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

500 ml bottle from NETTO, Denmark, as BB Økologisk Påske (= Organic Easter). ABV is 6.5%. Amber colour, large off-white head. Quite nice sweetish aroma of malts, caramel and grassy hops, some fruity hints too. The flavour is moderately malty and slightly sugary with hints of caramel, hints of fruit too, with a very moderate bitterness. Okay, but not impressive.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

660 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. ABV is 6.5%. Allegedly a Carlsberg recipe from 1907. Hops are Spalt and Saaz. Beautiful amber to copper colour, big off-white head with an orangey hue. Flavour of over-boiled vegetables, baby porridge and caramel. The flavour has notes of malts and caramel, but is not too sweet. As the beer warms up a little, a very moderate fruitiness comes through. However, the amount of hops used is far too moderate to make this a really great drinking experience. The beer is drinkable though, but I expect more from a Semper Ardens brew.

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

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. ABV is 7.4%. Deep golden colour, big white head. Nice aroma of caramel, toffee and butterscotch, hints of Danish bakery and marmalade. The flavour is fairly sweet and malty with loads of caramel, alcohol is noticeable but not really disturbing. Very moderate (too moderate) hops.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Voldby Købmandsgård. ABV is 6.5%. Brewed with bottom fermenting yeast. Beautiful dark amber to copper colour, moderate off-white head, nice lacing. Moderate aroma of caramel and leather, hints of spices. The flavour has notes of caramel, with roasty notes and moderate hops in the finish. Not bad.

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

330 ml can, kindly shared by my beerpal Jan Magnus. ABV is 5.4%. Dark ruby colour, moderate off-white head. Moderate aroma of malts, caramel and butterscotch. Thin mouthfeel. The flavour has very moderate notes of malts and caramel, low bitterness.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by my beerpal Ivar. ABV is 7%. Cloudy brown colour, big beige head with an orangey hue. Malty and slightly stale aroma (stale dark fruits). Malty rich flavour, spicy and oaky notes, moderate hops in the finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, as Lade Gaards Juleøl Sterk Type. ABV is 6.5%. (No, this won’t be part of the pub’s regular selection, thank God - it’s just in for the Grand Christmas Beer Tasting.) Very dark brown colour, large beige head. Sourish metallic aroma, some malts and caramel. Thin body. Sourish metallic flavour too, like sucking 5" galvanized nails. The most miserable strong ("Vinmonopolet strength") Christmas /Yule beer you can get in Norway.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Deep golden to amber color, moderate off-white head. Sweetish aroma of new-mown grass, caramel and nuts. The flavour is quite sweet and sugary, with notes of caramel, honey and nuts. Very moderate hops. A bit too far out on the sweet side, but not undrinkable.

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

500 bottle, from Vinmonopolet Vika. Batch #461. Unfiltered and unpasteurised. ABV is 7.5%. Hazy amber colour, large off-white head. Sweetish but nice aroma, ripe fruits, malts and some caramel. The flavour is also fruity and malty, medium sweet, with tolerable hops in the finish. The alcohol is not very well hidden, but that’s okay - after all, this IS a bock. Quite enjoyable.

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

Shared bottle, as Barbar Bok, at local tasting, ABV was 8.5%. Very dark brown colour, moderate beige head. Strong malty and alcoholic aroma and flavour, hints of honey. A bit better than average, but not really my cup of tea.

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

355 ml bottle, from the foreign beer bar at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 5.5%. Mahogany to dark ruby colour, big beige head. Malty aroma with notes of Schwarzbrot and caramel. The flavour is also very malty with notes of caramel and brown bread, very moderate hops. Nice enough to drink.

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

500 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård. ABV is 5.3%. Deep golden to amber colour, large head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma of anise and rowanberry jelly, a hint of grassy hops and crystal malts. The flavour has also notes of anise (of which I am not a big fan), just a hint of rowanberries. Fairly dry, but with hints of crystal malts, and the hops are too moderate. I’m sorry, but this is not a beer that got me excited.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8%. Deep golden colour, low white head. Moderate "dusty" lager aroma, nothing exciting there. The flavour has a nice balance between the malts and hops, fairly easy drinking for its strength.

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

500 ml bottle, from NETTO, Denmark. ABV is 6.0%. Amber to copper colour, large to moderate off-white head, leaves a nice lacing. Nice and fresh aroma of tree sap, but I am not sure I could identify it as ahorn, if I didn’t know. (I am well aquainted with ahorn syrup, but the aroma here is not nearly that intense.) Also grassy and herbal notes. The medium sweet flavour has some fruity and caramel notes, and moderate notes of ahorn syrup (contains also glucose syrup). Low bitterness, but the fruitiness saves the beer from falling in the "cloyingly sweet" ditch. Smooth mouthfeel. I kind of like it.

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

330 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård. ABV is 7.5%. Copper colour, large to moderate off-white head. Fruity / citrussy aroma, also notes of caramel and brown sugar. The flavour has moderate notes of citrussy hops on a caramel and brown sugar base. Very moderate bitterness. Not very complex. Clearly drinkable, but not my favourite Christmas beer. Wouldn’t buy again.

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

500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.5%. Clear golden colour, moderate white head. Slightly sweetish but pleasant aroma of light malts and floral and herbal hops, hints of honey and newmown grass. The flavour is slightly sweet, but not too much, distinctly malty, but also with distinct floral and herbal hops, and a bitter finish.

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

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet Sauda. ABV is 7.0%. Deep reddish brown colour, moderate off-white to beige head. Very malty aroma with loads of caramel, hints of Christmas spices. Rich mouthfeel. Rich and malty flavour with plenty of caramel and Christmas spices, sweet but not too much, moderate bittering hops.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad, as Onder de Linden Wagenings Bockbier. ABV was 7.7%. Amber colour, decent head. Fruity aroma, notes of farmhouse. Very fruity flavour, alcohol is noticeable but not too dominant. Tolerable hops in the finish. Nice.

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

330 ml brown bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, pub, Stavanger. Chestnut to mahogany colour, moderate creamy head. Aroma of moderately roasted malts, a hint of smoked malts, mild spices, caramel and oak. The flavour has caramel, spices, a hint of smoke again, moderate hops in the finish. Lervig’s best product so far.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. Reddish amber colour. Moderately spicy and slightly oaky aroma. Moderately spicy flavour with a distinct hoppy finish.

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

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 8.0%. Brown colour. Sweetish malty aroma, not bad. Moderately malty flavour, hoppy finish. A fairly decent and strong Danish bock.

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

(330 ml clear bottle). Pours with a good head, beautiful copper colour. Aroma of caramel, oak and spices. Flavour is malty and a bit alcoholic, more bitterness than most "juleøl" - but not very complex. Quite dry for a juleøl. Aass "klasse F Juleøl" is a better choice. Rerate 2007: More malty sweetness this year, but not overdone like Ringnes Juleøl. Nice.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 7.3%. Colour somewhere between mahogany and black, large and lasting beige head. Moderate but nice aroma of roasted malts and bakery, hints of oak and leather. Very malty and well rounded flavour, medium sweet, notes of mild coffee and black bread. Moderate but sufficient hops, fairly smooth and easy to drink for a 7.3% beer. Nice one!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Mahogany coloured beer, big and creamy beige head. The aroma has some malts and caramel, but most of all unpleasant notes of artificial "red berries" syrup. The flavour has some malts, but is first and foremost metallic, acidic and "empty". This is, par excellence, the worst Norwegian "klasse F" Yule/Christmas beer on the market. Close to belonging in the "drainpour" category, and certainly not something I would offer my guests with Christmas dinner.

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

500 ml bottle, thanks to yngwie. ABV is "only" 5.8%, but the beer tastes like a dopplebock. Very dark reddish brown colour, moderate creamy beige head. The sweetish aroma has notes of dark münchener malts, caramel and bakery, some vinous notes too. Nice! Full and rich mouthfeel. The flavour is very sweet and malty, to some degree balanced by decent hops. Also notes of chocolate, raisins and other dried fruits. I like it!