Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon Second Edition

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

Bottle. Compact black colour with a minimal brown head. Very roasted, coffee, bitter dark chocolate, alcohol menthol, licorice, pepper, tar, saltiness. A very big beer. Good, but the aged First Edition was much more sweet, fruity and complex. This one will probably get better with time to.

There are times when you get all wet for a beer before even really knowing what you are getting. I was so hyped for this thing, got a couple of these packed up all fancy on metallic tubes, all dressed to kill and wrapped inside orange paper. 14 euros a bob, figured out that it is better than spending that sum on some cheap booze. With xmas coming and jingle bells ringing in my ears I finally opened one and the irony of it all (at least in the Alanis Morisettey sense) was staggering when the first sniff: this smells like the aforementioned cheap hootch I skipped on buying these damn norwegian hype beers. Oh shit. After the first edition I wasn’t expecting this. Salmiakki, burned malt and all other things go to hell when I smell this, all I can think of is vodka. The taste is hot, too hot, burning hot. What is impressive is the thing that this doesn’t cover the alcohol well, it actually tastes way more alcoholic than the abv suggests. To be fair there is a hefty amount of malt here but the shitdickery thing about this is the whole cockteasey aspect of being so hyped for this that the actual product not only disappoints but damn near infuriates. Destroyed the last three with my brother just drinking it for shits and giggles, don’t think that shit turns gold by aging it. Has the virtue of getting you mad drunk but so does estonian booze lager which is not only cheaper but easier to drink. Color me unimpressed and out of this whole race of upping the abv in impys to seem like the toughest kid on the block.

Bottle shared by Greg Koch @ the Bistro during the 2008 RBSG. Poured black with a minimal head and brown oily legs. Very sweet aroma with roasted malt, smoke and alcohol. Roasted sweet malt some smoke, chocolate and coffee. Full bodied with a mildly sweet finish. Sticky. Huge warmth all over.

500 ml bottle (#07216), shared. Viscous-looking black color, dark brown head that receded quickly. Dark chocolate / molasses aroma with alcohol. Full bitter flavor with more molasses and coffee, some warming alcohol and some port wine notes. Very full body, light carbonation. Thick mouthfeel, lingering finish. Pretty good now, it’ll be fun to see how it matures.

(Bottle on 2009-02-17) Black. Small tan coloured head. Sweet liquorice and roastedness in aroma. Almost burning and dry palate with little carbonation. Roastedness, alcohol, bitterness, cough mixture, saltiness, liquorice and coffee in taste. Alcohol, roastedness and coffee grounds in aftertaste.

Quite a bit of chocolate and coffee beans in the aroma. Jet black, quite brown head. Definitely has the rich thick flavor of an imperial stout. A bitterness in the finish. Good, but not quite worth the price.

(500ml bottle, Second Edition, label says 17.5% abv, courtesy of ilovedarkbeer) Pours an opaque black body with no head. Aroma of roasted malt, burning alcohol, charred wood, and tar. Flavor of roasted malt, alcohol, black licorice, and coffee. Fairly smooth compared to the fresh First Edition. Will rate again in about 10 years.

Wow, this is a solid beer. Pours black with a tan head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, and roasted malt. It has a little bit of vanilla flavor in there as well. Tastes sweet and it is very good. You can tell it is 16% ABV, it has a little bit of a boozy kick to it. Aging would help some more, I remember liking the First Edition a little better. This is a little hot. Still good though.