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

500 ml bottle, kindly shared by my beerpal Olav. ABV 4.3%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Strong fruity and caramel aroma, also butterscotch. Flavour of malts, toffee and butterscotch. Moderate hops, hints of spices. Nicely balanced, very drinkable.

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

330 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 5.8%. Copper coloured beer, big to moderate off-white head with an orangey hue. Strong sweetish aroma with loads of Christmas spices (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom etc.), nearly "gløgg" (=mulled and spiced wine). Too much carbonation in the mouth. The flavour is not as sweet as I feared, but has loads of the above Christmas spices. Definitely drinkable, but not what you would call "well balanced". The finish is a bit "empty", could use more hops.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by abemorsten. ABV is 8.5%. Dark ruby colour, moderate beige head. Nice spicy and vinous aroma. Spicy and herbal flavour, medium sweet, unusual and interesting.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

500 ml bottle, as Grauballe Dark Christmas, from Voldby Købmandsgård. ABV is 7.3%. The glass on the label promises a black beer, but the beer inside is actually copper to brown coloured, with a huge off-white to beige head. Some sediment in the bottle, making the beer murky brown in the end. Strange aroma of rotting fruits and berries, star anise and caramel. The flavour is somewhat better than the aroma, fairly sweet and malty with caramel and hints of chocolate, also some fruity and even vinous notes - and too much star anise.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by my beerpal Jan Magnus. ABV is 6.0%. In addition to barley malts and hops it is brewed with rye malts, wormwood, juniper berries, rowan berries and liquorice root. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of caramel with some unusual spicy and herbal notes, hints of berries. Fairly dry flavour, moderate notes of spices and rowanberries. Decent beer, but with all these interesting ingredients I kind of expected a stronger herbal "punch" in the flavour.

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

750 ml swingtop bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Despite the name, this is not a stout by any stretch of the mind, but a "Christmas spiced" version of their ordinary Staut, which is listed at RateBeer as a brown ale (English session style porter might be more appropriate). Dark brown colour, moderate off-white head. Moderate aroma of malts and Christmas spices, hints of liquorice. Smooth and soft flavour and mouthfeel - malts, caramel and Christmas spices (incl. cinnamon).

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 3

Shared bottle at local tasting. Deep golden to orange colour. Intense and dryish aroma of coffee beans, quite unexpected (if I hadn’t read the label) in a beer this pale. Not good at all. Dry flavour of coffee beans and ashes, some hops in the finish. Not a beer for me - the worst I’ve had from De Molen.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, from Bris Ølutsalg, Jørpeland. ABV is 4.0%. Clear deep golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of malts and ginger. The flavour is moderately malty but not sweet, with distinct notes of ginger, also fairly distinct bittering hops. And it is NOT very sour / infected! Ginger warmth in the aftertaste / throatfeel. I'm upping the score quite a bit. Original rating: 500 ml bottle (a gift), as Little Valley Organic Bottle Conditioned Ginger Pale Ale. And yes, it is "fairtrade" and vegan - and "CAMRA says this is real ale". My oh my - you don’t even have to drink it. BUYING it is apparently enough to ensure your passage through the pearly gates. ABV is 4.0%. "Best before" February 2010 - that might explain a lot. Cloudy golden colour, large to moderate white head. Strong aroma of ginger, sweetish fruity and sugary notes. The flavour is really sour, lemony and acidic from the first to the last sip (yes, I mean really SOUR - probably far more than intended by the brewer), with a moderate ginger burn. Dryish finish. Probably infected - certainly not something I would pay good money for. But I am a polite fellow - somehow I managed to finish the bottle.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger (only 1 keg available there, I’m afraid). Cloudy orange-brown colour, large and creamy beige head. Sweetish fruity and vegetal aroma (the pumpkins, I assume), also notes of piney American hops. Effervescent mouthfeel. The flavour is fruity with notes of pumpkins, but is not too sweet. Spicy notes too, decent American hops throughout. Very drinkable.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vaaland, Bryne. ABV is 4%. Pale golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of ginger, malts, toffee and citrus marmalade. Light bodied, too much carbonation in the mouth. The flavour has distinct notes of ginger with a citrussy finish, and is otherwise quite dry. A moderate ginger burn in the aftertaste. Okay as a refreshment, but really not much to write home about.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 3

Shared 500 ml bottle at local tasting, thanks to Ole Anders. ABV is 5.2%. Dark reddish brown colour, moderate beige head. Strong aroma of honey, also notes of brown malts and sourish fruit. Medium sweet flavour of honey and brown malts, unfortunately not balanced by sufficient spices nor hops.

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

On tap at HaandBryggeriet Beer Festival, Drammen. Reddish brown colour, moderate off-white head. This is supposed to be some kind of gruit beer. Herbal aroma and flavour, notes of hemp. The mix of herbs is quite complex, it is difficult to identify single herbs. Bitter finish (possibly wormwood?). It is debatable how "good" this beer is, but at least it is among the most INTERESTING of its kind.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

On tap from a urinal(!) at HaandBryggeriet Beer Festival, Drammen. Sweet Jesus - who is crazy enough to use the secretion from beaver anal glands (castoreum) in BEER??!! Apparently, the guys at Närke are! The beer has an amber colour, moderate off-white head. Weird and penetrating aroma of beaver (insert jokes here at your own will), reminds me of smelly oils and undefined chemical waste. Hints of leather too. Dry flavour with a rather disgusting dominance of castoreum. Some hops in the finish. Nope, this is not a beer for me.

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

On tap at HaandBryggeriet Beer Festival, Drammen. Crimson colour, moderate off-white head. Strong aroma of sweet gale ("pors" in Norwegian). The flavour has also a sweet gale dominance throughout, some bitterness in the finish.

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

On tap at HaandBryggeriet Beer Festival, Drammen. Deep orange to red colour, moderate off-white head. Moderate aroma of spruce, hints of dust. Medium sweet flavour, distinct notes of spruce twigs, reminds me of Alba (Williams Brothers / Heather Ales). Interesting beer!

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

Shared bottle at hotel room tasting. ABV is 4.6%. Pale golden colour. The aroma and flavour have notes of honey, but the beer is not overly sweet. Not very interesting though. Hardly any noticeable hops.

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

Shared 25 fl.oz. can at local tasting. Cloudy orange to red colour, hardly any head. Aroma of cheap ketchup and stale seawater ponds. Sickly flavour of stale ketchup, salt and spices. Undrinkable.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7%. Amber colour, slightly hazy, big off-white head. Nice aroma of fresh ginger and fruity and flowery hops, hints of lemongrass. The flavour is malty sweet with ginger as the dominant element throughout, hints of sweet fruits and candy. The finish is drier, with moderate hops. A fairly good beer if you like ginger (I do) - but if you hate ginger or are allergic to it, you are looking for trouble here.

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

330 ml bottle, vintage 2007, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Hazy brownish orange colour, big and lasting off-white head with a pale orange hue. Fairly strong sweetish aroma with notes of candied fruits (figs, actually), caramel and malts, hints of cinnamon. The flavour has notes of cinnamon and other mild spices, figs, caramel and malts, great sweetness nicely balanced by decent hops in the finish. Some alcoholic warmth, but not dominant. Some wood in the aftertaste. An interesting beer, pleasant to drink.

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

500 ml bottle, 2009, bought at Systembolaget. ABV is 5.3%. Copper colour, big to moderate off-white head. Sweetish aroma of oranges and spices (cinnamon, ginger and cloves). The flavour is not as sweet as the aroma made me fear, there is some sweetness but it is not overdone. Notes of said spices again, noticeable hops in the finish . The beer is fairly light bodied and drinkable, not too bad.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.5%. My first "real" gruit beer, without any hops at all. Brewed in collaboration between Menno of De Molen (NL) and Jens of HaandBryggeriet. Ingredients include barley malts, wheat malt and rye malt - and herbs. Cloudy orange to brown colour, big to low off-white head with an orangey hue. Interesting sweetish malty aroma with notes of herbs, spices and rye, also notes of berries and oxidised fruit. Soft mouthfeel. Pleasant flavour with notes of malts, fruit and herbs, relatively sweet but not cloying. Could use some more bittering herbs, but this is still a nice beer as it is.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 3.8%. Brewed without any hops at all, but with substantial amounts of root ginger. Golden colour, pours quite fizzy, moderate to low head. Aroma of ginger and citrus. The flavour has a distinct ginger burn from start to finish. Definitely not your usual beer, but nice for a change of pace. Feels much stronger than its moderate ABV.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Ingredients include wheat malts, honey and sugar. ABV is 7.6%. Hazy deep brown colour, moderate off-white head. Intense and unpleasant aroma of artificially flavoured sweets/candy, rotten fruits (incl. bananas) and monkey turd, hints of spices. The flavour is sugary sweet, again with notes of artificially flavoured candy, also oranges and anise - and, to be fair, some malts. Astonishingly bad.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.0%. Bottle conditioned. Chestnut coloured beer, huge and creamy lasting tan head. Nice aroma of caramel, spices and dark fruits. Rich and full mouthfeel. The flavour is malty, rich and sweet, with loads of spices - but I’d have trouble identifying which ones, if I didn’t know. I would also have guessed that there was some aniseed or liquorice in there. There is a distinct hoppy bitterness and more spices in the finish. Interesting stuff!

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

Draught at Gladmatfestivalen 2004, Stavanger. Served cool, not ice cold. Low head, low carbonation. Hazy brown colour. Lovely aroma of juniper and wet fir trees. This is a modern rendition of traditional Norwegian farm ales, where juniper was used for flavouring and better preservation of the beer, at a time when hops were unknown or hard to get this far north. Flavour is all juniper and malts, quite lightbodied and refreshing. Not very complex, but darn good all the same. In order to fully appreciate a beer like this, you should spend a day of hard work stacking hay on a small Norwegian farm on one of our (rare) warm summer days. If you, on such a day, after tasting this beer say "I’d rather have a Budweiser", you’re a very sick person, and need to seek professional help. Or you could offer prayers to St. Judas, the patron saint of Hopeless Cases.