Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. dark brown colour, nearly black. Large and lasting greyish brown head. Moderate malty aroma with notes of caramel and bakery, hints of prunes. Moderate carbonation, mellow and pleasant mouthfeel. Nice moderately malty flavour with a pleasant roastiness, hints of schwarzbrot. Easy drinking. I like it.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

250 ml bottle, bought in Frederikshavn, Denmark. Hazy dark brown colour, large tan head. Pleasant aroma of dark malts, hops, chocolate, oak and bakery. Flavour is heavy dark malts, sweet, oaky and spicy. Hoppy finish. Warming mouthfeel as expected from a 12% ABV beer, there’s a certain "raw" and alcoholic edge (not entirely pleasant) that probably would benefit from a few years in a cellar. Powerful stuff, with a potential for improvement!

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

On tap at The Rover, Göteborg. Copper coloured, low head. Nice nutty and hoppy aroma, notes of toffee and grapefruit. Hoppy flavour on a decent malty base, grapefruity elements, "dusty" hops in the finish, bitter aftertaste. A bitter well above average.

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

On tap at The Rover, Göteborg. Dark chestnut colour, nearly ruby when held to the light. Amazing aroma of smoke, bonfires, seaside, tar and woodwork - but not the smoked sausage aroma of German rauchbiers. Smoke and tar in the flavour too, slightly drier than I would prefer, dusty / ashy finish. Not much else going on besides the smoke and tar.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Bottle, at Haket, Göteborg. Black colour, moderate but lasting creamy head. Strong aroma of roast malts, chocolate and elderberries. Flavour is mellow and rounded with chocolate and elderberries, surprisingly well balanced.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Lovely aroma of sherry and Christmas spices. Flavour is also spicy and vinous, fairly sweet. A beer to go with Christmas cookies rather than the main meal. Another fine effort from Nils Oscar.

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

500 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. Brewed with pale malt only. Golden colour, just a slight haziness, large off-white head. Nice hoppy aroma, hints of citrus, leather and maybe some oak. Distinct hoppy flavour throughout, some citrus and toffee, fruity finish. Bitter and long lasting aftertaste. A refreshing beer - not bad at all.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(330 ml bottle, airborne from Praha/Prague). Reddish brown colour, deep ruby when held to the light. Very good and thick tan head, good lacing. Roasty and malty aroma, hints of coffee, caramel and toast. Roasted malty flavour, hints of brown sugar but not really sweet, dominant coffee-like bitterness. Difficult to tell how much of the bitterness is from the roasted malts and how much is from the hops. Extracts and artificial colouring, hmm?? This is a tasty brew anyway.

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

A helluva lot better than the Leffe Blond! (Guess I'm a malty guy.) Pretty sweet; caramel, chocolate, oak and dried fruits in the aroma, malts (somewhat roasted), caramel and oak in the flavour, hops in the finish, a little too sweet in the aftertaste. Not bad!

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

One of the best bitters around. Rerate: Cask conditioned at the Blackbird, Earls Court, London. Copper coloured, no head, minimal carbonation. Moderate aroma, initial mellow flavour, then a dominant but pleasant hoppiness. Rerate bottle: 500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Clear amber colour, large fluffy head. Pleasant aroma of citrussy hops and toffee, hints of oak and leather. Flavour has some toffee and nuttiness, but first and foremost a distinct hoppy bitterness from start to finish, grapefruity notes. Hops linger in the long aftertaste. Not quite as good as the cask version, but still very good!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Cloudy brown colour, large lasting head. Aroma of brown bread and some spicy sweetness. Flavour is malty but not overly sweet, some spicy and subtly roasted edges. Smooth and mellow, nothing to blow your socks off, but still a beer it is a pleasure to drink. I had it on on its own, must be good with a meal too

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

(330 ml fliptop bottle, bought in Denmark). Hazy pale golden colour, moderate head, leaves some lacing. Aroma is yeasty like a blond ale and flowery (Saaz?) like a Bohemian pilsener. Flavour and aftertaste have a distinct hoppy bitterness, notes of pine needles, eucalyptus and grapefruit. Very nice. One small bottle is not enough!

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Crouch Vale’s attempt at a red Irish style ale - not a bad try IMO. Reddish colour, malty / toffee / caramel aroma, hints of oak. Malty caramel flavour with a surprisingly hoppy bitterness. Very good. A great combo with burger & chips.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle). Typical hefe cloudy golden, large head. Lovely strong aroma of ripe bananas, bubblegum and cloves. Cloves in the flavour too, light bodied, tasty but could still use some more "bite". Like most weissbiers not too much aftertaste. Good, not outstanding.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Pours with an enormous fluffy lingering head. Cloudy brown colour. Aroma is alcohol, red fruits, leather, caramel and sherry. Flavour is malty with English fruitcake and Christmas pudding elements, but a substantial hoppy bitterness (nearly too much?) takes over and dominates through the long finish. Some alcoholic warmth. Good strong ale, but somehow the hop varieties used seem not to be perfectly balanced with the initial comforting sweetness.

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

Cask conditioned at the Prince of Wales, Wimbledon, London, Christmas 2004. Copper coloured. Nutty, pleasant, hints of Christmas spices. Very nice Christmas ale with a moderate ABV.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

To the best of my knowledge, this is the same beer as Guinness Draught (can), with a nitrogen-widget in the bottle. I had it served at an Angus Steak House outlet in London, poured in a glass (drinking a nitro-beer straight from the bottle? - what an idea!!). Smooth and pleasant to drink, with the usual Guinness coffee-like roastiness.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Norway.) Pours with the typical large & lingering weissbier head, colour of the beer is brown, not black as the name suggests. Slightly hazy. Pleasant aroma of fresh baked bread and weissbier yeast, hints of dark syrup and caramel. Flavour has a slight roastiness and some farmhouse bread character, smooth and pleasant to drink, but not very complex. Just enough hops to leave a pleasant aftertaste, but like most weissbiers the aftertaste does not last "forever". This is a decent but unpretentious beer, a nice accompaniment with a meal or as a refreshment on its own.

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

330 ml bottle, at The Beehive, Brentford, London. Copper coloured, moderate head. Malty sweet aroma with hints of dried fruits, oak and sherry. Flavour is malty sweet with oak, dried figs and dusty hops. Warming mouthfeel. Interesting.

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

(500 ml bottle). This is really just a decent English bitter with a bit more alcohol. Other raters claim that the bottle is more heavily hopped than the draught version - that might be true, at least the golden beer in front of me has a lovely hoppy aroma and a nice bitterness. Good head. Rather light bodied (too light?), which makes the brewery advertize it as "deceptively drinkable". Very refreshing it is, would like to sample the draught version too.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Colour is black / very dark ruby. Aroma is roast malts on an initially unpleasant background of vomit, gets better as the beer warms up. Flavour is much better, again: roast malts and coffee. Bitterness seems just right. Easy drinking.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(500 ml bottle). Enormous thick and lasting beige head, colour is very dark brown, cloudy. Aroma is immediately bread yeast, bread dough, fresh sweet buns. As the beer warms up, I also get rye bread, leather and caramel. Flavour is rye bread, caramel (too much), molasses, hints of roastiness and spices. Warming mouthfeel. There’s a very good beer hidden in here somewhere, but it remains unreleased. Sweetness is mostly to blame.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle). Okay, I've figured out that the % in the name of Czech and Slovakian beers is NOT the ABV, but has something to do with the malt content. Well, 5.6% alcohol seems just right for this beer. A golden beer with a faint haziness and moderate head, and a grassy, yeasty and malty aroma and flavour that makes me wonder for a second if the beer is bottom or top fermented. Bottom fermented it is, but the Czechs would hardly call this "Special" a pilsener (it's brewed in Praha, too). But who cares? Great hops bitterness in flavour and aftertaste. I always like beers where the elements yeast (not too much), malts and hops are all clearly detectable. In other words, I like this beer a lot!

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

375 ml corked bottle, champagne style, bought in Prague. Label says: P.H. Wandenstock Belle-Vue Kriek Lambic. ABV is 5.1%. Brewed by Interbrew Belgium, distributed in the Czech Republic by Staropramen. Beautiful red colour, large pink foamy head. Lovely aroma of sour cherries. Flavour is of course sour cherries too, initially sweet, with a hint of hops. Not very complex, and the finish is surprisingly short.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Golden colour, large lasting head. Strong fruity and flowery hops aroma, some malts in there too, faint hints of leather and camphor. Flavour is a hoppy bitter explosion from start to finish, verging on being too much, but there also is a delicate malty sweetness below which makes the bitterness acceptable. Long, bitter and dry aftertaste. Who said pilseners don’t taste of anything?