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

On tap at the brewpub. Despite the name, this is not a stout, nor was it intended to be. The brewer says it’s "more like a porter", and I won’t protest to that - but I wouldn’t protest if someone called it a "dark mild" or even a "fairly dark brown ale" either. Dark reddish brown colour, moderate off-white head. Nice aroma and flavour with mild roasty notes, hints of mild coffee and chocolate. Flavour of caramel malts too.

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

750 ml "champagne" bottle, as Eric Bordelet Sidre Brut Tendre, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 5%. Golden colour, pours very fizzy with a big but short-lived head. The aroma has notes of oxidised cider apples and sulphur, hints of smoke. The flavour is medium sweet (or medium dry, if you like), notes of cider apples again (of course), hints of sulphur. Easy drinking.

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

750 ml "champagne" bottle, as Valderance Cidre de Bretagne Bouché Brut, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 5%. Like all ciders from this cidery it is made of 100% pure juice from cider apples. Contains sulphites. Golden colour. Pours very fizzy with a very short-lived white head. Moderate to low carbonation in the glass. Nice aroma of oxidised cider apples, farmhouse kitchen, sulphur and oak. The flavour has again notes of oxidised cider apples, with a relatively low acidity, fairly dry, slightly tart and woody in the finish. Easy drinking.

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

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Also sampled bottled, but the bottle lacked carbonation, so my rating is for the tap version. Black (= very dark brown) colour, moderate tan head. Very nice aroma and flavour with roasty notes, coffee, dark chocolate and liquorice - also some vinous notes with hints of oak and dark dried fruits. Jolly good stuff!

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Also bought at Vaaland Spesialbutikken, Bryne. ABV is 4.7%. Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate aroma of pilsener malts, hints of honey. Soft and fairly "neutral" flavour with a very moderate malty sweetness. "Dusty" English hops in the finish. Nothing wrong with it, but boring.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Beautiful ruby colour, moderate beige head. Moderate but nice aroma of brown malts, hints of caramel. Malty and nutty flavour with notes of caramel, quite nice. Very moderate "dusty" English hops in the finish.

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

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. Organic / bio-dynamic ingredients. ABV is 4.7%. Pale golden colour, enormous white head. Decent aroma of malts and floral hops. High level of carbonation, big bubbles in the mouth. The flavour has also decent malts (from various esoteric grains), some nutty notes, with moderate but noticeable hops in the finish. Tolerably well balanced beer.

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

500 ml bottle, bought at Vinmonopolet, Norway. Organic, medium sweet sparkling cider. ABV is 6.8%. Golden colour, pours very fizzy with a big but short-lived head. Slightly hazy at the end. Very nice aroma and flavour of oxidised cider apples, hints of sulphur. The flavour is first moderately sweet, but ends dry and slightly tart. A decent and drinkable cider!

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7%. Unfiltered and unpasteurised. Amber colour, moderate head. Moderate aroma of berries, toffee and dust. The flavour is fairly malty with some sweetness, notes of berries and maybe some toffee again, moderate hops in the finish, hints of resin and dust. Not a "shock" by any stretch of the mind, but decent enough.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Dark brown colour, hazy. Moderate off-white head. Flowers and ripe berries in the aroma, hints of cloves too. Fruity and fairly sweet flavour, notes of bananas and cloves. Very moderate hops. Nice beer.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.2%. Unfiltered and unpasteurised. Recommended serving temperature 8-10 degrees C. Deep golden to amber colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of "dusty" hops. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is fairly dry, with just a hint of caramel, and noticeable German hops (Magnum and Hersbrücker) in the finish.

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

180 ml green bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.5%. Bottle No. 169 out of a batch of 1416 bottles. Brewed 8th March 2010. OG 1098, FG 1028. Czech hops, bittering hop: Premiant, aroma hop: Saaz. Recommended serving temperature 10 degrees C. Black (= very dark brown) colour, big and lasting fluffy beige head. Strong aroma of coffee, hints of dry wood. The flavour has also strong notes of coffee, with a roasty and hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. Quite dry, just a slight acidity. Good, but not brilliant.

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

750 ml corked, wired and waxed bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 233 out of a batch of 575 bottles, brewed 12th Dec. 2009. ABV is 8.64%. OG 1083, FG 1018. Czech hops, bittering hop Premiant, final hop Saaz. 88.2 EBU. Cloudy brown colour, big cream-coloured to beige head. Pleasant aroma of floral and fruity hops, hints of resin and wood. The flavour has a massive hoppy bitterness from start to finish, on a background of moderately sweet malts, notes of caramel. Bitter aftertaste.

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

500 ml can, bought at Vaaland Spesialbutikken, Bryne. ABV is 4.5%. Very pale yellow colour, some chill haze, big white head. Aroma of butter / butterscotch (diacetyl), hints of citrus. The flavour is moderately citric with hints of butter, moderate "dusty" hops in the finish. Not as bad as I feared.

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

568 ml green bottle, bought at Vaaland Spesialbutikkken, Bryne. ABV is 4.5%. Contains sulphites. Made with pears as the sole fruit. Crystal clear extremely pale greyish-greenish yellow colour, pours very fizzy with a moderate but short-lived head. Moderate aroma of pears and oxidised apples. Thin mouthfeel. Flavour of pears (of course), pear drops and sugar, but not extremely sweet. Could have been better, could have been worse.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.6%. Copper coloured beer, moderate creamy beige head. Aroma of Challenger and Fuggles hops, also notes of honey and berries. The flavour has plenty of hops, but also notes of slightly stale bitter orange marmalade. Very dry and "dusty" finish and aftertaste. Fairly good IPA.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.0%. Black colour, big brown head. Strong smoky aroma, notes of smoked meat and bonfires, also some moderate roasty notes in the background. The flavour is surprisingly mild, smoky notes of course, but not extreme. Very moderate roastiness, quite dry, too modest hops. Hints of acidity throughout. Easy drinking.

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

500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 3.8%. Brewed without any hops at all, but with substantial amounts of root ginger. Golden colour, pours quite fizzy, moderate to low head. Aroma of ginger and citrus. The flavour has a distinct ginger burn from start to finish. Definitely not your usual beer, but nice for a change of pace. Feels much stronger than its moderate ABV.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.0%. Refermented in the bottle. Recommended serving temperature 6-8 degrees C. Pale yellow colour, huge white head. Strong and beguiling fruity, yeasty and spicy aroma. The flavour is fruity with light spicy notes, distinct hops in the finish. Light bodied and refreshing.

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

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.0%. "Saison Aromatica e Fruttata." Ingredients include spices. Very pale yellow colour, slightly hazy. Huge white head. Very nice fruity and spicy aroma. The flavour is dry and spicy with a certain acidity. Light bodied for its strength. ~

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

1 pt. 9.4 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar , Stavanger. ABV not mentioned on the label. Chestnut coloured beer, big off-white head. Moderate aroma of Belgian ale yeast, hints of brown bread and spices. Fairly light bodied, easy drinking and refreshing. The flavour has some citric acidity, moderate malts, fairly dry, very moderate hops. Okay, but not exceptional.

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

375 ml capped and waxed green bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10%. Malts are pale, vienna and cara-red, Zeus hops. Cloudy dark brown colour, big beige head. Strong sweetish aroma of oak, caramel malts and brandy, vinous notes. Rich mouthfeel. The flavour is oaky, malty and vinous, but not too sweet. Moderate but noticeable hops and chocolate in the finish. A jolly good beer!