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

(Sampled 500 ml bottle, bought in Norway). This is a decent Helles with a pleasant aroma. Flavour and aftertaste are OKish, but far from exceptional. Probably better on tap - or maybe all the "Bierkeller" hype is misleading?

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

(500 ml bottle). This is an ale (bitter), not a lager! Deep golden to amber colour, moderate head. Aroma is hoppy and dominant vanilla. Flavour is not sweet, quite bitter actually, and the vanilla somehow seems out of place. I guess there's a reason most beers don't smell and taste strongly of vanilla. Nice for a change of pace, though.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Clear amber to brown colour, moderate head. Moderate aroma with notes of malts and bread, just some faint hints of caramel, sulphur and fruity hops. The flavour has some nutty malts, and the fruity hops are more pronounced. A hint of toffee too, and a moderate bitterness in the finish. It is quite obvious that this is not a "live" beer. Cask conditioned this is a mellow, easily drinkable bitter. Not the very best, but GOOD, to be sure. Available in most of Britain, partly because of Marston's contract with the nationwide pubchain J.D. Wetherspoon.

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

(750 ml "champagne" bottle, vintage 1997-98). Pours with an enormous lasting head. Cloudy golden colour. Lovely aroma of sour fruits, notes of spices and horse stable. Flavour is fruity, sour but not vinegar, a little tart. Quite dry. Reminds me of a brut champagne. Moreish aftertaste. Yummy!

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. I haven't had the bottled version yet, but it is reported to be somewhat different. ABV of the cask version is 4.4%. Golden colour. Flowery and candy-like aroma. Light bodied. Would benefit from a cooler serving temperature than was the case at the IBF. Flavour is moderately hoppy, would no doubt be refreshing if served cooler. As it was, it lacked some "freshness". Dry finish. BTW, it’s organic - "suitable for vegans" = no animals killed for the purpose of brewing this beer. Nice to know before you order your plate of bangers & mash.

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

Rerate bottle, pasteurised: 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Amber to brown colour, large off-white head. Moderate malty aroma, slightly sourish. Flavour is also moderately malty with low bitterness, fairly dry. Mouthfeel is "dusty" and slightly sourish, not very rich. Drinkable, but better cask conditioned. Original rating: Sampled cask conditioned in Scotland. Copper coloured. Smooth and pleasant Scottish "heavy". Nice malty aroma and flavour. I'm ready for another one any time.

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

Sampled cask conditioned in Scotland. This is a very pleasant and refreshing British IPA / golden ale, with numerous CAMRA awards. Moderate ABV. Not over-hopped like American IPAs, but a popular and very nice pint indeed. Rerate bottle, ABV 4.4%: 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Golden to amber colour, decent lasting head. Pleasant hoppy aroma with fruity notes (citrus, pineapple). Flavour is moderately hoppy and refreshing, grapefruity in the finish. Not quite as good as the the cask version, but even from a pasteurised bottle it is a pleasant session beer without any obvious flaws.

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

(330 ml bottle). ABV of my bottle was 9,2%. Nearly black (= dark ruby when held to the light), good to moderate creamy tan head. Started drinking it too cold, surprisingly weak initial aroma, improves as the beer warms up - malty, but not very complex. Flavour is malty sweet with burnt notes - not nearly as cloying as EKU 28 (thank God!) but also less complex. Alcohol is well hidden. OKish mellow aftertaste. Good beer, but it doesn't exactly take my breath away.

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

(500 ml bottle). Pours with an enormous lasting head, colour is cloudy golden brown. Overwhelming lovely sweet aroma of ripe bananas, "bubblegum" and spices, hints of oak. Flavour is refreshing and slightly spicy (cloves, cardamom), a little more hops than most Weissbiers.

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

Christmas seasonal, 500 ml cool swingtop bottle. Aroma like an average lager, rather weak. Golden colour, good to moderate head. Flavour is well balanced with a herbal character, moderate sweetness and decent hops. Flavour and aftertaste is better than the average lager, but this is definitely not what I want for CHRISTMAS! As a standard lager it passes the test, as a Christmas beer it fails!

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

Sure it's black - but when I feel like anything black, I'd most likely go for any dry or imperial stout instead, any time - if given the choice. As far as German Schwarzbiers go, there are tastier ones around than this one. Disappointing lack of flavour and 'bite'. Of course it's drinkable, but I expected more.

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

(5 liter minikeg, bought in Norway - ABV here is 4.5%. The ABV in Germany is supposed to be 4.9%. I think "Kulmbacher Premium Pils" is an alias of this beer. Not be be confused with the Kulmbacher Mönchshof Original). Typical pils golden colour, large head. Hoppy but not very strong aroma. Flavour is surprisingly malty, slightly sweeter and less crisp than the somewhat stronger EKU Pilsner which I prefer (also in a minikeg). Still, this is a rather tasty pilsener, miles ahead of the many tasteless "neutral" pilseners you get these days.

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

(5 liter mini-keg, bought in Norway, ABV was 4.9%). Moderate aroma of hay, light golden colour, enormous head when poured from the mini-keg - like the head of a weissbier. Clean crisp flavour, good bitterness makes this a better-than-average pilsener. The mini-keg is great for parties!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

(275 ml bottle.) Very dark/black, good tan head. Aroma is malts and coffee, flavour is sweet and malty with coffee and chocolate notes, hardly any bitterness. This beer proves that a low ABV beer can be flavourful, but it's just too sweet to be a favourite of mine.

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

(Cask conditioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature, low natural carbonation). Copper coloured. A Scottish "heavy" like it should be. Good, but not so very special. Aviemore brewery changed its name in 2001 to Cairngorm brewery. Cairngorm also brew Tomintoul beers.

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

500 ml bottle. Golden colour, low head. Interesting malty aroma with hints of hayloft and sheepshed - very nice. An unusual pils! Flavour is distinctly malty with just enough hoppiness to call it a pils. Good beer!

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

Smooth, soft, creamy, easy drinking nitro-beer - even when moderate consumption is the order of the day. Not much character in this one, though - but smooth and comforting indeed.

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

Why on earth should the British even try brewing pilsener/lager - they're so much better at ales and stouts. If you after all, of some obscure reason, should choose to drink pils in England: Stick to the imports.

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

Seriously struck by beer rating addiction, I bought this beer only to rate it - and I hate myself for it! Hate hate hate!! I paid good money for this crap, in the US at least it’s cheap - here it’s expensive. Importing this shit to Europe is totally ridiculous! And the alternative in Norway, if you want an American beer, is mostly Bud!! (If you’re ’lucky’, you might find Michelob! *and a couple others at "Vinmonopolet".) My expectations were very low, but I soon found out that this ’beer’ was even worse than I expected. Aroma reminiscent of the wine yeast of my disastrous, short lived wine-making career 15 years ago. Excessive head that disappears rather quickly. Hardly any flavour at all - just a bland, metallic mouthfeel. Luckily, there is no aftertaste either (if there was, it would surely have been bad). ’Genuine draught’ my ass! This is just bad, real BAD!!

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

500 ml oldfashioned milk bottle - nice design. Copper coloured, moderate head. Lovely hoppy aroma, hints of ripe fruits and caramel. Bramling Cross hops account for a distinct bitter flavour and aftertaste, quite dry - I'd like some more malts to balance the hops, but that's the style, I guess. Still, this is a nice beer - will definitely buy again.

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

(750 ml corked bottle). Pale golden pilsener-like colour, . Large lasting head. Spicy aroma. Flavour is spicy white wine-like, a bit alcoholic. Well balanced, nice aftertaste. A good beer, but I don't find it quite as complex as some other raters do.

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

(Draught / keg). It is debatable if this is a bitter or a Scottish ale. Copper coloured. Flavourful, rich malty taste. Low bitterness. Not bad for a moderate ABV "macro" keg ale.

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

Barely discernible from McEwans Export. Some caramel in the flavour, well rounded, perhaps a bit thin. Drinkable stuff that shouldn't offend anyone. Rerate (can): I understand why this beer is classified as a Scottish Ale at some websites, instead of an IPA - hardly any hops are discernible at all. But the brewers insist on calling it an IPA, so I guess it should be rated as such.

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

I liked the bottled version - even imported to Norway (my retailer stored it cool). Lots of taste, good to drink straight from the bottle with an afternoon snack! Rerate, can: Of some reason not as good as the bottle. Still a decent beer, not outstanding.

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

Cask conditioned in Scotland: A Scottish ale or "heavy" which is copper coloured, low head, quite malty, low on hops - not bad for a "macro" cask ale.