out of the ordinary, but in the end it’s just too sugary and weird for my taste.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

250 ml bottle, bought in France. ABV is 4.6%. Golden colour, decent head. Grassery and flowery sweet aroma, hints of honey. Light bodied, bland pale lager flavour, not much nor very good hops. Some metallic notes. Not a beer to search out.

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

500 ml can, from a SPAR shop in Funchal. ABV is 8.6%. Clear golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Sweetish aroma, notes of banana, a hint of soap. Moderately sweet flavour, notes of banana again. Moderate hops.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. With the Ae S Märzen’s overpowering aroma of smoked sausages in mind, I opened the Weizen with trembling anticipation and fear. The beer is murky brown, and pours with an enormous greyish off-white head. Intense aroma of smoked pork / uncooked bacon, which nearly overpowers the normal hefe elements (cloves and banana) that are faintly present in the background. Flavour has some uncooked bacon notes too, but they are not as overpowering as in the aroma. Fairly smooth to drink, but let’s face it: smoked pork is not what I want to smell nor taste in a beer. Sorry!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

Bottle, RBESG 2006. Cloudy golden colour. Funky aroma with notes of wine vinegar. Tastes like ... duh, sour horsepiss and horse droppings (not that these are part of my staple diet, but this is what I imagine they would taste like, when fermented), some woody notes too. Not my cup of tea (uh, beer) this one. Sorry.

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

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. ABV is 5.0%. Batch #26. Pale lager aroma and flavour, slightly flowery. Nothing to write home about, the aloe vera did not make much of an impression on me.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. 750 ml bottle. Dark brown colour, low head. Sickening chocolate aroma, like chocolate sauce. Very sweet chocolate flavour, too sweet for me, but probably nice if you "simply LOVE" chocolate.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting, as Taurus 8 Bock. Pale golden colour, low head. Moderate grassy aroma and flavour. Not offensive, but definitely not my favourite beer.

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

(500 ml can). Pale golden colour, moderate head, weak but not unpleasant grassy aroma, fairly "neutral" standard pale lager flavour, at least some (but not much) bitterness. CB (on Norway's "sunshine" South coast) make a lot of hype around their "clear source water" - a little more malts and hops would have been good too!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

(330 ml bottle). Allegedly another "Christmas classic" from one of the many breweries Ringnes has bought and closed. This beer has a rather weak aroma, acidic and slightly malty with just a hint of caramel and oak. Even for a "klasse D" Yule beer this one has a weak and watery flavour and thin mouthfeel. Little aftertaste. Very disappointing.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

(330 ml bottle). A "klasse D" Yule brew for the grocery store market, made by Arendals Brewery, which is one of the few local breweries in the Ringnes portfolio that hasn't been shut down (yet...). This beer can't make anyone happy, colour is transparent brown, aroma and flavour have some malts and caramel and are not offensive - but watery, watery, watery! Just too little of everything you want from a Christmas/Yule brew. Metallic bitterness in the finish.