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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Hazy golden colour, large white head. Lovely and strong aroma of various tropical fruits, also fir trees. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, with plenty of tropical fruits and pine needles, but the bitterness is hardly what an American would call "Imperial". Still a very enjoyable beer, clearly the "big brother" of Jaipur and Kipling.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar. Orange colour, moderate white head. Aroma of piney hop and orange marmalade. The flavour has loads of piney and grapefruity hops, again with notes of orange marmalade. Very bitter.

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

1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle, as Left Coast’s Hop Juice Double IPA, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.4%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Strong aroma of fruity and resinous hops, notes of orange marmalade. The medium sweet flavour has intense hops from start to finish, as expected. Notes of resin, pine needles and bitter oranges. Bitter and sharp aftertaste, of course - and the alcohol is not well hidden.

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

At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Hazy amber colour. Nice aroma of American hops. The flavour is allegedly "vehemently hopped" with Columbus, Centennial and and Simcoe. The beer is indeed well hopped, but not "vehemently". Seems quite well balanced to me, and is very drinkable.

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

At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Amber colour, moderate off-white head. Very hoppy and quite complex aroma. Very hoppy flavour too, naturally with a substantial bitterness, but not too extreme.

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

At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Hazy golden colour, dominant American hops in both aroma and flavour, but not too extreme. The discrete notes of Belgian ale yeast do not keep this from being a recognizable Double IPA.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Amber colour, large off-white head. Aroma of piney and fruity American hops, notes of orange marmalade. The flavour is medium sweet with loads of American hops, bitter of course, but not quite as extreme as expected. Mixing with imperial stout Yin is recommended.

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

Bottle, at local beer tasting. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Very hoppy aroma and flavour, but feels not too extreme, untill the aftertaste sets in ... OMG!

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

Shared bottle at local tasting. Golden colour, large white head. Strong aroma of resinous American hops, also hints of orange marmalade. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, with a piney and grapefruity bitterness, but is still not too extreme.

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

Shared bottle at local tasting, thanks to gunnar. ABV is 8.5%. Golden colour, huge white head. Sweetish aroma of malts and orange marmalade. Distinctly hoppy flavour throughout, very bitter finish. Maybe not very complex, but good.

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

Shared bottle at local tasting, as Bell’s 25th Anniversary Ale. Hazy amber colour, low off-white head. Strong sweetish aroma, bordering on "sickly". Sweet and alcoholic flavour, also resinous hops. Not my favourite this one.

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

Shared bottle from the brewery. ABV was 10.1%. Orange to amber colour, moderate head. Surprisingly moderate aroma, some caramel malts, some fruity hops. Sweet and rich flavour, fairly malty, the alcohol is noticeable. Piney and fruity hops, hints of honey.

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

Shared 330 ml bottle, from the brewery. ABV is 9%. Some sediment in the bottle. Golden colour, hazy only when the yeast is poured in the end. Piney hops in the aroma. Sweet malts, piney, resinous and rather harsh hops in the flavour. "Salty" finish. Pretty extreme.

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

355 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar,Stavanger. ABV is 8.2%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Nice aroma of citrussy American hops. Distinct flavour of citrussy and resinous American hops, fairly dry. Light bodied for its strength. Dangerously drinkable. Oh dear, was the bottle empty already?

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Shared growler at RBNAG 2011. Golden colour. Dryish and "dusty" aroma. Some hops in the flavour and aftertaste, but very far from a "double" IPA. Still drinkable.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.5%. This was originally the winner beer of the Norwegian Home Brewing Championship 2010, and it has been reported that Russian River Pliny the Elder was the inspiration for the recipe. Cloudy brownish colour, big and lasting off-white head. Very nice aroma of piny and fruity American hops (Columbus, Centennial and Simcoe). The flavour is first fruity and refreshing, then a massive hoppy and nearly medicinal bitterness sets in (bordering on "overkill"), and lasts through the long aftertaste. One for the hardcore hopheads.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. (A couple unpasteurised kegs will also be available at Cardinal.) ABV is 10%. Murky brown colour, big cream-coloured to beige head. Lovely aroma of American and New Zealand hops (Chinook, Simcoe, Centennial, Pacific Gem and Nelson Sauvin), fruity and resinous notes, hints of heather honey and orange marmalade. The flavour has of course loads of hops, but the bitterness is not too extreme. Piny, resinous and grapefruity notes. A pleasant malty sweetness balances the hoppiness. The high ABV is noticeable, but not really disturbing. A worthy brew to celebrate Nøgne Ø’s batch #500.

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

355 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 8.3%, IBU 60. Clear orange colour, big off-white head. Lovely strong aroma of fruity and piney American hops, notes of oranges and slightly caramellized orange marmalade. The flavour is a hoppy explosion from start to finish, fruity (orange marmalade) first, very bitter in the end. There is a considerable malty sweetness that stands up to the bitterness. I don’t get many "Belgian" notes out of this "Belgian IPA", it is all very American to me.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Batch 62, ABV is 9.2%. Orange colour, big to moderate off-white head. Very nice aroma of fruity (mainly citrussy) and piney American hops. Also notes of crystal or caramel malts. The flavour has loads of piney hops throughout, with a substantial bitterness, on a fairly sweet malty background. Hints of tomcat. Not "well balanced", but what do you expect from an imperial IPA?

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

355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.4%, 86 IBUs. Surprisingly pale golden colour, probably the palest American double IPA I’ve seen. Big to moderate white head. Distinct but still relatively moderate aroma of citrussy and piney American hops, also notes of caramel and orange marmalade. The flavour is of course very hoppy from start to finish, but not really extreme. The grapefruity bitterness is partly balanced by a pronounced malty sweetness. Notes of caramel and orange marmalade again. Very bitter aftertaste.

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

330 ml bottle, batch 174, a gift from gunnar, thanks! ABV is 9.5%. Cloudy orangey brown colour, big head, slightly off-white. Intense aroma of fruity and resinous American hops (tropical fruits, citrus, pine). The flavour is intensely hoppy (pine, resin, grapefruit) on a malty sweet (caramellized orange marmalade) background. Bitter finish of course, but not too extreme.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Very nice hoppy aroma, fruity and herbal notes. Intense hoppy flavour, but not too bitter. Fruity and spicy notes, well balanced.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 9%. Amber to orange colour, slightly hazy, decent head. Lovely Simcoe hops aroma. Distinctly hoppy flavour throughout, considerable sweetness but not bad.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 7.5%. Amber to orange colour, decent head. Nice hoppy aroma, not as strong as expected. Distinctly hoppy flavour throughout, but not really that extreme. Good beer.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. Dark amber colour. Nice hoppy aroma, not as strong as expected. Very hoppy flavour throughout, bordering on "too much". Plenty of taste, you might say ...