Aass Jubeløl (Jubileum 175 år)

Brewed by Aass Bryggeri
Style: Vienna
Drammen, Norway

50 cl can at home - thanks to yngwie. Clear amber color, fine beige head. Aroma is sweet and caramel malty. The flavor is the same, with only hints of hops. Not bad, but boring.

Can. It pours a clear, dark golden body with two fingers of off-white, lasting head. Caramel-sweetish nose with some hops in the background, giving a fruity touch. Sweet, caramel flavor with some hoppy bitterness, but not much. A little too gazzy I think, but with good fullness. Medium lenght finish with the same flavors found initially. It’s a quite decent beer, and for the regular Aass drinkers I bet it’s borderline too much. If it was me, I wouldn’t be proud to make a mediocre beer for my 175th anniversary, even though it’s flawless. Yes, it’s sort of tasteful, but only in comparison to a pale lager. Actually it’s rather one dimensional. Wouldn’t have much trouble downing a few though. (090407)

Canned. Nice dark color, candyfloss head. Decent malty body, but the hops probably had a day off when they brewed this one. Short finish. A puzzling design flaw - the can does not clearly say the name of the beer . I doubt this will survive 2009.

500 ml can. Copper colour. Crystal clear. Tall white fluffy head that clings to the glass. Dry grain malt aroma and a floral hop aroma. Light-bodied, but there is a nice toffee-like malt flavour. Weak hop bitterness with hints of metal. Watery texture. It is light and nicely drinkable, but it is far from complex.

Big offwhite shiny head. Reddish amber body with carbonation. Papery rubbery aroma with fruit and pepper notes. Strange. Sweetish-dryish papery caramel taste with watery dusty fruity strawberry notes. Slick, watery mouthfeel. Thinnish body. Boring, not very good. Feels like they forgot to add hops. (0.5l can, Centra, Oslo.)

Canned@Smak 09. A fingerthick offwhite head upon a clear copper colored body. Sweetish grains, dusty hops and a faint caramel scent to the nose. Taste is grainy, lightly toasted malts, some caramel notes, and a straw-like bitterness that stays alive all the way to the finish. Nothing technically wrong with this one, but very straightforward and boring.

Sample from 500 ml can, Aass Brewery stand at Smak 09. ABV is 4.7%. Deep golden colour, moderate head. Moderate notes of caramel in the aroma. The flavour has moderate caramel malts and a moderate bitterness in the finish. Drinkable, but not very exciting. You’d think they would come up with something better for a jubilee.