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

330 ml can, brewed by S.A. Damm, bought in Tenerife. ABV is 4.5%. Very pale yellow colour, big to moderate white head. Weak but not unpleasant aroma, floral and grassy notes, a hint of honey. Light bodied, thin mouthfeel. The flavour is moderately sweet with some grassy and citrussy notes, low bitterness. Boring, but not offensive.

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

500 ml can. Pale yellow colour, pours very fizzy with a big white head. Sweetish and sugary aroma, some grassy notes too. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is not quite as bad as I feared, there are some bittering hops here, becoming metallic in the end. Not a beer I’ll buy again, though.

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

500 ml can, unfiltered, from Dagli’brugsen Skødstrup, Denmark. ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, large white head. Malty and grainy aroma, sweetish notes of baby porridge. The flavour is also malty and grainy, but not too sweet. Drinkable when cold. However, both aroma and flavour are nearly void of hops. What the hell - is there a hop shortage in Germany now?

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(500 ml bottle). Well, any idiot can recognize that this beer has MORE aroma than (nearly) any other beer, and MORE flavour than a lot of beers. But to make a 100% honest rating, I have to ask myself: Do I actually LIKE the overpowering smell of smoked meat? Sadly, the answer is NO. I'm a beer drinker, not a goddamn sausage maker! The flavour is not quite as overpowering smoky as the aroma - at least you get a notion that you're drinking a beer and not just liquid smoked meat. Still, it tastes like something that has just been saved out of the burnt-out ruins of a brewery. Like any Marzen, it is quite light bodied (when you try to ignore the smokiness, of course). I probably have to admit that Rauchbiers are not my cup of tea - sorry, beer - but would still like to sample the Urbock as I imagine that a heavier beer would carry the smokiness better than a Marzen. Did I mention that this beer at least LOOKS good? - good head, beautiful dark copper colour.

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

A weaker version (4.75%) is sold in Norway. I don't like this stuff. Metallic bitter and unpleasant aftertaste. Better on tap in Germany (original strength), but still not one of my favourites.

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

(330 ml bottle, ABV 5.9%). Weird beer! - but then, mixing cognac in beer IS a weird idea! The result: Aroma and flavour neither of beer nor cognac - but of RASPBERRIES!! and boysenberries. Rather sweet, but not as sweet as the aroma makes you fear. Not really godawful, but definitely not a beer I'll buy again. Beer is beer, and cognac is cognac - and never shall the two meet (again)! BTW, I think the beer used in this blend is a lager, not an ale - but I'm not 100% sure.

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

(33 cl can, bought in Greece). Pale golden colour, low head. Very weak grassy aroma, hints of citrus. Fairly fresh and clean flavour, rather neutral but not unpleasant.

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

A Christmas beer for the "cool" ice beer generation - oh my God! Well, it's probably not exactly an ice beer, just the average bland lager with just a little more flavour to pretend it's a "Xmas" beer. Pathetic! The ice beer generation will probably stick to ice beer or pils for Christmas anyhow, so why bother? 0,5 liter can in white and silver, commercial description in English only, even though the beer is sold primarily (or solely?) in Norway. Wow - cooool! - (can't believe there are assholes who actually think so!) Low head, golden colour, just a faint trace of spice (cardamom?) in the flavour. Aftertaste is weak but not foul, at least they have had the decency to add some hops to the stuff.

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

330 ml bottle, at the Otto Duborg café near Flensburg. Served with a plastic glass! Golden colour, large and lasting head. Very moderate fruity aroma. Alcoholic and boring sweet flavour.

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

330 ml clear bottle. Ringnes intend to present a new recipe for their Bryggerimester Spesial each year, and the 2005 edition is definitely VERY different from the 2004 edition (each vintage is listed separately at BeerPal). Beautiful deep amber colour, decent head. Aroma is dominated by strong anise / cough medicine notes, not a perfect marriage with the weaker notes of caramel malts. Hints of thyme. Flavour is also dominated by anise, vanilla notes are much weaker. Fairly light bodied, malts do not come up front. Some faint hops and anise again in the aftertaste. The 2004 edition was quite good for its moderate strength, the 2005 is not. Definitely not my cup of tea, sorry: beer. Experiments are okay in the world of beer, but there’s no guarantee that they will be successful. This one isn’t. To be avoided. Better luck next year.

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

Take an American standard with its corn sweetness, add a little more hops + alcohol and just a touch of spicyness (nutmeg?) - and you have this "Yule/Christmas brew". Not nearly as bad as I expected, this is still far from the quality of a Norwegian "klasse F" Christmas beer. I have no idea why they imported this stuff to Norway - in Denmark at least it's cheap, here it's expensive.

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

Amber colour, moderate head. Corn and hops aroma. Light bodied, but a distinct unpleasant bitterness. Funny name = 'The Night Express Train' probably suggests that this beer is a fine night cap and will put you to sleep nicely. For sure, the flavour is no reason to keep you up. You might as well go to sleep. Good night!

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

500 ml can, bought in France. Pale golden colour, decent head. Weak aroma, some faint fruity and flowery notes. Fairly clean and "neutral" pale lager flavour, which means that there is not much taste, but not too many offensive off-flavours either. Some bitterness in the finish, becomes metallic in the aftertaste. This is swill for the South Pacific heat, not something for beer lovers to search out, unless you want another country in your ratings list.

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

330 ml bottle. Pale golden colour, decent head. Very moderate hops in the aroma. Light bodied of course, but an unexpected hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste makes it stand above most other Norwegian "lettøl".

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

Another light beer (which in Norway always means low alcohol) that may keep you from dying of thirst when you have to drive. Actually, this one has acceptable hops as well, and is not too bad. Light coloured and less malty than other Norwegian light beers, it's still among the more drinkable of its kind (which doesn't say much, really).

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

March 2006: 330 ml green bottle with a green label, simply called "Yanjing Beer", in France. ABV was 4.5%. I presume this is the same beer. Pale golden colour, large fluffy head. Grassy aroma, not unlike Tsingtao and Heineken. Relatively dry pale lager flavour, not offensive.

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

500 ml bottle, from BilkaToGo, Skalborg. ABV is 0.5%. Golden colour, large white head. Aroma of grain, wort and citrus. The flavour has the same elements. Not too bad for a n/a beer.

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

500 ml can, from Rema 1000, Tau. ABV is 4.5%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, moderate white head. Sweetish aroma of pilsener malts, and grassy and floral hops. Light bodied as expected, citric mouthfeel. The flavour has some weak citric and grassy hops, lacking a malty backbone.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.0%. Murky pink-ish colour, moderate to small off-white head. Aroma of ripe and over-ripe raspberries and guava fruit (no surprise there), feels a bit unfresh. The flavour has notes of artificial candy (but is not overly sweet), also said fruits, again an unfresh feel to it. Noticeable bittering hops, which seem strangely misplaced. Appears unharmonious and pointless.

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

500 ml can, from Coop Extra Prestemarka, Tau. ABV is 4.5%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, moderate white head. Strong sweetish aroma, notes of grass and candy. Thin mouthfeel. The flavour is fairly crisp with just a slight sweetness, some citric notes, very moderate hops. Drinkable.

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

330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Sola. ABV is 7.5%. Crystal clear golden colour, moderate white head. Sweetish aroma of malts, newmown grass and some alcohol. Slightly sweet flavour of malts and alcohol, moderate bittering hops in the finish. Not great, but I expected it not to be - at least it is cheap. As much bang for the bucks as you can get at Vinmonopolet - if you are desperate enough.

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

330 ml can, from Diana Supermercado, Estepona. ABV is 4.8%. Golden colour, large to moderate white head. Sweetish aroma, malts and grass. Medium dry flavour, sharpish herbal hops in the finish.

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

330 ml can, from Aldi, Estepona. ABV is 2.0%. Hazy pale straw colour, small white head. Aroma of lemons and lemon zest. Flavour of lemonade, a little malts in the background.

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

500 ml can, from Kiwi Tau. ABV is 4.3%. Clear and deep golden colour, moderate to small white head. Aroma of malts, toffee and caramel. The flavour has the same elements, but is not too sweet. Moderate bittering hops in the aftertaste.

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

April 2013: 500 ml can, from Superbrugsen, Denmark. ABV is 5%. Golden colour, large white head. Sweetish aroma, fruity and grassy notes. Soft mouthfeel. Bland flavour, medium sweet, not offensive, but far too little hops.