Beer Reviews by SIGMUND

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# Beer Origin Style Score Date
6976 Ename Dubbel Belgium Abbey Dubbel 3.8

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

330 ml bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Deep red-brown colour, large light tan head. Surprisingly moderate malty aroma, notes of caramel and oak. Improves as the beer warms up, some vinous qualities. Flavour is malty with some caramel and brown bread notes, moderate hops. Easy drinking, refreshing for its strength. Okay.

Oct 19, 2005
04:39:19 PM
6977 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek Belgium Fruit Lambic 4.4

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

Sampled bottle, at Plan B, Copenhagen. Beautiful red colour, pink head. Delightful cherry aroma. Sour cherry flavour on a funky background. A very good kriek.

Oct 19, 2005
04:45:19 AM
6978 Cobra Lower Cal (Lower Carb) United Kingdom Light / Lite Lager 1.5

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

330 ml clear bottle, bought in Norway. As if the European brewed "Indian" Cobra was not boring enough, they HAD to brew this special low carb version for slimmers who really don’t like beer, but like the buzz. God, I hate the low carb craze! This "beer" is very pale golden, foamy white head. Fruity aroma, citrus, pineapple and maize, could have been worse. "Flavour" is very bland and tasteless, just a hint of fruity sweetness. No bitterness. Very thin and watery mouthfeel. Extremely flat and bland aftertaste, as far as there is any at all. This is definitely a beer to avoid.

Oct 18, 2005
03:20:18 PM
6979 Ølve på Egge Norway Ale 4.2

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

500 ml bottle, unflitered and unpasteurised, bottle conditioned traditional Norse ale. Available at Ole Simon, Sandnes. Very dark brown colour, floaties from the sediment, creamy tan head with greyish tones. Distinct and unusual aroma of juniper, resin, fresh tar, woodwork and caramel, some less pleasant notes of ammonium too. Moderate natural carbonation. Very pleasant to drink, malty with lovely juniper notes, a subdued roastiness, hints of smoke, not too sweet. Pleasant aftertaste with roasty and resiny notes. Very interesting beer!

Oct 18, 2005
08:36:18 AM
6980 Fjelløl Alkoholfri Norway Reduced Alcohol 1.2

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

330 ml bottle, bought at LIDL Norway. Looks like a pale lager, gets a point for a tolerable head. Otherwise this is another offensive n/a beer, sweetish aroma and flavour with notes of grit, the usual n/a "boiled" notes are there. As with all(?) n/a beers: Avoid!

Oct 11, 2005
04:01:11 PM
6981 Trio Lettøl Norway Reduced Alcohol 1.1

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

330 ml bottle, bought at LIDL Norway. Pale golden colour, low head. Sweetish aroma, grainy with some strange and very unpleasant sidenotes of undefinable industrial waste. Flavour is grainy with unpleasant "industrial" sidenotes, and the "boiled" house character (you know, vegetables etc. that have been boiled too long) that seems to be the trademark of Trio Bryggeri. In a blind taste I’d probably have guessed that this was a completely n/a beer. This is one to avoid!

Oct 11, 2005
06:14:11 AM
6982 Burgen Pils Lettøl 2.3% Germany Reduced Alcohol 1.8

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml can, at LIDL Norway. Extremely pale colour, one of the palest beers I’ve seen. Large fluffy head. Very moderate aroma, just some faint flowery notes. Extremely thin and watery mouthfeel, but some moderate hops at least give this "lettøl" SOME flavour. No offensive off-flavours detected.

Oct 11, 2005
06:10:11 AM
6983 Amunds Pilsner Norway Pale Lager 2.0

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

330 ml bottle, bought at LIDL Norway (contract brew). Very pale straw coloured, tolerable head. Weak aroma, hints of flowers and honey. Flavour is typical "neutral" pilsener / pale lager, but the "boiled" notes in the finish suggest that this beer might be brewed by Trio Bryggeri, Mack’s partner brewery (50% Mack ownership) in Southern Norway. Typical Trio house character.

Oct 8, 2005
08:48:08 AM
6984 Grafen Walder Premium Pils Germany Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 2.1

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

500 ml can, bought at LIDL Norway. ABV here is 4.7%, to comply with our 4.75% upper limit for beers sold in grocery stores. Pale golden colour, fluffy large to moderate head, collapsing. Moderate aromatic hops with some slight sweet and flowery notes, hints of hay. Low carbonation, thin and watery mouthfeel. Onedimensional flavour where a not very pleasant bitterness of inferior hops dominate. Not good.

Oct 7, 2005
05:33:07 PM
6985 Bergadler Premium Pils Germany Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 2.2

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

500 ml bottle with twist-off cap, bought at LIDL, Norway. ABV here is 4.7%, to comply with our 4.75% upper limit for beers sold in grocery stores. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Moderate aromatic hops, herbal and flowery notes. Fizzy mouthfeel. The rather dry flavour is dominated by a not very pleasant bitterness of not very good hops, becomes "industrial" and metallic in the finish. Not my favourite pils this one.

Oct 7, 2005
03:55:07 PM
6986 Fink Bräu Germany Pale Lager 2.6

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

500 ml can, at LIDL in Norway, as Fink Bräu Pilsner. ABV here is 4.7%, to comply with our 4.75% upper limit for beers sold in grocery stores. Not to be confused with the low ABV (2.1% and 2.8%) Fink Bräu "Pils" versions made for LIDL by Karlsberg Brauerei. Made of water, malts and hop extract. Clear very pale straw coloured, large head. Moderate aromatic hops. Flavour has some herbal spiciness, not much malts, thin mouthfeel, but a fairly liberal use of hop extract leads to a bitter finish. As far as discount pilseners / pale lagers go: I’ve had worse.

Oct 7, 2005
03:33:07 PM
6987 Sapporo Premium Draft Japan Lager 3.1

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

330 ml bottle, as "Sapporo Premium Lager", brewed "under license in the EU". Ingredients are water, malts, hops and hop extract - no maize (corn) or rice here. Different recipe? Bought in Norway at Ultra. ABV here is 4.7%, to comply with our 4.75% upper limit for beers sold in grocery stores. Pale golden colour, large head. Flowery sweet aroma, not unpleasant. Flavour is surprisingly clean tasting, no sign of adjuncts and off-flavours, tolerable hops. Well, it’s a light bodied pale lager - I don’t expect miracles, but it sure was a lot better than I feared.

Oct 7, 2005
03:18:07 PM
6988 Borg Ice Norway Pale Lager 1.8

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

(500 ml can). Another ice beer, the lager style for people who really don't like beer. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Aroma is yeasty with citrus candy notes. Hardly any flavour (at least it's not offensive) and even less aftertaste. A beer to forget the moment after you drank it.

Sep 30, 2005
06:43:30 PM
6989 Borg Sommerpilsner Norway Pale Lager 1.5

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

(330 ml clear bottle). Being the most active Norwegian rater at this website, I have taken upon my shoulders the heavy burden of tasting every new Norwegian beer that comes my way. Unfortunately most macro (by Norwegian standards of size and quality) breweries seem intent on producing at least one "summer beer" and one "ice beer" (or even an "summer ice beer") - in each and every case we’re speaking of very pale lagers with as little flavour as possible, to satisfy the large(?) group of consumers who really don’t like the taste of beer, but want a refreshment and a nice buzz. Could as well drink sparkling water? Yeah, I know, I know - you don’t get a buzz from water. Borg Sommer"pilsner" is a tasteless joke - as if the ordinary Borg Pilsner wasn’t bland enough! Avoid.

Sep 30, 2005
05:50:30 PM
6990 Dorada Especial (Canarias) Spain Pale Lager 3.0

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

Brewed in CCC's brewery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Just slightly darker than Dorada Pilsen, this is still a warm weather beer. Probably the best of the four CCC beers I had in the Canarias, quite nice on tap.

Sep 30, 2005
05:38:30 PM
6991 Dorada Pilsen (Canarias) Spain Pale Lager 2.9

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

Best from tap (well, which beer isn't?) this Canary Island thirstquencher is just another agreeable pils for warm weather. Not outstanding in any way. Brewed in CCCs brewery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Sep 30, 2005
05:30:30 PM
6992 Tropical Premium (Canarias) Spain Lager 3.0

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

The premium beer of CCC's Las Palmas output. Just slightly more colour and flavour than Tropical Pils. This is still a brew for warm weather. Easy drinking, fairly nice.

Sep 30, 2005
05:22:30 PM
6993 Tropical Pils (Canarias) Spain Pale Lager 2.9

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

Brewed in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (CCC's other brewery is in Santa Cruz de Tenerife). A light pilsener that doesn't stand out in any way, not bad either, well suited for the warm climate of the island where it's brewed.

Sep 30, 2005
05:14:30 PM
6994 Borg Pilsner Norway Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 2.7

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

Brewed by Borg Bryggeri in Sarpsborg, part of the Hansa Borg brewery group. (500 ml can). Pale golden colour, decent head that doesn't last very long or leave much lacing. Light flowery / grassy aroma, very light bodied, typical run of the mill pilsener - nothing offensive, but not great. Low bitterness. Reminds me of Tropical Pils (Las Palmas).

Sep 30, 2005
04:31:30 PM
6995 Hansa Fatøl Norway Lager 3.2

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

Incorrectly named "fatøl" (= "draught beer") - comes out of a 500 ml can. Among the better Norwegian lagers, slightly darker than a traditional pilsener, rather malty with German aromatic hops.

Sep 30, 2005
04:22:30 PM
6996 Mack White Xmas Norway Pale Lager 2.3

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

A Christmas beer for the "cool" ice beer generation - oh my God! Well, it's probably not exactly an ice beer, just the average bland lager with just a little more flavour to pretend it's a "Xmas" beer. Pathetic! The ice beer generation will probably stick to ice beer or pils for Christmas anyhow, so why bother? 0,5 liter can in white and silver, commercial description in English only, even though the beer is sold primarily (or solely?) in Norway. Wow - cooool! - (can't believe there are assholes who actually think so!) Low head, golden colour, just a faint trace of spice (cardamom?) in the flavour. Aftertaste is weak but not foul, at least they have had the decency to add some hops to the stuff.

Sep 29, 2005
04:23:29 PM
6997 Mack Arctic Ice Norway Pale Lager 1.6

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

330 ml clear bottle. Some initial flowery aroma that vanishes quickly. Hardly any flavour. Just another ice beer - the style for people who really don't like beer at all.

Sep 29, 2005
04:03:29 PM
6998 Mack Smrprty Summer Party Beer Norway Light / Lite Lager 1.0

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

(500 ml can). A shameless effort by Mack to reach the target group underage drinkers. I didn’t translate the commercial description from Norwegian - it’s all in English ’cause that’s supposed to sound "cooler and trendier" for Norwegian teenagers. I think I’m going to be sick. The beer? Extremely pale colour, NO aroma, NO taste, NO aftertaste. Sparkling water with 4.7% alcohol. There’s not one good thing to say about this beer. Not one. If this was the best beer in the world, I’d become a tee-totaller. I swear I would.

Sep 29, 2005
03:56:29 PM
6999 Mack Sommerøl Norway Pale Lager 2.2

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

(500 ml can). Norwegian "summer beers" are the work of the devil! While their ordinary pilseners are summer beers good enough, every brewery, of some reason, now makes a lighter and blander version for the summer months. The one from Mack is not the worst of its kind, but that doesn't mean it's a good beer. Typical pilsener colour (not as extremely pale coloured as the ones from some other breweries), very good head, weak flowery aroma, weak grassy flavour (as far as there is any flavour at all), low bitterness. This is for the target group who wants an ice cold thirstquencher without much taste.

Sep 29, 2005
03:50:29 PM
7000 Suttungs Mjød Norway Mead 1.2

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

500 ml bottle, at Vinmonopolet. The only commercially available Norwegian mead. Clear, nearly colourless like water, just a streak of greenish yellow. No head or carbonation. Weird strong aroma, with some good will I might say "interesting" - honey of course, lots of undefined herbs and spices, but also strong fruity (green apples) and grassy notes. Some unpleasant hints of vomit and cleaning agent. Very sweet with some honey notes, but tastes more like a sweet and really bad white wine with herbal off-flavours. Ugh. I guess meads are not my thing, and definitely not this one.

Sep 29, 2005
03:20:29 PM