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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9%. Mahogany coloured beer with a nice beige head, no haziness. Malty aroma and flavour with notes of brown sugar, dried dark fruits and caramel, hints of spices. The aftertaste is spicy with a moderate hoppy bitterness. Not quite in the league of the trappists, but certainly a good beer.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10%. Copper coloured beer with a big and lasting beige head. Nice aroma of malts, caramel, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. The flavour is malty sweet with some unwanted metallic sidenotes, also notes of caramel and brown sugar, hints of spices, moderate hops in the finish. Alcohol is noticeable throughout. Not in the league of the trappists this one.

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

750 ml "champagne" bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Deep golden to amber colour, moderate head. Lovely vinous aroma with notes of oak, fruit and berries. The flavour is also pleasantly oaky and fruity, with a "refreshing" touch which is quite astonishing for a 13% ABV beer. Well, you get an idea that this is a strong beer, but not as strong as it actually is. It is not too sweet, and the aftertaste is moderately spicy. A great beer!

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9%. Extremely pale yellow colour, huge white head. Strong sweetish aroma with notes of Belgian yeast, ripe fruits (incl. bananas) and spices (incl. cloves). The flavour is moderately spicy and relatively dry, notes of Belgian yeast again, very light bodied and refreshing for its strength (which means that the alcohol is well hidden). Nice, but I’ve had more complex Belgians than this one, though.

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

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). ABV is 8.5%. The beer starts pouring out of the bottle by its own will. Dark chestnut coloured beer, hazy when the yeast is poured in the end. Moderate beige head. Strong aroma of anise, "Christmas" spices and liquorice. The flavour has again notes of anise and various "Christmas" spices. Not too sweet. The alcohol is well hidden. Nice beer, but should not be your first choice if you hate anise.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 10%. 19 degrees Plato. Refermented in the bottle, unfiltered and unpasteurised. Ingredients include sugars, thyme and curacao. Hazy reddish dark brown colour, huge tan head. Pleasant but fairly moderate aroma with vinous notes, notes of oak and spices, hints of farmhouse. The flavour is distinctly spicy and oaky, with a substantial but not overwhelming sweetness from the malts and sugars. Some yeasty notes. Distinct hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. Warming mouthfeel, but the 10% ABV does not dominate. As a Christmas beer, this one is better suited to accompany an English Christmas pudding than a main course of meats or fish - but is also nice to drink on its own.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV is 8%. Amber to copper colour, low head. Boring aroma, slightly malty. Malty flavour, notes of caramel, hints of cinnamon.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 10%. Pale golden colour, fluffy white head. Surprisingly moderate aroma, slightly spicy. Fruity and spicy flavour, pleasant to drink, the ABV is well hidden, well balanced.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 10.5%. Dark brown colour. Moderately malty aroma, notes of brown bread and spices. Malty and moderately sweet flavour, some vinous notes, well rounded, moderate spices and oak, low bitterness.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 8.5%. Beautiful copper to ruby colour, decent head. Intense oaky, malty and vinous aroma and flavour. Good beer.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.0%. Reddish amber colour, slightly hazy, huge and rocky off-white head, lasts "forever". Nice fruity and spicy aroma. Spicy flavour too, notes of oak, some caramel and fruit. Good stuff. By Satan, I think I’ll have another one!

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub, Stavanger. 2008 vintage (new recipe, new style, new label). Bottle conditioned, ABV is 7.5%. Cloudy brown colour, huge off-white head. Nice "Belgian" aroma, spices (incl. coriander), yeast and woodwork. The flavour is also spicy / peppery and woody, relatively dry with just a slight fruitiness. Good beer.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7%. Pale brown colour with a reddish hue, big off-white head. Aroma of malts and rice, hints of caramel, also some sweetish and somewhat strange notes of undefined fruit. The flavour has a sweet mix of malts and some strange undefined fruit again, low bitterness, alcohol is noticeable. Some hops in the aftertaste. Well worth sampling.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Very dark brown colour, big pale brown head. Moderate sourish fruity and dusty aroma, hints of lightly roasted malts, wet cardboard and damp basement - certainly not impressive. The flavour is very sweet, fruity and vinous, notes of raisins and dark dried fruits, brown candi sugar, some oak. Noticeable hops and dust in the finish.

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

750 ml corked and wired bottle, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 9.5%. Very pale golden colour, huge white head. The aroma has notes of Belgian ale yeast (spicy and fruity), white candi sugar and fruity and flowery hops. The flavour is sweet, spicy and well hopped, very drinkable for its strength. Spicy and moderately bitter finish.

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

750 ml capped bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 11%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Very nice spicy aroma of coriander and cloves, hints of honey, flowers and leather. The flavour is also spicy and relatively sweet, moderate hoppy and peppery notes in the finish. The alcohol is well hidden.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, and HaandBryggeriet who imports it to Norway. Deep golden colour, big to moderate head. Distinct hoppy aroma with floral notes. ABV is 8%. Alcohol is well hidden. The flavour has the characteristic sharp bitterness of Nugget hops from start to finish. After a few beers of the "well rounded" and "fruity and acidic" kind, this was just what I needed. More "American" than Belgian, perhaps.

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

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9%. The glass fills completely by a huge beige head, and the brown beer appears only slowly. Intense fruity aroma with berry notes, also some oaky, spicy and vinous notes. The flavour has a powerful malty sweetness and intense vinous notes, warming mouthfeel. Notes of oak and berries again. Awesome beer.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV was 10%. Cloudy brown colour, minimal head. Very moderate carbonation, like a Southern English cask ale. Vinous aroma, notes of oak and balsamic vinegar, coriander and orange peel. The flavour has notes of alcohol (not very well hidden), fortified wine, coriander (and undefined spices) and orange peel, with distinct hops throughout. Somehow the flavour elements seem not perfectly balanced. Maybe too much bitterness and alcohol crashing with the more delicate wheaty elements? Goes down well enough though.

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

Bottle, 8.5% ABV, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Golden colour, slightly hazy, moderate white head. Aroma and flavour of American caramel malts with some "unfresh" marmalade notes. The flavour also has some moderate American hops.

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

Bottle, as Hof Korvatunturi Old Ale, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Cloudy orange colour, low head. Strange aroma, some Belgian yeast, hard to classify. Fairly sweet flavour, some fruit, hints of tobacco, some mint and tea.

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

Bottle, ABV 10%, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Dark brown colour, hazy, moderate off-white head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of malts, brown sugar, Belgian yeast and spices. The flavour has a rich malty sweetness, also notes of candi sugar, dark dried fruits and spices. The finish is distinctly spicy and moderately hoppy. A very nice Christmas beer!

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

Bottle, ABV 10%, at RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Hazy orange to amber colour, moderate head. The aroma and flavour are oaky with hints of whisky and funky notes. Interesting and powerful beer.

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

330 ml bottle Christmas 2009, bought in Norway at Vinmonopolet. ABV is 9%. Beautiful chestnut colour, clear first, gets murky when the yeast is poured in. Big beige head. Strong aroma of Christmas spices, malts and caramel, some vinous notes too. The mouthfeel is fuller and richer than the 6% version. The flavour is very malty and sweet, notes of Christmas spices, figs and candi sugar.

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

330 ml bottle, as Slaapmutske Christmas, at the Christmas beer tasting of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Beautiful dark reddish brown colour, huge, creamy and long lasting off-white to beige head. Both aroma and flavour have a distinctly malty presence (not too sweet though) with some mild spicy, fruity and caramel notes, the hops are moderate - but the beer is overall so well balanced and highly drinkable that it deserves a high rating, even without being so very "special", nor extreme in any way.