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

March 2014: 375 ml synthetic corked & caged green bottle (nearly impossible to open), Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 4881 of 9992. ABV is 10.2%. Cloudy brown colour, moderate off-white head. Strong, sweetish and very malty aroma, notes of oak, over-ripe berries and caramel. Very sweet, rich and malty flavour. Notes of caramel and over-ripe bananas, plenty of oak. Will probably improve with a few years in the cellar. Not a favourite as it is.

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

500 ml bottle, as Kloster Andechs Weizenbock, from Left Field Beer, England. ABV is 7.0%. Hazy straw colour, enormous white head. Strong aroma of ripe and over-ripe bananas, also caramel and cloves. Wheaty flavour, a little citrus first, followed by banana, caramel and cloves.

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

Bottle, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. ABV was 7%. Deep golden colour, big white head. Lovely and intense aroma of cloves and very ripe bananas. The flavour is yeasty and relatively sweet with notes of cloves, some hops in the finish.

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

Bottle No. 800 (out of a batch of 992), brewed 4th Nov. 2009. Courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Front label says ABV is 7.2%, rear label says it is 7.5%. OG 1065, FG 1013. Bittering hop: Galena, late hops: Chinook, Simcoe, Cascade and Amarillo, dry hopping: Saaz and Cascade. 53,6 EBU. Recommended serving temperature is 10 degrees C. Hazy deep orange colour, huge off-white head. Very nice aroma of fruity / citrussy, floral and piney hops. Fizzy mouthfeel. Dry flavour, dominated by resinous American hops. Decent beer, but nothing wheaty about it.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.2%. Pale straw coloured beer, huge white head. Very nice and strong spicy and wheaty aroma. Spicy and moderately fruity flavour, peppery and moderately hoppy finish.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.7%. Very pale yellow colour, hazy, with a huge white head. Much paler than any other weizenbock I’ve had. Lovely typical sweetish hefeweizen aroma with notes of ripe bananas, cloves and bubblegum. The flavour is sweet and fruity, but still fairly light bodied for its strength. Moderate notes of cloves, very moderate hops. A very different character compared to e.g. Schneider Aventinus, but nice enough to drink.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(500 ml bottle). Enormous thick and lasting beige head, colour is very dark brown, cloudy. Aroma is immediately bread yeast, bread dough, fresh sweet buns. As the beer warms up, I also get rye bread, leather and caramel. Flavour is rye bread, caramel (too much), molasses, hints of roastiness and spices. Warming mouthfeel. There’s a very good beer hidden in here somewhere, but it remains unreleased. Sweetness is mostly to blame.

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

500 ml bottle, Vinmonopolet. Batch No. 31. On the first pour my weissbier glass fills completely with brown foam, which very slowly subsides to form a large and creamy head, on top of an opaque dark brown beer. First a very nice aroma of dark fruits, bakery / rye bread, bananas and cloves, then some less pleasant sidenotes of pepper and artificial candy set in. Flavour is sweet and alcoholic, notes of roasted malts and slightly burnt toast. Fairly bitter finish. This weizenbock is no Aventinus, but still a nice try.

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

Theoretically I might encounter a better Weizen than this one, but I doubt very much that will ever happen. Murky brown colour, large head, aroma of Paradise: Cloves and other undefinable spices, dried fruits (figs), oak and sandalwood. Oaky cloves flavour with hints of burnt caramel. Alcohol is present, but not overwhelmingly so. Dry aftertaste. This is a thoroughly well made beer!

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

(Bottle). Theoretically I might encounter a better Weizen than this one, but I doubt very much that will ever happen. Murky brown colour, large head, aroma of Paradise: Cloves and other undefinable spices, dried fruits (figs), oak and sandalwood. Oaky cloves flavour with hints of burnt caramel. Alcohol is present, but not overwhelmingly so. Dry aftertaste. This is a thoroughly well made beer!

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

Shared 750 ml bottle at local tasting, thanks to gunnar. ABV is 6.3%. The bottle had been open a while, but I’ll rate the beer as if it had a normal carbonation (which reports confirm it had when opened). Amber colour. Unusual spicy aroma, notes of coriander and banana. Spicy flavour, some banana. A fairly decent beer. Will rerate if I can find a fresh bottle.

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

Shared bottle at local tasting, as Schneider Weisse Tap X Mein Nelson Sauvin. ABV is 7.3%. Cloudy orange colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma, notes of cloves and crushed gooseberries. Spicy flavour, very strong notes of cloves, also notes of Nelson Sauvin hops, but not dominant. Unusual, interesting, and pleasant to drink.

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

500 ml botlle, as Mahrs Bräu Weisser Bock, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.2%. Slightly hazy deep brown colour, large off-white to beige head. Aroma of banana, caramel, brown bread, a hint of cloves. Fizzy mouthfeel. Slightly sweet flavour of brown bread with some caramel, hints of banana and cloves. Minimal hops. Not bad, but I hoped for something even better.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 8.0%. Cloudy very dark brown colour, large tan head. Nice aroma of brown malts, bakery and banana split, a hint of cloves. The flavour is refreshing for its strength, notes of brown malts, brown bread, spices and banana, hints of chocolate, very moderate hops. The alcohol is well hidden. Good beer!

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

Shared bottle at RBNAG 2011 in Oslo. Bronze colour. I was getting slightly inebriated when this beer finally came up in the tasting, but had still the capacity to recognize the qualities of a fine barleywine. Well balanced and pleasant aroma and flavour, malty and sweet but not too extreme. Strong, but not too alcoholic - smooth to drink for its strength. Very good.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10%. Cloudy brownish golden colour, moderate white head. Strong wheaty / estery aroma, notes of yeast, cloves, banana and chamomile. The flavour is sweet with strong notes of banana, yeast, spices and chamomile. Powerful and warming mouthfeel. I admit being sceptical to a wheat beer this strong, but Good Force is actually .... well, GOOD. You’ll need an ability to handle a certain amount of sweetness, though.

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

750 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.4%. Hazy brown colour, moderate but lasting off-white head. Very nice aroma of fruity and piney American hops, some sweetish malts in the background. The flavour is dangerously drinkable and even refreshing for a beer of this strength, some sweetness but no too much. And of course large amounts of American hops, fruity first, with a massive resinous bitterness in the finish.

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

330 ml bottle, as Tamamura Honten Wheat Wine of Shiga Kogen. ABV is 9.5%. Hazy brownish golden colour, moderate white head. Sweetish aroma with notes of marzipan, candy, caramel, alcohol and decaying fruits. The flavour is sweet and alcoholic with notes of caramel, but also strong notes of fruity American(?) hops, with a fairly bitter finish and long aftertaste.

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

750 ml bottle, 2008 vintage (assemblage January 2009), bought at Systembolaget, Sweden. Bottle No. 00276. ABV is 11.0%. Sediment in the bottle. Hazy orange-brown colour, moderate to low off-white head. Some of the haziness might be chill haze, I started drinking it too cold. Very nice sourish-fruity aroma with a distinct brettanomyces character. The flavour is distinctly sour but not extreme, very fruity and tart (notes of sour cherries and Bramley apples), hints of oak, with just the right hoppy bitterness in the dry finish. The alcohol is well hidden - if someone had told me that this was a 6% beer, I would gladly believe it. A very fine beer, but it requires that you are into the sour stuff (a "sourhead") to really appreciate it.

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

Bottle, ABV 14%, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Ale fermented with peaches in oak cask. Deep golden colour, low head. Intense aroma of oak, lemons, cider apples and peaches. Very sour flavour, notes of brettanomyces, sour apples more than peaches.

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

Bottle, at HaandBryggeriet. Reddish brown colour, moderate head. The aroma has notes of wild forest cranberries (= lingonberries), redcurrants and red wine vinegar. The flavour is very crisp and dry, with some acidity. Nice enough, but I’d like a little more sweetness for a fuller mouthfeel.

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

Shared bottle, RBNAG 2011 in Oslo. Dark brown colour. Sourish aroma and flavour, farmhouse notes, lemony and gueuze-like despite the darker colour.

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

Shared bottle, RBNAG 2011 in Oslo. Barrel aged 6 months, with currants added. Reddish brown colour. Intense farmhouse aroma, sour fruit, oak and spices. Sour flavour, good but not impressive.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Reddish brown colour, moderate off-white head. Pleasant aroma of red wine, red wine vinegar, oak and farmhouse. The flavour is indeed sour, but not extreme. Notes of malts, red wine vinegar and oak - but unfortunately with a bit too much malty sweetness for my taste. The aftertaste is fairly dry though.

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

On tap at HaandBryggeriet Beer Festival, Drammen. Brownish red (more than reddish brown) colour, moderate off-white head. Fruity, oaky and vinous aroma, slightly acidic. (According to the brewer, no grapes nor any other fruit has been added to the beer, but it has fermented and matured in oak barrels previously used for their grape-infused beers), The flavour is oaky, fruity and slightly acidic / vinegary, but lacks a hoppy counterpoint, and there is not much malty sweetness either.