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

Sampled bottle, at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Copper coloured beer. The aroma and flavour are very malty, alcoholic and oaky. Clearly a craft beer though.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Cloudy very dark brown colour, big to moderate creamy tan head. Nice aroma of malts, Christmas spices, brown sugar and some fruit. The flavour is malty sweet and rich with moderate notes of spices, dark dried fruits and brown sugar. There is a subtle acidity to balance the sweetness, but the hops are moderate. This is a very nice Yule/Christmas beer, will go better with fruit cake than the traditional Scandinavian Christmas dinner.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Edinburgh. ABV is 5.0%. Copper coloured beer, large and lasting off-white head. Malty aroma with vinous notes, also plenty of caramel, notes of bakery. Soft mouthfeel. Malty flavour with caramel and hints of dark fruits, but not as sweet as expected. Very moderate hops, the finish feels a bit "empty". Still a nice enough beer to drink.

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

550 ml brown bottle, winter 2007-2008, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). BB end of August 08. ABV is 6.0%. Clear amber colour, huge off-white head. Moderate malty aroma, notes of caramel, toffee and biscuits. The flavour is also moderately malty and quite sweet, with notes of treacle, toffee and hints of oak. Moderate hops in the finish. Nothing wrong with it, but not really outstanding. It is quite obvious that this beer is not bottle conditioned.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad, as Rise Ærø Ærøskøbing Dark Ale. Mahogany colour. Moderate malty aroma. Pleasant malty flavour, nothing spectacular but nice enough to drink.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABv was 8.5%. Bottle No. 32089. Reddish amber colour. Pleasant vinous, raisiny and oaky aroma. Oaky, sweet and raisiny flavour. Very nice.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 8.5%. Bottle no. 32629. Amber colour. Slightly less sweet and aromatic than the 2005 vintage. There was also a more hoppy finish in this one.

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

500 ml bottle, at Internasjonalen, Oslo. ABV was 8.0%. Organic, unfiltered, unpasteurised. Dark amber colour, cloudy when the sediment is poured, moderate head. Unusual sweetish fruity aroma and flavour, notes of ripe raspberries and blackcurrants. Nice beer.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Beautiful dark reddish brown colour, large head. Fine aroma of oak, toffee, dark chocolate and Colombian coffee beans. Full malty flavour with a little alcoholic bite, but not too much. Roasted notes, hints of English liquorice, bitter dark chocolate and smoke. The long aftertaste has strong black coffee notes with a hoppy bite. This is a first class beer! You'll need more than one to make you a "ryggvelter", though. Baaah!

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

(500 ml bottle, bought at Systembolaget, Sweden). Dark brown colour, low head. Aroma of malts and ensilage. Flavour has some maltiness, some bitterness - but lacks complexity. Cool bottle and label promises more than the beer keeps. Probably better cask conditioned?

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

(500 ml bottle.) Beautiful copper colour, nice thick head. Aroma and flavour of cinnamon, vanilla, caramel and toffee. Christmas cake notes in the flavour, some hoppy bitterness. Relatively light bodied despite the "Christmasy" elements, doesn’t taste like 6% ABV. I’m not too fond of the strong sweetish vanilla notes in the aroma, but this is a pleasant enough Christmas seasonal to drink. Wouldn’t care much for this as an all year beer, though - but it isn’t. Cool label! Cheerio, Sophie me’ lass!

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

Cask conditioned at the Prince of Wales, Wimbledon, London, Christmas 2004. This winter seasonal is very different from the ordinary Directors bitter. Mahogany brown colour, low head. Aroma has malts, dark fruits, sherry and oak. Sweetish flavour, notes of sherry, dried fruits and Christmas cake. Reminds me of a Scottish "heavy" with Christmas elements added. Low bitterness. At 5.5% ABV, alcohol is evident but not overwhelmingly so. Interesting.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. I think fellow rater chris_o is spot on in his comment (no surprise, as we sampled this beer from the same glass): "The colour was pale amber, but somewhat cloudy. There was certainly a noticeable resinous hop blast in the aroma but, not for the first time at this festival, there was a distinct whiff of sulphur too. I can only assume that was unintentional as the combination was not too appealing. The mouthfeel was zippy, but the initial hop aroma just didn’t carry through onto the palate and the flavours were not well defined. Finished soft and not very hoppy. I get the feeling that this could be a much more impressive beer, but wasn’t in tip top condition here." This is an OKish strong pale ale, alcohol is well hidden but the flavour is not very exciting.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Deep golden colour, aroma is dusty malts with some tobacco. Flavour is moderately malty. Had most of the beer with a meal (bangers & mash) - okay.

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: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle). Kentish strong ale of golden brown colour, good head, malty aroma with caramel and oak. Nutty flavour, well hopped, "raw" in the edges (which I like). Would love to try this one cask conditioned!

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Deep amber coloured, slightly hazy, large and lingering head. Pleasant aroma of fruity hops on a moderately malty background, hints of toffee and leather. Flavour is fairly malty with some caramel and a dominant hoppy bitterness, too bitter in the finish. A bit overdone on the hops in my book, but obviously a well-above-average beer.

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

(500 ml bottle, in Sweden). Ruby (rather: reddish brown) colour, very low head. Vinous aroma, full malty flavour, slightly alcoholic, good bitterness. Despite it being called a "table beer" (with robust foods) by the brewers, I would rather call it a typical "sipping beer". Recommended.

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

Draught at the brewpub. Served far too cold. This is a seasonal Yule/Christmas ale. Deep reddish brown colour, hazy. Pleasant malty aroma and flavour with caramel and spices. A bit too carbonated for my taste.

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

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Reddish brown colour, large and creamy off-white head. Bakery aroma, notes of brown bread and moderate hops. Flavour is also bready with distinct notes of caramel, sweetish with a hoppy and alcoholic bite in the finish. Not the best beer in the world, but much better than I feared.

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

Bottle condtioned, 500 ml. Bottle No. 001880. Pours with a large, thick and lasting beige head. Beautiful copper colour, transparent, no sediment in bottle. Delightful sweet aroma - Christmas spices, caramel, brown sugar, oak, fruits (sultanas, plums), sherry. Flavour is malty and spicy with some brown sugar notes, but not too sweet. A substantial hoppy bitterness from start to finish. Very good!

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Dark reddish brown colour, slightly hazy, large to moderate head. Fine aroma of oak, leather and camphorwood, some roastiness, brown sugar and prunes too. Flavour is very malty and slightly spicy with a moderate roastiness, but first and foremost dominated by a pronounced hoppy bitterness from start to finish - it’s debatable whether they have overdone the Target hops here. Aftertaste is definitely astringent. Still, it’s nice to have a beer where the use of both malts and hops obviously has been generous. This is not a beer for the "Carlings Black Label" crowd!

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

500 ml, bottle conditioned. Orange to brown colour, decent peachy to beige head. As I’ve had many British ales with excellent aroma lately, I kind of expected the 1845 to be equally good. It’s not, but that doesn’t mean the aroma is bad either. Moderate fruitcake and caramel aroma on a hoppy background. Flavour is malty with some spices and decent hops, but not VERY complex. The ABV is evident, but alcohol does not dominate the flavour. Hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. A decent beer, but not the best I’ve had.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Deep copper coloured, very good off-white head. Nice aroma of dark fruits, leather, oak and caramel malts. Flavour is malty sweet with a certain alcoholic burn, but not unpleasant. Some raisin notes too. Decent hops and a peppery finish. Not bad at all.