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

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark, as B.B. (Budweis Bohemia) Dark (red label). The brown labeled 4.1% version was sold side by side. Pours copper coloured (darker than the 4.1% version), good light tan head. Aroma of caramel malts but also fruity aromatic hops. Flavour is one-dimensional caramel malts, a bit too sweet (even sweeter than the weaker version) but still drinkable.

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

Draught at the Brauhaus / brewpub’s tent at Husumer Hafentage. Served in a plastic glass. Deep brown colour, slightly hazy, creamy head. Moderate caramel aroma. Pleasant mellow and well rounded flavour with plenty of caramel, low bitterness.

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

(330 ml bottle, in Sweden. Later also available in Norway). Beautiful ruby colour, moderate head. Malty sweet aroma with hints of oak. Mellow flavour - a tad too sweet in my book. Low bitterness. Not a bad beer, but it lacks "bite".

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Reddish brown colour, low head. Malty aroma with notes of rye bread. Malty flavour but relatively light bodied, moderate carbonation, notes of fresh rye bread, quite refreshing.

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

330 ml bottle: Reddish amber colour, relatively pale for a dunkel, good head. Malty aroma with caramel and some aromatic hops. Light bodied but well balanced, fairly malty but not really sweetish, nutty flavour with a reasonable amount of hops which make it refreshing. Nice.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle,bought at Føtex or SuperBest, Aalborg. ABV is 5.5%. Dark reddish brown colour, big cream-coloured head. Aroma of spices, malts and caramel. The flavour is malty with plenty of caramel, moderate spicy notes, hints of honey. Low bitterness, the finish is a bit bland. Still a drinkable beer. Original rating:Sample + full size glass on tap at the brewpub. I think the waiter must have mixed up things here - the sample was deep golden and spicy, while the full size was copper coloured (like their IPA), hoppier and less spicy. Comments sample: Aroma of incense and Christmas spices (ginger, cardamom, cloves). Spicy sweet flavour, unusual, interesting.

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

500 ml twistcap bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Typical dunkel reddish brown colour, decent pale greyish brown head. Pleasant malty sweet aroma with notes of caramel, toast and bakery. Mellow nutty flavour with notes of dark bread and caramel, tolerable hops for a dunkel (Hallertau, Spalt and Tettnang). Nice.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Clear brown to copper coloured, large light tan head. Pleasant aroma of lightly roasted malts, caramel, chocolate and bakery (including rye bread and Danish pastry). Lightly roasted malty flavour, fairly mellow, bready notes, some caramel but not really sweet, decent hops for a dunkel. Mouthfeel could have been fuller. Moderate but pleasant aftertaste. Okay.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. ABV is 4.9%. Typical dunkel clear reddish brown colour, very good and lingering light tan head. Very nice aroma of moderately roasted malts, flaked nuts, caramel and bakery. Flavour is malty and nutty with notes of dark bread and caramel, not too sweet. German dunkels are not "big" beers, but are, when well made, a truly enjoyable drinking experience. This is one of them.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Reddish brown colour, large off-white head. Malty aroma with notes of caramel and bakery, some fruity hops too. Malty flavour with caramel and bready notes, not very sweet, spicy and fairly hoppy bitter finish. Dusty aftertaste. Okay.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Bier Spezi Hamburg. Brown colour, large off-white head. Malty and fruity sweet aroma (raisins), some caramel and spices too. Pleasant flavour with vinous notes, hints of oak, malts are well balanced with the hops. I won’t need wood cutting as an excuse to drink this beer. Very nice!

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

330 ml bottle, in Denmark. Ascorbic and citric acid has been added to this "pure malt and Saazer hops" beer, hmmm..... Copper coloured, low head. Weak aroma, some caramel malts. Very moderate flavour of caramel malts. I’m not impressed!

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

Draught at Christian Firtal, Odense. Dark ruby colour when held to the light. A bit fizzy. Moderate aroma of caramel malts. Flavour is moderately sweet with caramel and chocolate notes. Hints of blackcurrants. Some hops in the finish, more than in many other dunkels.

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

330 ml fliptop bottle, in Flensburg. Reddish brown colour, good and lasting creamy off-white head. Quite nice flowery and malty aroma. Caramel malts flavour. Minimal bitterness.

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

750 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Beautiful copper colour, good beige head. Moderate caramel malts aroma, some aromatic hops too. Clean tasting dunkel, mellow caramel malts flavour but not too sweet. Decent enough to drink, but not worth the high price.

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

330 ml fliptop / swingtop bottle, bought in Germany. Copper coloured, large and lasting offwhite head, nice lacing. Pleasant malty, slightly roasty and caramel aroma, notes of rye bread, some aromatic hops too. Flavour is reasonably malty and slightly roasty, hints of smoke and caramel. Mouthfeel is a bit thin. Allegedly this beer is brewed according to an authentic 16th century "Braunbier" recipe (those were most likely top fermented, though - this one is bottom fermented) - at any rate it is well worth sampling!

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. Strong burnt caramel aroma, nice. Flavour is again burnt caramel, but well balanced with the malts and hops. A top notch dunkel this one.

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

Reddish brown colour, good head. Moderate aroma of oak and caramel malts. Medium body, typical dunkel, some toffee flavour but not too sweet. Must be good with food. Lightly hopped, pleasant, easy drinking. Maybe not the greatest beer in the world, but impossible to dislike, if you like beer at all.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Beautiful chestnut colour, very good head. Aroma of caramel, dried fruits, oak and roasted malts, initially weak but improves as the beer warms up. Roasted malts and some caramel in the flavour, still a bit thin mouthfeel. Relatively short aftertaste without much bite. A decent Munich dunkel, but I did like the Neumarkter Lammsbräu better!

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

Reddish brown colour, bread yeast and just a hint of coffee in the aroma. Flavour leaves you with the impression of drinking this beer in a bakery (this is not necessarily an insult to the beer - it's probably an OK accompaniment with a few sandwiches or even Danish pastry). Drier than I expected. Not as good as the Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel (and not nearly as good as Aass Bock, which I enjoyed 1 hour earlier) - a bit watery, but still a drinkable dunkel that won't offend anyone.

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

The thinnest of Norwegian 'bayers' (Munich Dunkel) I've had so far. This is a style I appreciate - it's a pity that the Kristiansand brewery couldn't make a better show of it. This beer has just too little of everything the style should have. (For a few years, before the Hansa-Borg partnership, CB made Tou Bayer, which again originally was made by Tou Bryggeri in Stavanger, now part of the Ringnes group. Alas, Tou Bayer exists no more - but I remember it, right or wrong, to have more flavour than the stuff CB makes now.)