Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Grimstad, Norway

Delicious beer shared at Diego’s. Awesome. Pours a dark, dark amber color. Very sweet aroma up front with honey, caramel, brown sugar, raisins and then moves into floral hops tones. Flavor is really good. Bitter and sweet with a big malt backbone. Flavor is full of spices, caramel, apples, citrus and piney hops round it out nicely. Very good.

Pours a deep brown/red, and opaque; really, no light comes through. Small fluffy tan head reducing slowly. Aroma is of honey, spice, berry, flora. Flavor is of nice roasted malt, raisin, cherry liqueur, fruity hops in the middle and end. Booze in flavor and finish is neither hidden nor outspoken; about what you’d expect for a 10% ale. DIPA? Barleywine? I say somewhere in between, though really closer to a barleywine because of the subtlety of the hops and the sweet brandy and brown sugar flavors, despite what it says above. Mouthfeel is smooth, low carbonation, mediocre. Nothing really life-changing about this ale, but I could still drink it everyday and be very satisfied. It’s one of the better barleywines I’ve had, though not mind-blowing. Definitely worth a rate by barleywinos and non-barleywinos alike. Overall, very good.

Originally reviewed 4/11/2008... Poured from 500 into Cab glass... This pours much differently from expected. Very dark - almost like an RIS...or a root beer? Hugh 4-finger head so bready I can see layers. Minimal carbonation in root beer-colored, moderately opaque body. Excellent lacing. Austere, bitter, piney hop aroma. Sweetness emerges from carbonation. Almost a juniper secnt in there. Slight, soapy hop scent mixed with sweetness - almost sarasparilla, in continuing with root beer theme. Roasted chocolatey malt does not show at all on the nose but it’s prevalent in taste. Mild sarasparilla notes - slight hop bitterness flows from grassiness to floral/soapy over time. Slight, nice citrus tang. Well-balanced. Doesn’t exactly drink like a barley wine, but very mellow and enjoyable. There’s even some apple cider in there for traditional barley wine crowd. Strangely complex and off the reservation; that’s a good thing in this case. There’s a puckereing hop feel from start to finish, backed by deep, mellow malt. Alcohol is there but comforting. The balanced caramel syrup consistency works well. This is very enjoyable stuff - its weight makes it more of a sipper.

Now we’re talking. This is the one beer from the recent Scandinavian explosion that has really worked for me. I mean, really worked. Yes. Incredible, constantly evolving aroma - Xmas spices, spruce, Jaffas, piney hops, cola. It tastes great too, like a big rich brown ale with plenty of Dutch spices (almost too much) and big piney bitterness. The spice thing is weird, it seems to be a bit of a Nøgne Ø house character so I’m guessing there aren’t any spices actually added. But anyway... It actually manages to taste rather Nordic to me, if I can make such a judgement without knowing the vaguest thing about Norway, whilst simultaneously having a very ’new world’ micro type swagger. Killer beer, perfect for winter. If it wasn’t so expensive I’d be smashing it all the time.

Athens, Ga. - Five Points Bottle Shop - 500 ml bottle. Pours a dark brown with an off-white head. Fresh fruity aroma with hints of dates and prunes with a hint of spruce. Flavor is full bodied and full of bittersweet goodness. Some tangy citrus, baked brown bread, dates and raisins all blend together nicely. Mouthfeel is thick and rich.

Bottle:Batch 360. Pours deep brown, with a 1" mocha coloured creamy head. Strong chocolate aroma, grass and citrus as well.Thick and chewy mouthfeel, taste is dominated by dark sweet fruits, roasted raisins, peppers,alcohol comes towards the end, together with bitterness.

500 ml bottle
Another special release from Nogne I saved this one for a warmer summer afternoon. It was a great highlight; in fact I hope that this might become a regular release rather than a one off beer. Somewhere between an imperial IPA and a hopped up old ale at this point it is good no matter what you call it.

Aroma / Appearance - The pillowy beige head dominated the deep brown body underneath. It looked like the color of a newspaper that had been left in the sun. Resiny and floral it hangs in the air. Caramel glazing and grassy notes remind me of a toned down Imperial IPA from the likes of Stone.

Flavor / Palate - Chewy molasses mixes with toffee, tree bark, and rye toast before settling on the tongue. The hop bite is not as strong as I expected but still is very evident. Heavy on the mouthfeel it sticks to the throat with a rich chocolately finish. A unique twist and in a class of its own this is not a pure Imperial IPA or a pure barleywine but somewhere in between.

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a nice white head. Aroma and flavour of fruit, hops, cohcolate, caramel and roasted malt.