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

Sampled cask conditioned in Scotland. This is a very pleasant and refreshing British IPA / golden ale, with numerous CAMRA awards. Moderate ABV. Not over-hopped like American IPAs, but a popular and very nice pint indeed. Rerate bottle, ABV 4.4%: 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Golden to amber colour, decent lasting head. Pleasant hoppy aroma with fruity notes (citrus, pineapple). Flavour is moderately hoppy and refreshing, grapefruity in the finish. Not quite as good as the the cask version, but even from a pasteurised bottle it is a pleasant session beer without any obvious flaws.

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

500 ml bottle conditioned. Colour is hazy deep amber, good head. Lovely hoppy and citrussy aroma that says: Come hither, lad, and drink me! Flavour is malty and very bitter, plenty of Cascade hops give a grapefruit-like bitter aftertaste.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. This bottle conditioned "original" IPA has a slightly hazy deep golden colour and a fluffy head. The hops are what it’s all about in the aroma and flavour - lovely citrussy aroma with hints of oak and leather, flavour has a distinct resin-like bitterness with notes of grapefruit on a subdued background of dusty malty sweetness. Interesting beer.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

(Bottle conditioned). A new favourite of mine - and I'm the first one to rate it, even! (It has been in the database for quite a while. Btw, cask conditioned this beer is called "Magnificat", otherwise it's the same brew.) I had this wonderful bottle conditioned beer under the vaulted ceiling of Durham Cathedral and Cloister Restaurant, where it rightly belongs. The commercial description seems pretty accurate, but this beer may have more in common (strength, yeastiness) with some belgian ales than most British IPAs. Durham Brewery is not much more than 10 years old, but this rich and full flavoured beer would be worthy of St. Cuthbert himself (he died 687 AD, btw). Colour is golden and hazy, carbonation (natural) is low to moderate. If one needs a textbook example of the fact that beer is made of the three elements malts, yeast and hops (+ water, of course), and that each of those three elements should be clearly discernible in aroma and flavour - well, here it is. To quote the brewery: "Despite being strong, this beer is not too sweet, but has a luscious malty base over which a complex bitterness makes balancing, thirst quenching properties." Amen!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

(355 ml bottle). This was my first American IPA, now available in Norway! Deep golden colour, good head. Lovely hoppy citrussy aroma. I got more pleasure sniffing this beer than I got from drinking it. Flavour is all hops (where are the malts?), dominant initial grapefruity bitterness like I expected (not unpleasant), quite drinkable, but the one-dimensional, medicinal and wormwoodlike bitterness that remains in the aftertaste is not to my liking.

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

(500 ml bottle conditioned). Deep golden / amber colour, large & lingering fluffy head. Lovely flowery and grapefruity aroma, all from the hops, no doubt. Flavour is dominated by the grapefruity and resiny hoppy bitterness, which is a tad too rough for me in the finish. Long lasting aftertaste. A beer well above average.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle conditioned, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting (courtesy of the brewery). Lovely hoppy aroma (Cascade?), notes of grapefruit and very subtle oak. Flavour is somewhat less impressive, fairly light bodied and bitterness is not overwhelming - still, this is another decent beer from Haandbryggeriet

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

Draught at Christian Firtal, Odense. Malty aroma with notes of toffee, caramel, butterscotch, hints of dried fruits. Flavour is reasonably malty with distinct butterscotch notes, hints of peaches and apricots. Decent hops, bitter aftertaste.

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

Cask at Ølbaren, Copenhagen, RBESG. Murky brown colour. Distinctly malty aroma with citrussy hops, notes of balsamico vinegar. Flavour is definitely citrus with some rye bread, decent hoppy bitterness in the finish. Distinctly hoppy aftertaste. Also sampled bottle at RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Lovely aroma of hops, hints of rye bread and spices. (9/10) The flavour is dominated by a substantial hoppy bitterness from start to finish, but there’s also a tolerable malty base to balance it. (8/10) (Overall 15/20)

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

Draught at Plan B, Copenhagen. Hazy golden colour. Subtle flowers and honey aroma, some pineapple and citrus too. Fruity flavour, moderately sweet, pineapple and citrus again. Not bad.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Also known as "No. 1 IPA", waiter said it’s the same beer. Menu said it was "brewed by the craft brewers of Skagen". The waiter might have screwed up the samples, the one I got was deep copper coloured. Moderate hoppy aroma with notes of caramel. Flavour is reasonably hoppy but not really impressive. Relatively dry.

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

Draught in Herning, "beer of the month" for July 2005. Hazy deep golden colour, moderate head. Pleasant hoppy aroma and flavour (Cascade?) with citrussy notes as expected from an IPA. Hops are probably not intense enough for an American IPA fan, but I liked it. Nice beer!

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Deep golden colour. Pleasant hoppy aroma (my wild guess would have been Cascade and Chinook, but apparently it’s just "pound upon pound of Fuggles & Goldings", so what do I know - it smells good anyway). Refreshing hoppy flavour, reasonably well balanced. Not the most bitter IPA around, but bitter enough for me. Nice.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.66%, IBU 20. Hops are Cashmere, Idaho 7, Cascade, Talus and Ekuanot. Murky golden to orange colour, large to moderate white head. Strong aroma of peaches and mango, a hint of sprucetips. Flavour of peaches and some mild piney notes, low bitterness.

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

330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.0%. Slightly hazy golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Aroma of oranges and piney hops. The flavour is citric and piney, decent bitterness.

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

330 ml bottle, as De Molen Special Pina & Colada Milkshake IPA, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.5%. Hazy golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of pineapple and coconut. Sweet flavour, pineapple and coconut again, moderate hops.

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

440 ml can, as Wylam Solace IPA, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.7%. Moderately hazy pale golden colour, moderate to small white head. Citric and piney hops in the aroma. Light bodied and refreshing for its strength. The flavour has again citric and piney hops, moderate bitterness. Might well sample again.

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

330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7%. Hazy pale yellow colour, moderate white head. Aroma of citric hops. Medium dry flavour of grapefruity hops, piney finish, good bitterness.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.5%. Slightly hazy brown colour, moderate white (or slightly off-white) head. Aroma of toffee, caramel, brown bread and earthy hops. The medium sweet and malty flavour has the same elements, distinct earthy and herbal hops, good bitterness.

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

330 ml can, as Bådin Vesterålen India Pale Ale Glutenfri, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 6.4%. Golden colour, small white head. Aroma of citrus and mint. Citric flavour, medium dry, some mint, moderate bitterness.

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

440 ml can, as SOMA Two Left Hands IPA, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Milky / murky / opaque pale yellow colour, moderate white head. Aroma of citrus, apricots and tropical fruits, hints of spruce. Relatively light bodied. Flavour of pine needles, citrus / grapefruit and apricots. Medium bitter finish.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.8%. Hazy orange to brown colour, small white head. Aroma of pine needles, yeast, caramel and orange marmalade. Citric mouthfeel. Flavour of yeast (far too much), pine needles and grapefruit. Not good.

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

473 ml can, as Dieu du Ciel! Petite Morale India Pale Ale, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 5.1%. Slightly hazy golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of melon, papaya and some citrus, a hint of broth. Flavour of citrus and pine needles. Bitter finish.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.2%. Golden colour, only the slightest haziness. Moderate white head. Aroma of citrus, yellow stonefruits and tropical fruits. Citric and well balanced flavour, hints of yellow stonefruits. Moderate bitterness.

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

440 ml can, as Magic Rock Stiggy Pop NEIPA, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. Stigberget is not mentioned on the can. ABV is 7.3%. Hazy golden colour, large to moderate white head. Aroma of citrus, guava and over-ripe pineapple. Citric flavour, also notes of yellow stonefruits and tropical fruits. Moderate bitterness in the finish.