Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon Second Edition

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

EBF2008. Black coloured. Beige head, mostly lasting. Aroma of alcohol, coffee, chocolate. Moderate sweet and bitter flavor. Warming alcohol. Too much alcohol.

Bottle at Nashville BA Tasting. Pours black with brown head that diminishes to a wisp. Lots of alcohol in the aroma. Medium bodied. This is a licorice bomb with some medicinal notes, like Nyquil. Dry yeasty finish with lots of hotness from the alcohol. Perhaps some age will help but I thought this beer was not very good.

Bottle from liquid solutions. Tons of coffee in this one. Almost peppery. Mouthfeel is a little thin, but this brew is very full-flavored and very good. Great now, but will probably be excellent in 2+ yrs.

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.