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

At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Very dark brown to black colour, moderate tan head. Both aroma flavour have a nice balance between the roasted malts and the resinous and fruity hops. Well behaved, despite is high IBU. Highly drinkable, very good.

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

375 ml green "champagne" bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottled on 16.05.11. Bottle No. 6747 of 8973. ABV is 11.2%. Dark brown colour, nearly black. Huge tan head. Nice aroma of American hops, notes of spruce, pine and grapefruit. Also notes of roasted malts. The flavour is first sweet, malty and roasty, followed by a massive hoppiness, notes of spruce, pine and resin. The bitterness becomes rather sharp in the aftertaste.

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

500 ml bottle, from Ølkonsortiet, Aalborg. ABV is 5.9%. Very dark brown to black colour, huge and lasting tan head. Nice aroma elements - roasty notes from the malts, and moderate notes of tropical fruits. But do these two elements blend in perfectly? Well, not really - but the result is still quite nice. Smooth flavour and mouthfeel, moderate roasty notes, notes of chocolate, hints of liquorice, some fruity notes, moderate hops in the finish. Not very sweet. Can the IBU really be as high as 65 here? Incredible! Anyway, the beer is very pleasant to drink, if you simply choose to ignore the "IPA" part of the name.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, ABV is 4.7%. Very dark brown colour, big beige head. Nice aroma of fruity and grape-like Nelson Sauvin hops, some roasty notes too, hints of dark chocolate. Refreshing flavour, mostly due to the hops, but there are also distinct and dry roasty notes, hints of ashes in the finish. A decent enough beer, but I am still not convinced that the recently invented combination of fruity hops and dark roasty beer is the best idea ever.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Bree Louise, London. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Low creamy tan head. Nice aroma of fruity New World hops. Lovely hoppy flavour with fruity and piney notes, on a background of moderately roasted malts, with notes of chocolate and mild coffee.

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

330 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8%. Black colour, moderate tan head. Lovely aroma of fruity hops (citrus, tropical fruits), also roasted malts and mild coffee. The medium dry flavour has also a mix of fruity hops and roasted malts, smooth first, then a pronounced hoppy and roasty bitterness in the finish. Good stuff, very drinkable for its strength.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 7.4%. Black colour, moderate beige head. Lovely hoppy aroma (Cascade and Pacific Jade), fruity and vinous notes, also mild roasty notes. Equally pleasant flavour, with the same elements as the aroma. Well balanced and very enjoyable.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.7%. Pitch black colour, large and lasting brown head. Interesting aroma: smoke, tar, roasted malts and fruity hops. The flavour is roasty and smoked, with fruity hops in the background. Not too bitter. I would probably like it even better with less smoked malts and a little more hops, but then it would be a different beer ... As it is, it is certainly worth sampling.

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

500 ml shared bottle at local tasting. ABV is 5.6%. Very dark brown to black colour, large and creamy beige head. Very nice vinous aroma, also notes of fruity hops, mild roasty notes. Distinctly hoppy flavour, more piney and resinous than fruity, roasty notes (coffee). Good stuff.

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

330 ml can, as Fjordfolk Mørkeredd Black IPA (Cascadian Dark Ale), from Vinmonopolet Madla. ABV is 6.5%, IBU 65. Moderately gushing can. Nearly black colour, large beige head. Aroma of sourish mash, moderate roast malts. Fairly dry flavour of roast malts, bitter coffee, dark bitter chocolate, distinct bittering hops. A pretty rough beer.

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

April 2021: 440 ml can, batch #267, from Gulating Ølutsalg, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Black colour, large beige head. Aroma of moderately roasted malts, chocolate, hints of mild coffee and blackberries. Pleasant flavour, not too sweet, but not too dry and ashy either. Roast malts, dark chocolate and coffee, a certain fruitiness of blackberries and blackcurrants. Bittering hops and more roast malts in the aftertaste.

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

330 ml can, from the brewery store, shared by my son. ABV is 4.7%. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Moderate off-white to beige head. Aroma of roast malts, mild coffee and piney hops. The dry flavour has the same elements, medium bitter finish. Light bodied.

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

330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.0%. Hazy dark brown colour, large off-white head. Aroma of pine and roast malts. Medium dry flavour, distinct pine and roast malts again, hints of cocoa and coffee, medium bitter finish. Good beer.

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

March 2017: Shared can at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Moor Night presentation. ABV is 4.5%. Dark brown colour, large beige head. Pleasant fruity aroma, some pine and lightly roasted malts in the background. Discrete roast malts and piney hops in the dry flavour.

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

330 ml can, from Coop Mega Madla Handelslag. ABV is 4.7%. Colour somewhere between mahogany and ebony, large beige head. Aroma of roast malts, coffee and piney hops. Smooth and fairly dry flavour, roast malts and coffee again, well balanced with citric and piney hops. Medium bitter and roasty aftertaste.

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

500 ml bottle. as Thisted Limfjords IPA (Overgæret Baltic IPA), from BilkaToGo, Skalborg. ABV is 6.5%. Very dark brown to black colour, large to moderate tan head. Aroma of roast malts, chocolate, mild coffee, piney hops. Flavour with the same elements, also citric / grapefruity hops, good bitterness. Pleasant to drink, would buy again.

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

330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Odda. ABV is 6.0%. Nearly black colour, large beige head. Distinct aroma of grapefruit and pine, also roast malts. The flavour is fruity but fairly dry, with the same elements as the aroma. Moderately bitter finish. Nice beer.

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

Bottle, 8.5% ABV, as Beer Here Dark Hops Hoppy Black Ale, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Brewed at Nøgne Ø, Norway. Pitch black colour, moderate brown head. Very nice aroma of roasted malts, coffee and chocolate, hints of liquorice. Distinctly roasty flavour, very dry, notes of strong bitter coffee, hints of dark bitter chocolate. Good, but I’d like a little more sweetness.

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

Shared 440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. Dark brown nearly black colour, small beige head. Aroma of banana and vanilla. Sweet flavour, roast malts, molasses, vanilla and banana. Warming mouthfeel. Good in its own perverted way.

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

On tap at Cardinal, Stavanger. Very dark brown to black colour. Roasty aroma and flavour, with sharpish piney hops throughout, quite bitter. Not too bad.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 9.0%. Nearly black colour, moderate beige head. Aroma of roast malts and piney and grapefruity American hops. The flavour is very well balanced between the malts and the hops, a slight sweetness but not too much, roasty notes with hints of coffee, dark chocolate and liquorice, followed by a distinct grapefruity and piney bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. Jolly good beer!

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

On tap at Cardinal, Stavanger. Very dark brown colour, moderate beige head. Aroma and flavour of citric and resinous hops, also medium roast malts. Okay.

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

Dec. 2015: 330 ml bottle, as Bådin Original 8013 Black IPA, from the brewery. Batch #0066, ABV is 7,0%, 65 IBU. Nearly black colour, moderate beige head. Aroma of fruity and piney hops, on a background of moderate roast malts. Medium dry flavour, piney and moderately fruity hops, moderate roast malts with notes of coffee, a hint of dark chocolate. Score: 3.2 Also sampled April 2023 on tap at Cardinal, Stavanger. New score: 3.6

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

500 ml bottle, batch #916, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.5%. Malts are pale, dehusked chocolate, wheat, cara.hell and crystal. Hops are Herkules, Tomahawk, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade and Centennial. Yeast is US-Ale. Very dark brown to black colour, large beige head. Strong hoppy aroma, notes of pine, spruce and grapefruit, hints of tropical fruits and chocolate. Hoppy flavour too, but not extreme. Piney and grapefruity notes, with a distinct hoppy and roasty bitterness in the finish and long aftertaste. Good beer.

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

500 ml bottle conditioned, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.5%. Black colour, moderate tan head. Lovely aroma of citrussy hops, on a background of moderately roasted malts, hints of dark chocolate. The medium dry flavour has again citrussy hops, blended with distinct roasted malts, notes of strong coffee, dark bitter chocolate and resin. The contradictory "Black IPA" style is beginning to grow on me, and this one is a fine specimen.