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

On tap at Cardinal, Stavanger, as Budels Lentebock. Golden colour, white head. Aroma and flavour of "spicy" Belgian yeast and spicy and minty hops. The alcohol is noticeable, but not disturbing. Nice to drink.

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

330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.5%. Slightly hazy reddish brown colour, small off-white head. Distinct aroma of malts, brown bread, dark syrup and caramel. Medium sweet flavour with the same elements, low bitterness.

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

330 ml bottle, as Ægir Nissebokk Julebrygg, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7%. Dark redddish brown colour, small off-white head. Aroma of malts, caramel, brown bread, mild spices. Medium sweet flavour with the same elements.

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

330 ml bottle, from the brewery, as Telemark Vinter. Parallell tasting with its alias, Telemark Bock. ABV is 6.5%, IBU 23. Dark reddish brown colour, large to moderate head. Moderate malty aroma, hints of bread, dust, caramel and over-ripe red berries. A certain difference in carbonation and mouthfeel, otherwise the two beers are obviously the same. The flavour is not too bad - notes of medium roast malts, caramel (but not very sweet), noticeable hops.

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

330 ml bottles, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). I drank the first bottle at cellar temperature, the second one at fridge temp. Extremely powerful mouthfeel in both cases, you’d think the beer was much stronger than its 6.5% ABV (in a blind test I’d probably say 10-11%). This means that the alcohol dominates, but the malts and hops are evident too. Colour is deep golden / amber, large white head. Moderate aroma of spices, caramel, molasses and hops, some oak and leather too. Moderately sweet with a dry and bitter hoppy finish. I preferred the Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel to this one.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, UK import. Pours very foamy and fizzy, with a decent lingering head. Deep amber colour, hazy. Sweet yeasty aroma with elements of oak, molasses, butter and hayloft. Flavour has some molasses sweetness, butter, butterscotch, some spices and decent hops, but lacks a fresh and spritzy "bite". Too much butter elements, I guess. Still a beer well above average, but I’m not ecstatic.

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

Sampled in Denmark. Deep golden colour. Good initial aroma, head disappears quickly. Fairly alcoholic, some hoppy bitterness. A drinkable strong pale bock, but the Dark is better!

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

(33 cl bottle, bought in Denmark.) Deep amber colour, low head. Aroma is malty sweet with some caramel and hops. Flavour is again malty sweet, rounded and mellow, low bitterness. The best of the Tinkoff beers I’ve had so far.

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

Pale golden like a pils, smells like a pils with some more alcohol (which indeed this beer has!), tastes like a very strong pils. As such this beer is not bad, but I guess you have to be Danish to figure how anyone would choose to drink this stuff for Christmas (and even name it a "Christmas Brew"). Alcohol is not everything, for Christmas I want darker malts than they have used here! This beer must be a distant relative of Carlsberg's Elephant. Save it for a cool summer's night.

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

There are, at the present, only 4 Norwegian standard strength bocks (alphabethical order is identical with my quality ranking): Aass, Borg, Frydenlund and Mack. However, they are all well worth sampling. Frydenlund has a good head, pleasant oak and nut aroma (but not as good as Aass), malty flavour, acceptable aftertaste. The Frydenlund brewery was bought and closed many years ago by Oslo rival Ringnes, who continue to brew their beers.

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

Rich and sweetish Norwegian dark bock, spicy, hints of coffee and caramel. Not a bad bock this one, but not as good as Aass Bock. Brewed by Borg Bryggeri in Sarpsborg, which survived by merging with Hansa (Bergen) and CB (Kristiansand) into the Hansa-Borg group.

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

500 ml bottle, unpasteurised, bought in Hvide Sande, Denmark. Beautiful clear reddish amber colour, moderate lingering head. Malty aroma with some caramel and honey. I like my bocks darker than this, still this one has a pretty full body, some malty caramel sweetness with a moderately bitter finish. Alcohol is unfortunately too dominant. Does not live up to its high price.

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

330 ml bottle, at the Otto Duborg café near Flensburg. Served with a plastic glass! Golden colour, large and lasting head. Very moderate fruity aroma. Alcoholic and boring sweet flavour.

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

Sample on tap at the brewpub, on the day of its release for the Christmas season 2005. I think the waiter might again have screwed up the samples here ... Golden colour, much paler than the description. Hints of vomit in the aroma, not very pleasant. Tastes like a reasonably hoppy pale bock / premium lager, nothing Christmasy about it.

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

330 ml swingtop bottle, bought in Germany. Golden colour, fizzy, large head. Fairly strong sweet and alcoholic aroma, notes of molasses and ammonium, hints of oak and fermenting fruits, not very pleasant. Flavour is malty, too alcoholic and sweet, low bitterness. Pale strong lagers rarely make me happy, and this one is no exception to the rule. Still drinkable - I’ve had worse.

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

500 ml swingtop bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 6.9%. Orange to amber colour, large off-white head with an orange hue. Moderate aroma of malts, some fruity hops and bakery, notes of alcohol. Flavour is fairly malty and bready, some caramel sweetness, alcohol is evident but not too much. Some hoppy bitteness and slightly burnt notes in the finish. OKish, but not my favourite bock.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting, 44 cl can. Brewed in Stara Zagora. The brewery is now owned by Heineken. Reddish brown colour. Sweetish malty aroma, kind of sickly. Flavour is also (too) malty sweet, moderately roasty, one-dimensional.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. 750 ml bottle. Dark brown colour, low head. Sickening chocolate aroma, like chocolate sauce. Very sweet chocolate flavour, too sweet for me, but probably nice if you "simply LOVE" chocolate.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting, as Taurus 8 Bock. Pale golden colour, low head. Moderate grassy aroma and flavour. Not offensive, but definitely not my favourite beer.

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

The ABV in Norway is 6,5%. This is the best Norwegian beer you can get. Beautiful, very dark reddish brown colour, moderate carbonation. Complex aroma and flavour, hints of spices, oak and liqourice. Very well balanced. Great aftertaste.

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

Better than the Urbock hell. Low head. Pleasant malty / toffee aroma. Slightly nutty flavour. Strong alcohol presence, fairly well balanced with the malts and hops. A decent bock, but not as good as the Norwegian ones (esp. Aass).

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

I expected more than I got from this beer, and was a bit disappointed. Low head, clear golden colour, pleasant hoppy aroma. Strong alcohol presence. Bitter flavour, close to tart. Far from outstanding. I guess I'm a "Bocks are dark"-guy.

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

Not as good as Aass Bock in any way, considerably thinner, fairly light brown colour, weaker aroma, more of a refreshment beer than a sipping beer, still it's drinkable - probably Mack's best product after all.

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

330 ml bottle, as Ebeltoft Bockbockbegid Dunkelbock, from Lorentsens Vinforsyning, Ebeltoft. ABV is 7.5%. Clear reddish brown colour, moderate off-white to beige head. Moderate aroma of malts, a hint of caramel and prunes. Malty flavour, some caramel but not too sweet, notes of brown bread, smooth and easy drinking.

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

May 2015: 500 ml bottle, as Kloster Andechs Bergbock Hell, BB date 13.02.2014, from CITTI-Markt Flensburg. ABV is 6.9%. Pale golden colour, large white head. Moderate aroma, some sweetish grassy and floral notes. Medium sweet flavour, notes of pilsener malts and moderate herbal hops. Not bad, but not the best beer from Klosterbrauerei Andechs.