Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

Glass: Snifter Purchased at: Canal Liquors, Lawrenceville, NJ Price: $7.69 Size: 16 fl oz ABV: 9% IBU: 75 Estimated Calories: 300C RateBeer Rating: 99 Aroma 10 out of 10 Intensity: Strong Balance: Sweet Impression: Nice Malt Flavor: Caramel Toffee Chocolate Coffee Hops Flavor:Cinnamon resin grapefruit Other: alcohol Notes: Aroma is delicious and inviting. Appearance 5 out of 5 Color: Black Clarity: Opaque Head Retention: Good Notes: inpenetrable darkness with a nice tan head. Lacing is intricate. Flavor 10 out of 10 Intensity: Strong Balance: Bitter Impression: Nice Malt Flavor: Roasted Caramel Toffee Chocolate Coffee Hops Flavor: Spice Resin Citrus Other: Chalk, dirt Notes:An amazing complexity - good dark chocolate and espresso overtones. Depth and character unmatched by many other chocolate stouts. Palate 5 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: Creamy Slick Warming Body: Full Carbonation: Lively Finish Length: Long Intensity: Strong Balance: Bitter Notes: electrifying, all over mouth, dark, hoppy, sharp, dry General Impression: 20 out of 20 Craftmanship: Excellent Freshness: Fresh Personal Taste: Loved Notes: Easily the best darkest stout I’ve ever enjoyed. Well done, Nogne O.

Dark and heavy brown pour. Settles black as glossy coal. Huge, immensely thick roasty brown topping caps it like a crown with a creamy smooth and frothy sponge. Dwells upon the liquid for a good stretch and leaves massive chucks of lacing in cob webby stitchings. Favorably roasted and large nose here. Lots of "Expedition"- like qualities with deep dark roasted tang, espresso, dry chocolate, burnt prune, smoked plum, and cooked cherry skins. Slightly large smokey ascents and prevalent burntness of cookie edges, cake, and really dark vanilla notes. Great spicyness of x-mas breads and ginger cookies too. Damn nice and straight up exceptional Impy nose! Taste makes due with a spectacular array of fun roasty stuff. Dark deceptive, deep, and tangy with smoked dark fruit skins and spicey holiday breads. Smmmoooth...lasting deepness of well developed and rounded roastyness with a bit of espresso touching the burnt notes. Kinda like a silky smooth chocolate covered x-mas dark fruit bread or cake. A bit fudgey, a bit doughy, great hints to smoked/burnt stuff and loads of lasting taste and complexity. Yum, yum, yum, yum, Yum! Last third or so really turns into a silky chocolate dream. Strong medium body, smooth, creamy, fluffy with a bit of texture to it. Chocolate toned sweetness, mild dark fruity tanged, and burnt fudgey cookie/cake all over the place. The finish is quite and chocolatey. The only real drag of the beer is that it really doesn’t have a finishing quality, but damn if it doesn’t make ya come back for more! Ummm...you can label this brew as the best beer form Norway! Not that I’ve had a bunch from my native land, but from what I have had, this takes the silky smooth chocolate covered x-mas dark fruit cake! Too bad its so spendy...but well worth the adventure. I could see having a bunch of these after cross country skiing or snow shoeing the big hills of anywhere. Norway representin’ y’all!

I had trouble picking beer 500 given my lineup lately but this one hit a grand slam for me (baseball lingo). What sets this impy apart is the perfect motor oil coloration, the flavor which seems to have a good dose of bitter hops alongside barley and grains, and the aftertaste has this sweet chocolately layer which invites me back to my glass for more sips. There is some faint acidic almost vinegar flavors in here but they seem to accentuate the aroma and add an almost smoky quality to the mix. Alcohol is well hidden. The roasted malts seem roasted just right so they don’t overdo it. I love this beer! I’ll have to go back to the Oak Tree Buy Rite for more. Or maybe its time to fly to Norway?

Dang, this is worth any bit of hype it has received. Take note, this is definitive of a great imperial stout. Poured dark black-brown, slightly viscous. Opaque in the glass with a full clinging meringue of a brown head. Aroma rich in roasted malts, chocolate, tar, roasted nuts, burnt bread. Flavor begins with a mild roasted sweetness, blossoming into a full silky mouthfeel all aswirl wth dark chocolate, oats, espresso, roasted nuts and a salty mineral quality. Finishing with a semi-dry full roasted malt finish. Alcohol becomes present only in the chest. Palate coating finish leaves mildly astringent roast all over the mouth. Its one of the best combinations of complexity, depth, richness and drinkability I’ve yet found in an imperial.

AMAZING AND WONDERFUL are the words which spring into mind. Awesome aroma of coffee, garlic (!!), and salts. Palate is a whole symphony and the brewer conductor. It starts with a subtle salami and it ends with the aftertaste of the best coffee ever. Creamy and slick, this could be the most balanced brew on earth!