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

Bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.5%, 50 IBUs. Dark reddish brown colour, big to moderate beige head. Aroma of sweet malts, caramel, peat smoke and over-ripe red berries, also vinous notes with hints of oak. The flavour has loads of malty sweetness and caramel, peat and oak, with a distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste.

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

Bottle from Traditional Scottish Ales, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 4.5%. Beautiful deep brown colour, moderate beige head. Very nice malty aroma with vinous notes, caramel and dark dried fruits, hints of oak. Malty flavour, preserved fruits, hints of oak, moderate bitterness.

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

Cask at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Very dark reddish brown colour, moderate beige head. Lovely vinous aroma, notes of port wine, caramel and nuts, hints of marzipan. The flavour is definitely on the sweet side, but not cloying. Vinous and very fruity notes (fresh and rum-drenched fruits), the sweetness is to some extent balanced by decent hops in the finish. An unusual and very nice Christmas beer, better suited to accompany fruits and nuts, rather than the robust traditional Nordic Christmas dinners. Might go well with turkey and cranberry sauce, though.

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

355 ml can, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.0%. Very dark brown to mahogany colour, thick beige head. Sweetish aroma of brown malts and caramel. Very sweet and malty flavour, notes of caramel, chocolate and some smoke. Should be drunk fairly cool, else the sweetness will feel cloying.

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

330 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 8.0%. Amber to copper colour, slightly hazy, moderate off-white head. Sweetish aroma of malts, toffee and caramel, hints of fruit and oak, quite nice. Very sweet flavour, loads of caramel, hints of oak and dark fruits, moderate hops in the finish. Worth sampling, but not for daily indulgence.

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

500 ml dark green oval bottle, as St. Peter’s The Saints Whisky Beer, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.8%. Deep golden colour, low white head. Strong aroma of peat smoke / peated whisky. Medium dry flavour, strong notes of peat smoke / peated whisky and ashes. Too peaty for my taste - if they wanted to add English single malt whisky to the beer (which indeed they did), they should have reduced the amount of peat smoked malts. "Superb balance"? Not at all! The flavour is pretty close to licking an ashtray.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Ruby colour, decent beige head. Malty aroma, some oaky and vinous notes. Very malty flavour, notes of caramel and oak. Nice beer!

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

500 ml oval green bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.8%. Deep golden colour, moderate to low white head. Strong aroma of peat smoke / peated malts. The flavour is also dominated by peat smoke and ashes, with just a hint of fruity hops in the background, dry finish. Okay, but one bottle is enough.

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

On tap at Schouskjelleren. ABV was said to be 5.5%. Mahogany colour, creamy beige head. Very malty aroma and flavour, strong notes of caramel and toffee, hints of over-ripe berries, a whiff of malt vinegar. The finish has something undefined "not quite perfect" about it.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger ABV is 4.2%. Chestnut coloured beer, big to moderate creamy beige head. Moderate aroma of malts, nuts and biscuits, hints of caramel and chocolate. Distinctly malty flavour, probably some caramel malts and chocolate malts have been used here, but the beer is not very sweet. Some fruit and moderate hops in the finish. Definitely a "Scottish Ale" rather than a "Bitter" - you won’t find many English bitters with this character these days, methinks.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Like all bottled beers from this brewery, it is filtered to remove all remaining yeast (but possibly not pasteurised?). ABV is 4.5%. Dark brown colour, low head. Nice aroma of chocolate, mild coffee and lightly roasted malts. The flavour is moderately fruity (dark fruits) and roasty, fairly dry, notes of mild coffee, hints of dark chocolate and resin. Pleasant to drink. Pretty close to an English porter, I'd say.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

330 ml bottle, bought at Real Foods, Edinburgh. ABV is 7.5%. Deep amber coloured beer, large off-white head. Unusual sweetish aroma, notes of over-ripe raspberries and pine needles, not very pleasant. The flavour is very sweet and alcoholic, piney and sugary notes. Unusual beer, but is it really good? I’m sorry, but this is not for me.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Peckham’s, Glasgow. Deep amber to copper coloured beer, decent off-white head. Lovely fruity aroma, also notes of malts and caramel, hints of spices. The flavour is fairly fruity and moderately malty, with distinct hops throughout, also notes of toffee. Well balanced. A very nice bitter!

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Edinburgh. ABV is 5.0%. Orange to amber colour, decent off-white head. Sweetish malty aroma with notes of marmelade, hints of oak and fortified wine. The flavour is also sweetish and fruity, hints of oak, moderate hops in the finish. Not bad, but a bit too much on the sweet side.

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

(500 ml can, bought in Sweden). This is a 50/50 mix between an ale and a lager. Golden colour, low head. Hardly any aroma at all. Tastes more like a lager than an ale, not very pleasant bitterness.

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

On tap at the brewpub. The ABV (2007 batch) was said to be 5.0%. Beautiful dark ruby colour, low head. The aroma has dark fruits, moderate malts and hints of spices. The flavour has some burnt caramel and is fairly malty, with some smokiness and hints of tar, dry finish. Nice.

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

500 ml bottle, at Blackfriars, Glasgow. ABV is 7.0%. Voted "Champion Beer of Scotland" - was it in 2004 or something? Beautiful dark amber colour, moderate head. Oaky sherry-like aroma with raisiny notes. Oaky / woody flavour where the alcohol is noticeable, but not too sweet. Bitter finish.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Peckham's, Glasgow. ABV is 4.3%. Copper coloured beer, moderate off-white head. Nice aroma: nutty, fruity, moderately roasted malts. The flavour is moderately malty and fruity, notes of moderately roasted malts and toffee. Moderate hops. The weird finish is both sourish, soapy and "dusty" at the same time.

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

Cask conditioned at Blackfriars, Glasgow. Described as a "Premium Strong Ale", but I guess most of us don’t think of a 4.8% beer as "strong". Beautiful deep amber colour, creamy head. Nice malty aroma with caramel, and some fruity aromatic hops. Fairly malty flavour with a distinct hoppy bitterness throughout, also notes of caramel and fruit.

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

Bottle, at RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Deep amber colour, moderate head. Woody / oaky aroma, but not very strong. The flavour is fairly sweet and woody.

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

Bottle, at RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. Amber / reddish colour. I drank this one too warm, but the beer still had a nice malty and caramel aroma and flavour.

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

Bottle, at RBESG 2007 in Glasgow, Grand Tasting. 2006 vintage, bottle #459. Reddish brown colour, off-white head. Strong aroma of rhum-raisin, malts, aromatic hops and alcohol. Malty sweetish flavour, somewhat alcoholic.

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

500 ml bottle, as "Tullibardine 1488 Majestic Whisky Ale", bought in Edinburgh. ABV is 7.0%. Brewed and bottled by Traditional Scottish Ales Ltd. for the Tullibardine Distillery, using the distillery’s spring water and malted barley. Clear and deep golden colour, pours very fizzy, when the fizziness subsides just a small white head remains. Strange aroma, sweetish / sugary and oaky, with peaty and fruity notes. The flavour is very sweet and alcoholic. There are notes of whisky casks and peat as expected, but I also expected something far drier and maybe more "scotch & club soda"-like, not this overwhelming sweetness. Are there any hops in this beer at all? Still, when you get used to the sweetness, the beer is drinkable - but remains a disappointment.

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

33 cl bottle, as "Gordon Finest Scotch Highland Ale", courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 8.6%.Copper colour, large beige head. Pleasant aroma of malts, caramel and hops. The flavour is very sweet as expected, malts, sugar and caramel galore, but the sweetness is to some degree balanced by decent hops, which linger in the aftertaste. Still, the beer is sweeter than I’d like it to be. But at 8.6% ABV, this is not an easy-drinking refreshment beer anyway. Worth a try, when you know what to expect.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.2%. Deep copper coloured beer, moderate white (slightly off-white?) head. Moderate aroma of malts with some fruity hops, hints of berries. The flavour has notes of lightly roasted malts, hints of caramel, balanced by fruity hops. A moderate bitterness in the aftertaste. Quite good.