Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Amber colour, large white head. Moderate malty aroma with notes of toffee and some fruity hops. Flavour is moderately malty with some caramel and tolerable hops, but this is really not much more than "average" beer. Some metallic notes in the aftertaste.

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

330 ml bottle. Oh my god, a special version of Tuborg Juleøl for the Norwegian grocery store market, with a meagre ABV of 4.5%. Obviously designed as a discount brand on this market, Norwegian brewed Tuborg Pils has an equivalent role here too. Amber colour, low head, little lacing. Minimal aroma, hints of caramel. Flavour is unbelievably bland and uninteresting, a little caramel and a minimal amount of cheap hop extract. Avoid!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, at the Otto Duborg café near Flensburg. Served with a plastic glass! Amber colour, large and lasting head. Moderate caramel aroma. Malty flavour with some caramel. Low on hops. Drinkable.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Amber colour. Very moderate aroma, hints of honey and caramel. Just a little fuller mouthfeel and flavour than their Jomfruhumle, seems reasonably well hopped.

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

(Bottle). Ringnes Bryggerimester Spesial Julen (Yule/Christmas) 2004 has replaced the old Ringnes Julespesial. Bryggerimester Spesial is darker - a beautiful copper colour, and retains a good head. Caramel, hops and spices in the aroma. Flavour is well balanced between the malts and hops, and there are distinct hints of Christmas spices (cardamom, ginger?). This is one of the better Yule brews in the grocery store "klasse D " segment.

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

330 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Not bad - not outstanding. Amber colour, malty sweetness in aroma and flavour, not very complex, a drinkable Christmas beer but no masterpiece.

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

Norwegian discount Christmas brew for the grocery store market. Just slightly darker (brownish) and less hoppy than Grans Juleøl. Watery mouthfeel. Too low ABV to be a "real" Christmas brew.

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

Norwegian discount grocery store Christmas beer. Fairly clean tasting low ABV Christmas beer, at least it's slightly better than you'd expect from this miserable brewery. Drinkable, but of course: watery and thin like most other "klasse D" Juleøl. I don't think Grans even make a "klasse F" beer any more.

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

330 ml clear bottle. This winter lager is slightly darker than your average pils, like a Danish "Classic" or maybe a Vienna. Deep golden to amber colour, decent lingering head. Fairly pleasant but very moderate aroma of hops and some toffee. Flavour is bland and boring, some dusty hops and hints of caramel and wet cardboard. Another weak product from Grans!

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

440 ml can. Amber colour, moderate off-white head, poor retention. Weak aroma, faint notes of caramel and hops. Flavour has some toffee notes and acceptable hops. Drinkable beer, but no masterpiece. Allegedly inspired by Ringnes’ sponsoring of Norwegian polar expeditions 1890s - 1920s, but the members of those expeditions drank proper Ringnes dark bock, not this swill!

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

Amber colour, moderate head. Corn and hops aroma. Light bodied, but a distinct unpleasant bitterness. Funny name = 'The Night Express Train' probably suggests that this beer is a fine night cap and will put you to sleep nicely. For sure, the flavour is no reason to keep you up. You might as well go to sleep. Good night!

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

330 ml bottle, labeled Pietra Bière Ambrée, bought in France. My first Corsican beer. Amber colour, large head. Nutty aroma with toffee and undefined herbal notes. Flavour is moderately malty with not-too-good hops, the chestnuts shine through. Chestnut powder in beer, WTF? Some strange medicinal character and a bitter finish and aftertaste. Not my favourite this one.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Also available in Vinmonopolet stores. Amber coloured premium lager. Decent lasting head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma, some hops with faint flowery and honey notes. Clean flavour with a decent maltiness and acceptable hops, hints of caramel, soft mouthfeel. And its organic! Not too bad, as far as Danish lagers go.

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

500 ml bottle, available in Norway at Vinmonopolet (partiutvalget). This unfiltered beer is slightly hazy, pale golden colour. Huge and lasting white head. Strong flowery aroma of aromatic hops, notes of honey and grass too. Nice. Flavour is fairly sweet, notes of honey and caramel, but the beer is still fairly light bodied and refreshing. A faint hoppy bitterness in the finish. A little more bittering hops would have been nice, though.

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

330 ml bottle. "Klasse D" means it's the grocery store version (= ABV < 4.75%) of their Yule/Christmas beer. Reddish brown colour, good head. Moderate toffee sweetness, moderately spiced flavour: cloves, cardamom, nutmeg. Not too bad, but of course it’s watery compared to the "klasse F" Juleøl.

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

330 ml bottle. Dark amber colour, pleasant aroma, hints of liquorice and spices. Excellent with traditional Scandinavian Yule/Christmas fare. This version (sold in Norway in Vinmonopolet stores only) is the way to go.

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

On tap, served by Bjørn Hansen, "the crazy Dane from Gentofte" (more about him: see "Hansen EF-Domstols Øl"), at Gladmatfestivalen, Stavanger, as "Hartmann Felsentrunk Landbier". The Hansen 0.5 liter glass (quite good looking) was included in the rather steep price of the beer! The original Hartmann Felsentrunk Landbier swingtop bottle was exhibited on the counter, and when I asked for it, Hansen claimed that this was the beer he actually had on tap. (He also had the paler EF-Domstols Øl). The colour was right, amber with a moderate head, but I did not get the faintest hint of smoke! The beer looked, smelled and tasted like a standard Danish "Classic". Moderate hops and some caramel malts in both aroma and flavour. OKish, but in no way remarkable.

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

(500 ml can, bought in Denmark). Beautiful amber colour, good head. Some corn sweetness, fairly neutral flavour, moderate to low bitterness. No foul taste, but far from being a great beer.

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

ABV in Norway is 4.5%. I'm sure the (slightly stronger) export version is even better, if you get it fresh. This beer is basically a pilsener (Saaz hops), but brewed with a certain amount of Munich malts to give it some of the rounded flavour of a Munich dunkel. Not a bad marriage, I'd say.

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

(500 ml bottle). Beautiful dark reddish brown colour, low head. Interesting strong aroma, initially it's overwhelming horse stable / fresh horse droppings(!), later the caramel, molasses and malts come through. Malty sweetness is well balanced by the hops, pleasant mellow aftertaste. I'll leave it to the "style police" to discuss if this is Vienna or Munich dunkel - IMO the Swedes have done a reasonably good job with this beer.

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

Mack Juleøl (klasse D) is made for the Norwegian grocery store market (= ABV less than 4.75%). Rated 0,5 liter can 2002 - new recipe. Copper coloured, good thick head. Peculiar aroma - initially acidic, later dusty with spices: salt of hartshorn, cloves and cardamom - like stale Christmas cookies in March. Less prominent spices in the flavour, thin and watery mouthfeel. Aftertaste does not last for long. If you can't have the "klasse F" Juleøl, Mack's Julespesial is at least a better alternative in the "klasse D" than this one.

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

This one has traditionally been the thinnest of Norwegian "klasse F" Yule/Christmas beers - the brewery made a slightly darker brew this year. Not as bad the ratings in Norwegian newspapers tell you. Reasonably malty, nutty, some caramel/toffee.

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

For a "klasse D" (= too low ABV, for the Norwegian grocery store market) Christmas brew this is not too bad. Reddish brown colour, good head, mild spices in the aroma. Very well balanced light malty sweetness vs. hoppy dryness. But of course, the inevitable watery mouthfeel of a "klasse D" Christmas brew is there. Lacks "punch" - it's not a brew that will kick off knife-fights, like an "Olde Norse" Yule/Christmas brew should(!) Still better than Mack Juleøl (klasse D), but not as good as their Juleøl (klasse F).

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

Sure it's good, jamieg - but not THAT good! Rerate: I would say this is probably closer to a dunkel than a Vienna. Smooth, malty, caramel and roasted notes. Nice.

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

Draught at the brewery beer hall. Served too cold, in the appropriate stylish glass. The beer has a beautiful amber colour, served with a moderate head. Fruity aroma with hints of caramel. Some caramel in the flavour too, but not really sweet. Nutty. Tolerably well hopped.