Nøgne Ø God Jul

Bottle courtesy of Knightly Spirits. Wow, another excellent Danish brew. Very complex. Like a cross b/t an imp. stout and an English brown ale. Chocolatey, nutty, creamy smooth flavor w/ hints of caramel, smoke, oak, and hop spice. Very good.

Alcohol and caramel strong on the aroma. Nice burnt sugar- caramel malty flavour. Slightly thin mid-palate, but finishes with a really rounded mouthfeel.

Pours a deep brown with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, and some sweet figs. Taste is roast, chocolate, and dark fruits with a well balanced bitterness and a nice dry finish.

Shared by my good buddy Odeed! Labeled Winter Ale! Nose of smokiness, caramel and citrus hops that I picked up from far away from the bottle; very dark brown with a small beige head; flavor of hop bitterness, caramel, and some smokiness (again)!

dark brown with a creamy off white head.aroma is a nice mix of black liquorice,nuts,and caramel malts.flavor blends up the aroma along with some smoke,cinnamon,nutmeg,and cumin.

bottle. dark mahogony pour with huge foamy tan head. nice lacing. hoppy aroma with roasted chestnuts, dark fruit, spice, mollasses and chocolate. smooth and sweet. mollasses, coffee, caramel, sweet milky chocolate. lingering coffee bitterness. nicely balanced. Very nice!

So I finally found an opportunity to give this brew a proper test. No xmas atmosphere, however, as the snow is almost gone, the trees are getting green and the midnight sun has just returned to the Arctic. Anyway, the Norwegian Constitution Day had to be celebrated. I turned off the TV, put on the great music of Dinosaur Jr’s Beyond and got ready for the test which took more than two hours. I had three bottles, same ale but quite different batches. My ratings are based on an average of the three bottles. All were served at the right room temperature. The test turned out to be a rather heavy night-cap...
a) [Batch 96-27.07.2004] Brownish head that fades quickly. Deep dark brown body. Delicious aroma of milk chocolate. Well-rounded taste of vanilla and chocolate offset by a careful sourish touch. Hints of cinnamon, cloves and anise. Yeast and bitterness in a prolonged ending.
b) [Batch 176-14.08.2005] Marked piny aroma. Light brown head, short-lived. Very dark brown-tinged body. The emphasis is on pine needles, juniper and liquorice acidity. Added flavour of peppery notes and dark fruits culminating in malty bitterness. This batch is quite different in aroma and taste compared with a) and c)
c) [Batch 251-02.08.2006] Long-lived tan head and good lacing. Black-brown body. Smell of dark malts and sweet chocolate. Roasted malty depths in flavour supported by herbs, figs and a nutty touch leading to a dry bitter tail, and finishing off with warmth from the alcohol. Should be even more joyful on a dark xmas eve (17.05.2007).

Pours deep dark brown with red edges and weak light brown head. The aroma is light with seemingly roasted malts, sweeter malts and faint dark fruitiness. This beer tastes like a hybrid Porter – Imperial Stout but leaning much more on the Porter side of things. The biggest flavor note to start is burnt malts followed by chocolate malts and then a lighter amount of sweet malts and caramel. By midway a hint of dark fruitiness surfaces and is then run down as the malt flavors return. I notice a burnt malt and slightly caramel flavor left behind in the after taste.