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

330 ml green bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Pale golden colour, moderate but lasting white head. Moderate sweetish aroma, notes of grass and grain. The flavour is fairly "fresh" and fruity, sweeter than the crispest of pilseners but not sickly, some grainy notes, soft mouthfeel, with a noticeable hoppy bitterness in the finish. For a new Norwegian pilsener, this is not too bad.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Vaaland Spesialbutikken, Bryne. ABV is 4.7%. Pale yellow colour, big to moderate white head. Sweetish aroma, notes of flowers, some fruit and candy. The flavour is too sweet for a pale lager, notes of candy and malt sugar, hints of honey. Not "crisp" at all, and not very citrussy. A very moderate bitterness in the finish, where the sweetness is still present. Williams Brothers make many interesting beers, this is not one of them.

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

50 cl bottle, as Eriksberg III, in a cafeteria in Charlottenberg, Sweden. ABV is 5.3%. Golden colour, big fluffy head. Fairly malty sweetish aroma, some flowery hops. The flavour has notes of alcohol, sweet malts and noticeable hops. Not too bad for a Swedish lager..

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

330 ml clear slimline bottle with pull-off cap, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Low carb beer. Ingredients include fermentable sugar. Crystal clear very pale golden colour, large and lasting head. The "skunky" whiff when opening the bottle actually is the best thing with this beer. Grassy and artificial weak aroma. Nearly flavourless, just a faint hint of citrus. Bland and boring as hell. Watery and thin moutheel. Pass.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.4%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, fizzy, large head. Sweetish aroma with notes of grass, honey and butterscotch. The flavour has some malts and butterscotch (diacetyl), moderately sweet, and very moderate hops. Rubbery finish. Soft mouthfeel. Could have been worse.

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

On tap in Riga. Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate pilsener aroma. Typical pilsener flavour, maybe slightly more malty than the bulk of them, with a certain hoppy bitterness.

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

500 ml bottle, in the café at Stockmann, Riga. ABV is 5.2%. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Sweetish and fruity aroma. Moderately malty flavour, moderate sweetness, low bitterness.

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

As far as I know, "Da Ru Breweries UK" do not exist as a working brewery. Dà Rü Premium Beer seems to be the conception of a marketing company in Clerkenwell (Dà Rü Beer, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, ECIV4PY, UK), and is obviously contract brewed somewhere - does anyone know exactly WHERE? (Have a look and a laugh at the beer’s ridiculous website: www.darubeer.com ). Apparently aimed at the target group of Asian-British "Bollywood" clubbers. My notes of the beer: 330 ml bottle (picture of scorpion on the label), 4.2% ABV, bought at Cardinal (pub), Stavanger, Norway. Also available in the ICA Middelthon grocery store (Middelthon imported this beer to Norway). Extremely pale yellow colour, large to moderate head. Moderate camphorwood(!) aroma. Flavour is very dry and crisp, unfortunately with a nearly non-existant malty base, and very moderate hops. Some camphorwood notes in the flavour too.

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

This beer comes in a nifty 300 ml octagonal A leCoq brown glass bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 5.0%. Pale golden colour, large to moderate white head. Fruity and flowery aroma, quite nice. The flavour is also fruity and quite refreshing. Lemony finish. Some more malts and bittering hops might have been a good idea. Light bodied, soft mouthfeel. No masterpiece, but better than I feared.

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

On tap at Bjørn Hansen’s stand at Gladmatfestivalen, Stavanger 2007. Pale golden colour, low head. Industrial pilsener aroma and flavour. Some bitterness. Boring.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga, as "Piebalgas Alus Piebalga". ABV is 5.6%. This is a "gaisais alus" (= pale beer). Unpasteurised. Pale golden colour, large and lasting white head. Sweetish malty and slightly fruity aroma, hints of honey. Sweet malty flavour, too sweet for a pale lager. Notes of honey. Alcohol is noticeable. Some hops in the finish. Unusual lager, but not undrinkable.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 4.5%. Pale golden colour, large and lasting white head. Pleasant fruity and flowery aroma. Relatively sweet pale lager flavour, light bodied and thin, hints of fruit and honey, low bitterness. Far from exciting, but not offensive either.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Riga. ABV is 4.6%. Is this beer possibly named after the notorious liar Baron von Münchausen? Pale golden colour, large and lasting head. Fairly malty sweetish aroma with notes of butterscotch and honey. The flavour is also quite sweet - too sweet for a pale lager, but reasonably malty with slightly metallic hops in the finish. Drinkable, but to call it a GREAT beer would be a lie, worthy of Baron von Münchausen!

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Crystal clear pale yellow colour, fizzy, moderate head. Moderate grainy aroma, hints of fruit and honey. Fairly clean grainy and fruity flavour, moderate hops. Alcohol is noticeable, but not unpleasant. A drinkable beer, but not remarkable.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml can (music/guitar design), from REMA 1000. Brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot. ABV is 4.7%. Pale golden colour, large white head. Weak sweetish aroma with "boiled" notes (over-boiled vegetables, maize grit). Sweetish flavour, sweeter than their previous pilseners, and definitely sweeter than a GOOD pilsener should be. No wonder they recommend drinking it "ice cold". Very moderate hops in the finish. Yawn. Next, please!

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

Bottle, RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Pale golden colour. Slightly yeasty and spicy aroma, not too interesting. Not too interesting flavour either, fruity with some spice.

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

330 ml bottle, from the very limited foreign beer bar at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 5%. Pale golden colour, low white head. Sweetish but not unpleasant aroma of maize, hints of floral hops. The flavour is fairly crisp and dry, but the hops are too moderate.

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

250 ml green bottle, kindly shared by abemorsten, who brought it from Mauritius. ABV is 5.1%. Pale golden colour, low and short-lived white head. "Skunky" lightstruck Heineken-like aroma. Sweetish flavour, weak hops, but not undrinkable. Might work ice cold in the Mauritius heat.

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

355 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark, simply named Palma Louca. I felt compelled to sample this beer - Brazil is such a big country, and I was kind of shameful for not having sampled any of their beers previously ... ABV is 4.5%. Very pale yellow colour, moderate white head. Sweetish, sugary and grainy aroma, hints of maize - but not awful. Bland and "dusty" flavour, fairly dry and thus kind of refreshing when ice cold, but the bitterness is very low, and there are hardly any flavour elements worth mentioning. Utterly forgettable. For the sake of Brazilian beer entusiasts, if they exist: I do hope you have access to better beers than this!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml supermarket can, a gift from my brother, bought in Italy. ABV is 4.7%. Pale yellow colour, large white head. Strong sweetish aroma, notes of maltose, grass and artificial candy. The flavour is sweet and sugary, with very moderate hops. Lacks the crisp flavour of a decent pilsener. Typical industrial supermarket pale lager.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, as Lapin Kulta Premium. Was said to be 4.5%. Golden colour, low white head. Moderate floral aroma, not bad, not remarkable. Crisp and fairly dry flavour, but far too modest on the hops. This is a beer you’d drink on a tropical beach, rather than in the wilds of Lapland.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

Shared 280 ml green bottle. Pale golden colour, low white head. Moderate citrussy / catty aroma, some wet cardboard in the background. The flavour is fairly fresh with a hint of citrus, no doubt drinkable on a beach in the Seychelles, but not interesting anywhere else.

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

Shared 250 ml green bottle. Pale golden colour, low white head. Aroma of wet cardboard, lemony and catty notes. Bland and "dusty" flavour, nothing interesting here whatsoever.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

Shared 330 ml bottle. Golden colour, slightly hazy, minimal head. Unpleasant sweetish industrial aroma, some fruity notes. Tolerably fresh flavour, some fruity notes. Not great, but not undrinkable either.

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

330 ml bottle, as Quilmes Cerveza, from Super Cor, La Manga (Spain). ABV is 4.9%. Pale yellow colour, pearly carbonation, low and short-lived head. Sweetish aroma, notes of maize, grass and citrus. Tolerably fresh flavour, notes of citrus. An okay refreshment on a hot day, nothing more.