Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon Second Edition

Formerly brewed at Nøgne Ø
Style: Imperial Stout
Grimstad, Norway

A beer to try before you die. A beer that, I believe, lives up to it’s hype. A beer that will divide people - those who love it and those who don’t, nothing in between. Unlike many of these extreme style beers I could easily drink one of these to myself. Not to be unselfish or that I’m an alcoholic (that just comes with the territory....) but it slips down rather easily. However this was shared between five of us. Jet black in colour with an off white, creamy, lasting head. Aromas of burnt coffee, dried fruits and alcohol. Big, thick and rich on the palate. Chocolate, plum, raisin, coffee, hops, obvious but balanced spirity notes and acidic twang, charcoal, creamy and smooth. The alcohol and acid bite initially seems to come on too strong but it is quickly swallowed up by the full rich flavours and silky smooth texture. I’m convinced that the hype is bang on for this one....

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet with strong notes of roasted malt combined with notes of alcohol. The flavor is sweet with notes of roasted malt and alcohol, which leaves a burn in the mouth. The body is thick.

Bottle courtesy of rudylaw. Pours a muddy dark brown to black with thin tan head. Looks fairly still, seems lightly carbonated. Aroma is sweet and malty, notes of chocolate, coffee, some brown sugar, molasses, ripe dark fruit. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of booze, chocolate, brown sugar, ripe dark fruit, seemed thin, unbalanced. Generally medium body with a light finish. Not as good as I was expecting given the hype.

Thanks kiefdog for breaking this one out. Pours dark brown/ black with red highlights and a dark tan fizzy, yet dissipating head. Nose is a bit disappointing for what I have heard and read about this beer. I get roast, some dark fruit, and a bit of licorice. Flavor is coffee, dark fruit, booze, and burn. Finish lingers with roast and lots of alcohol. Medium to light bodied and a ton of alcohol burn. I see aging or avoidance of this beer in the future.

Bottle brought back from West Lakeview. Had a bottle of DH1E a couple weeks ago, so wanted to get a taste of this to both have a comparison with it’s predecessor and also see how this one ages. Pours like onyx with the most beautiful, near dark purple, head I’ve ever seen. Smells strongly of chocolate pudding and whisky. Builds on these two flavors in taste with added notes of black licorice and caramel. Finishes sticky with the flavor of cabernet. This is already amazing, but I have to agree that in a year this very well may deservingly enter the Top 10.

Bottle generously shared by nbutler11, completing his post-Chicago load-blowing. I don’t get how this isn’t in the Top 50. Not like its indelicacy at this point is much different from something like Younger or Darkness. Though for me it may have been deadened as it was my fifth beer of the night. Nose is of beautiful chocolate mousse and french creme (pre-brulee), nutmeg and exotic caramel. Flavor resembles that and maintains the creaminess, adding a hazelnut quality. Again, the wine yeast demands to know why it isn’t used more often in big beers. In a year this will be absurd.

500. Thanks, Pantanap! Pours absolutely jet black. Just watching this beer come up, eddying across the glass, you get the sense that it’s too much effort for it to even push itself out of the way to fill the cup. It’s soooo thick and goopy looking. Huge=]sweet pruney molassesy nose with tons of booze--my head actually snapped to the side a couple times while I was nose-testing this. Creamy thick body, obviously. Prunes, plums, strawberries, chocolate, and tons and tons of sweet twangy alcohol on the mid-palate. Long, drying, boozy, bitey finish. Not nearly the triumph that the first one was, but, then, this one needs probably 5-10 bottle years before it approaches anything like a peak.

Bottle. Pours pitch black with a diminishing brown head. Aroma is roasted with tar and rope. A bit tart and with remote metallic notes. Flavour is metallic and roasted. Full-bodied and with a decent amount of alcohol notes; but well-balanced. Bitter roasted finish with alcohol. A quite nice beer. 07-06-09.